In Selenium WebDriver, both findElement() and findElements() are used to locate elements on a web page, but they have distinct behaviors and use cases.

1. findElement()

The findElement() method is used to find a single web element that matches the specified locator.

Syntax:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.locator("value"));

Key Points:

  • Returns the first matching element on the page.
  • If the element is not found, it throws a NoSuchElementException.
  • Used when you expect only one unique element to be present.

Example:

WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.id("loginBtn"));
loginButton.click();

If there are multiple elements matching the locator, only the first one will be returned.

2. findElements()

The findElements() method is used to find multiple elements matching a locator.

Syntax:

List<WebElement> elements = driver.findElements(By.locator("value"));

Key Points:

  • Returns a List containing all matching elements.
  • If no matching elements are found, it returns an empty list instead of throwing an exception.
  • Used when multiple elements might be present, such as a list of links, buttons, or table rows.

Example:

List<WebElement> links = driver.findElements(By.tagName("a"));
System.out.println("Total links: " + links.size());

If there are no <a> elements on the page, it will return an empty list (size = 0).

3. Difference Between findElement() and findElements()

Feature findElement() findElements()
Return Type Single WebElement List<WebElement> (multiple elements)
When No Match? Throws NoSuchElementException Returns an empty list (size = 0)
Use Case When only one element is expected When multiple elements might be present

4. Handling NoSuchElementException in findElement()

Since findElement() throws an exception if the element is not found, you should handle it using a try-catch block:

try {
    WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("nonExistingElement"));
    element.click();
} catch (NoSuchElementException e) {
    System.out.println("Element not found!");
}

5. Real-World Example: Navigating Through a List of Elements

If you want to click on a specific link from a list, findElements() is useful:

List<WebElement> menuItems = driver.findElements(By.cssSelector(".menu-item"));
for (WebElement item : menuItems) {
    if (item.getText().equals("Contact Us")) {
        item.click();
        break;
    }
}

This ensures we select the right link dynamically.

6. When to Use Which?

Scenario Method to Use
Click on a single button/link findElement()
Get the first matching element findElement()
Count the number of elements findElements().size()
Retrieve all links in a section findElements()
Verify if an element exists findElements().isEmpty()

Conclusion

  • Use findElement() when you are sure that only one element exists.
  • Use findElements() when you need to find multiple elements or avoid exceptions.