What is the primary purpose of visual testing?

The primary purpose of visual testing is to verify that the visual appearance of an application meets specified standards. This involves ensuring that all visual elements, such as layout, colors, fonts, and images, are displayed correctly and consistently according to design specifications. Visual testing helps catch discrepancies that could affect user experience, such as alignment issues, misrendered elements, and style problems. By focusing on the visual aspects of an application, teams can ensure that their product is not only functional but also presents information in a way that is visually appealing and easy for users to navigate.

In contrast, ensuring that the application is functional pertains to aspects of functional testing, while documenting user feedback on design relates to user acceptance testing. Assessing server response times under load is an element of performance testing, which evaluates how well the application performs under various conditions. These aspects, while important, do not directly contribute to the focus of visual testing itself.