What is the Page Object Model (POM) in Selenium?

So, what is POM? In simple terms, it is a pattern that isolates the test logic from the locators and actions on the page. As per the Selenium Page Object Design Pattern, we will have a class for each web page of the application and the elements on that page will be defined as variables of that class. The interactions, such as clicking buttons or typing in a textbox, are defined as methods.

This helps to isolate the page functionality so if your page layout changes, you only need to change the appropriate page class and not hundreds of test scripts. This is the reason that POM is considered to be the main pillar in developing scalable Selenium automation frameworks.

The POM framework in Selenium promotes modularity and reusability, which is quite contrary to ad-hoc scripts. It serves as a template, creating a unified standard of writing automation code across teams. For organizations with a distributed QA and DevOps team, this standardization is crucial to decrease onboarding time and enhance collaboration.

Key Features of Page Object Model

The POM framework in Selenium comes with several distinct features that make it a preferred choice:

Page Object Model Structure in Selenium Projects

A well-structured POM framework has three key components:

src/test/java/
   ├── pages/
   │	├── LoginPage.java
   │	└── DashboardPage.java
   ├── tests/
   │	├── LoginTest.java
   └── utils/
    	└── BaseTest.java

This folder hierarchy enforces a clear separation of concerns. Developers know exactly where to update locators, and testers know where to add or modify test cases.

Benefits of Using Page Object Model

This is the reason why POM is the preferred choice of most QA teams:

How to Create Page Object Model in Selenium (Step by Step)

Let’s walk through the process:

Setting up dependencies

If you’re using Maven, add Selenium WebDriver dependencies in pom.xml like this:

   org.seleniumhq.selenium
   selenium-java
   4.20.0

This is how you add Selenium WebDriver dependencies in pom.xml to get started.

Example of Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver (Login Page)

Here’s a simple example of Page Object Model in Selenium Java:

Page Class (LoginPage.java)

public class LoginPage {
    WebDriver driver;
 
    @FindBy(id="username")
    WebElement username;
 
    @FindBy(id="password")
    WebElement password;
 
    @FindBy(id="loginBtn")
    WebElement loginBtn;
 
	public LoginPage(WebDriver driver) {
    	this.driver = driver;
        PageFactory.initElements(driver, this);
	}
 
	public void login(String user, String pass) {
        username.sendKeys(user);
        password.sendKeys(pass);
        loginBtn.click();
	}
}

Test Class (LoginTest.java)

   public class LoginTest {
	WebDriver driver;
 
    @BeforeMethod
	public void setup() {
        driver = new ChromeDriver();
        driver.get("https://example.com/login");
	}
 
	@Test
	public void testValidLogin() {
        LoginPage loginPage = new LoginPage(driver);
        loginPage.login("admin", "password123");
    	// Add assertion for successful login
	}
}

Flow explained: The LoginPage class encapsulates all login-related functionality, while LoginTest simply uses that functionality.

Page Object Model Best Practices

Follow these Page Object Model best practices to ensure success:

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Some pitfalls to watch out for:

Page Object Model vs Other Frameworks

Let’s compare POM with other test automation frameworks:

Page Object Model vs Data Driven framework in Selenium

Page Object Model vs Keyword Driven framework

Hybrid frameworks

Many organizations use a hybrid approach, combining POM with data-driven and keyword-driven frameworks to maximize flexibility. This approach is common in enterprise testing where multiple application types and testing roles exist.

Conclusion

The Page Object Model in Selenium is more than just a design choice, it’s a necessity for building scalable, maintainable, and collaborative automation frameworks. By abstracting locators and actions into page classes, teams reduce duplication, simplify debugging, and accelerate test development.

ACCELQ, with its AI-powered, codeless automation, takes the essence of POM even further by abstracting test logic into reusable assets without writing code. Whether you’re starting small or managing large enterprise suites, implementing POM is the first step to smarter Selenium automation.