How to click on a hyperlink using Selenium WebDriver?

To click on a hyperlink using Selenium WebDriver in Java, you can locate the anchor (<a>) tag using its visible link text, partial link text, or other locators like XPath or CSS Selector. Once located, you can use the click() method provided by the WebElement interface to simulate the user click action.

Example Using By.linkText

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;

public class ClickHyperlinkExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        // Navigate to the desired web page
        driver.get("https://www.lambdatest.com");

        // Locate the hyperlink by its visible text
        WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Click here"));

        // Perform click operation on the hyperlink
        link.click();

        // Wait until the new page is loaded
        WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
        wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("new-page"));

        // Close the browser
        driver.quit();
    }
}

Alternative Locators

If the link text is dynamic or not unique, you can use other strategies:

• By.partialLinkText("Click") – Matches part of the text.
• By.cssSelector("a[href='/your-link']") – Matches using CSS.
• By.xpath("//a[text()='Click here']") – Matches exact text using XPath.

Key Tips for Reliable Link Clicking

• Ensure the link is visible and clickable before performing the click.
• Always use explicit waits (WebDriverWait) to handle any delays in page loading.
• Validate the click action by checking the page URL, title, or expected elements on the next page.

By using Selenium WebDriver this way, you can simulate real user behavior and automate link-click actions effectively in your test scripts.

For a deeper understanding of How to click on a hyperlink using Selenium WebDriver, explore this detailed guide on Selenium WebDriver.