The asserts I commonly use are:
Assert that:
- An element is present based on a CSS identifier, ideally ID
- An element is present based on other selectors
- When a user choose an option that should present a form, a form element is present
- A form element is correctly not present (e.g. not redisplayed due to error)
- The correct markup is present after an action is performed
- An error form has the correct markup and information for validations
- When I submit a form, application pages then list the new item as added
- When I delete content as a user, the content no longer shows on the relevant pages
Avoid or be conservative in these assertions because they are brittle, likely to break and require maintenance over time:
- specific text for large blocks of text or text that is likely to have wording changed
- specific text in one language when the site serves multiple languages
- identifiers such as css class which may not be or remain unique
- identifiers that are overly specific and include page layout