Limitations

1.3.8 Limitations

As discussed in pervious lessons in this course, methods of writing selectors in User Journeys each have certain limitations. When writing User Journey Scripts it’s important to understand the limitations so you know what types of selectors to write.

Element – e.g. <p>, <a>, <div>

Usage: p, a, div etc
Cons: Element is extremely generic and using it means you risk matching multiple <elements> at once.
Pros: Useful when writing a full CSS Selector as a way to define a specific element, e.g. .product-list li:first-child a

ID – e.g. id=”my-unque-product-id”

Usage: my-unique-product-id
Cons: Rarely used, and when it is used it’s often generated automatically – e.g. “product-1ee44rf-24ggH” and changes frequently
Pros: Guaranteed to be unique.

Class – e.g. class=”red button large”

Usage: red, button, large
Cons: Tricky to find unique classes.
Pros: Commonly found in markup and quite easy to learn.

Names – e.g. <form name=”my-form”>

Usage: my-form
Cons: Limited to certain elements (mainly forms and form elements like inputs, selects, etc)
Pros: Great for accessing form elements.

CSS Selectors – e.g. <ul><li><a class=”buy-now”></a></li></ul>

Usage: ul li.product a.buy-now
Cons: Can be a bit complicated to understand.
Pros: Very adaptable and versatile. More “advanced” methods mean you will be able to write selectors that can match elements in just about any type of page layout.

User Journey Script Writing