Locate elements by id and name

Use the most basic and reliable locators in Selenium WebDriver.

Concept

In this lesson, you’ll practice using the two simplest and most common Selenium locators:

By.id("...")
By.name("...")

These are usually your first choice because:

They are easy to read.
Often map directly to how developers name fields.
Are faster and more stable than many complex locators.

By.id("...")

What it does

Finds the element whose id attribute exactly matches the value you pass.
Example: By.id("lname") → element with id="lname".

When to use it

When the element has a unique and stable id.
Especially good for Input fields (e.g. login, forms), Buttons, and important controls.

Best Practice

Prefer By.id over other strategies when possible. Avoid using IDs that look auto-generated or dynamic (e.g. input-123, react-xyz).

By.name("...")

What it does

Finds the element whose name attribute matches the value you pass.
Example: By.name("newsletter") → element with name="newsletter".

When to use it

When there is no good id, but the element has a meaningful name.
Very common in Contact forms, Login forms, Checkboxes and radio groups.

Note

Use By.name as your second choice after By.id. Watch out for multiple elements sharing the same name (e.g. radio buttons).

Interactive Practice

Contact Form (ID & Name demo)

Interact with the form directly to see how Selenium would locate these elements!

Java Code Example

LocatorDemo.java

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WebElement lastNameInput = driver.findElement(By.id("lname"));
lastNameInput.clear();
lastNameInput.sendKeys("Doe");

WebElement newsletterCheckbox = driver.findElement(By.name("newsletter"));
newsletterCheckbox.click();

driver.quit();

Code Breakdown

driver.findElement(By.id("lname")): Finds the Last name input element using its id="lname" and returns it as a WebElement.
lastNameInput.clear(): Clears any existing text in the last name field so you always start from a clean state.
lastNameInput.sendKeys("Doe"): Types the text "Doe" into the last name input, simulating real keyboard input.
driver.findElement(By.name("newsletter")): Finds the Newsletter checkbox by its name="newsletter" attribute and returns it as a WebElement.
newsletterCheckbox.click(): Clicks the checkbox, changing its state from unchecked to checked (or vice versa if already checked).
driver.quit(): Closes all browser windows opened by WebDriver and ends the session, freeing system resources.

Pro Tip

Start simple

Always try By.id first. If there’s no good id, fall back to By.name before jumping to more complex locators.

Check stability

Make sure the id or name doesn’t change on refresh or between environments (dev, test, prod). Stable attributes → stable tests.

Keep locators readable

Use locators that tell a story (By.id("lastName"), By.name("newsletter")) so your tests are easy to understand and maintain.

Concept

In this lesson, you’ll practice using the two simplest and most common Selenium locators:

By.id("...")

By.name("...")

These are usually your first choice because:

They are easy to read.

Often map directly to how developers name fields.

Are faster and more stable than many complex locators.

By.id("...")

What it does

Finds the element whose id attribute exactly matches the value you pass.
Example: By.id("lname") → element with id="lname".

When to use it

When the element has a unique and stable id.
Especially good for Input fields (e.g. login, forms), Buttons, and important controls.

Best Practice

Prefer By.id over other strategies when possible. Avoid using IDs that look auto-generated or dynamic (e.g. input-123, react-xyz).

By.name("...")

What it does

Finds the element whose name attribute matches the value you pass.
Example: By.name("newsletter") → element with name="newsletter".

When to use it

When there is no good id, but the element has a meaningful name.
Very common in Contact forms, Login forms, Checkboxes and radio groups.

Note

Use By.name as your second choice after By.id. Watch out for multiple elements sharing the same name (e.g. radio buttons).

Java Code Example

LocatorDemo.java

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WebElement lastNameInput = driver.findElement(By.id("lname"));
lastNameInput.clear();
lastNameInput.sendKeys("Doe");

WebElement newsletterCheckbox = driver.findElement(By.name("newsletter"));
newsletterCheckbox.click();

driver.quit();

Code Breakdown

driver.findElement(By.id("lname")): Finds the Last name input element using its id="lname" and returns it as a WebElement.
lastNameInput.clear(): Clears any existing text in the last name field so you always start from a clean state.
lastNameInput.sendKeys("Doe"): Types the text "Doe" into the last name input, simulating real keyboard input.
driver.findElement(By.name("newsletter")): Finds the Newsletter checkbox by its name="newsletter" attribute and returns it as a WebElement.
newsletterCheckbox.click(): Clicks the checkbox, changing its state from unchecked to checked (or vice versa if already checked).
driver.quit(): Closes all browser windows opened by WebDriver and ends the session, freeing system resources.

Pro Tip

Start simple

Always try By.id first. If there’s no good id, fall back to By.name before jumping to more complex locators.

Check stability

Make sure the id or name doesn’t change on refresh or between environments (dev, test, prod). Stable attributes → stable tests.

Keep locators readable

Use locators that tell a story (By.id("lastName"), By.name("newsletter")) so your tests are easy to understand and maintain.