Website Design Resources - Designing for Multiple Browsers

Web Site Design Resources: Tips on the basic principles of good website design.

Multiple Browser Compatibility

Browser Proliferation

Multiple browsers are available on the market today, and most - if not all - are free of charge to download and install. Internet Explorer has consistently reigned as the most popular internet browser, but several other browsers are quickly gaining popularity. The use of nongraphical and other mobile browsers is getting more and more common as people access web sites from mobile phones and portable devices.

Browser Compatibility

When designing a good web site, it is important to make sure that your pages are viewable to users of all the major internet browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. Unfortunately, all the browsers read, interpret and display code differently.

A common oversight web designers make is forgetting to check the browser compatibility of their web sites. A designer may create an entire web site a certain way, only to discover it looks completely different in another browser.

browser compatibility testing

Fortunately, there are a few browser compatibility testing strategies that can be implemented periodically to avoid browser compatibility issues.

One option is to download and install multiple browsers on the computer where you do your web designing. At periodic milestones in your web design process, simply preview your work in all three browsers to ensure proper display of your content.

A very useful tool for browser compatibility testing is located at www.anybrowser.com and can be used to ensure compatibility of your web site across multiple browsers. Other tools available on the web site allow you to eliminate code that does not display properly in certain browsers.

Be sure to check the browser compatibility of your web site with periodic testing to ensure that each and every visitor to your web site has a positive, engaging experience.