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When writing tests, prioritize semantic and accessibility-based selectors over data attributes or generic selectors. Use accessible names, roles, and text content to select elements, as these selectors validate both functionality and accessibility simultaneously.

Preferred approach:

// Good - validates both functionality and accessibility
cy.contains('button', 'Choose Editor').click()
cy.findByRole('button', { name: 'Save Settings' }).click()

// Acceptable when semantic selectors aren't sufficient
cy.get('[data-cy="choose-editor"]').click()

// Avoid - fragile and doesn't validate accessibility
cy.get('.btn-primary').click()
cy.get('button').first().click()

Key benefits:

• Tests fail when accessibility is broken (missing labels, incorrect roles)
• More resilient to styling changes that don’t affect functionality
• Self-documenting - tests show expected user-facing behavior
• Encourages better accessibility practices in the codebase

When to use data selectors:

• Complex components where semantic selection is ambiguous
• Temporary testing during rapid prototyping (but update later)
• Cases where multiple elements share the same accessible name

Ensure your tests validate meaningful behavior rather than just element presence. A test that only checks if a component renders without validating its actual functionality provides limited value and may give false confidence.