Atlas › 13 Browser Automation with Playwright › From Selenium to Playwright☰ Read as one page
From Selenium to Playwright
4.1OverviewBrowser automation has gone through three distinct eras. Understanding how we got here — and why the industry shifted — helps you make…4.2The Three Eras of Browser AutomationSelenium defined the space. It introduced the WebDriver protocol — a W3C standard where test code sends HTTP+JSON commands to a driver…4.3Architecture ComparisonIn Selenium, a simple "find element and click" requires two HTTP requests to the driver. A test with 100 interactions makes 200+ HTTP…4.4Market ShiftThe 2024–2025 developer surveys show Playwright overtaking Selenium in new project adoption:4.5When to Use WhatFor most teams starting today, Playwright is the right choice. It is faster, more reliable, and has better developer experience. But…4.6Key Takeaways- Selenium pioneered browser automation with the WebDriver protocol (HTTP+JSON round-trips) - Playwright uses persistent WebSocket…