Browsers.
So you have designed your site, and it looks great in your browser, on your system, at your screen resolution.
- What does it look like on other systems?
- How about different browsers?
- Different versions of the same browser?
- What will the site look like at low and high resolution?
- Will the site be usable without images?
Examples of browsers
The system on which this page was written has the following browsers installed:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
- Netscape 6.2
- Mozilla 1.0
- Opera 6.0
- Lynx
While most people seem to use version 5, 5.5 or 6 of the first of the browsers mentioned above, mostly on Windows machines, not everybody does.
While browser upgrades are generally free these days, not everybody uses the latest version. When asked why they haven't upgraded, answers differ, but the most common ones are listed here:
- I didn't know there were newer browsers (you do now)
- I am happy with my current browser (you might be happier with the new version)
- Why bother? My browser still works (but does it work well on sites that are standards compliant?)
- My computer can't run a newer version (are you sure? Our 486 runs Windows 95 with MSIE 5)
- I have no idea how to install new software (it's not that hard - perhaps a friend can help you?).
- I can't afford the download (Try Opera 6, or buy a computer magazine with a CD full of software)
In some cases the differences will be minor, yet in other cases what looks good in Netscape 6.2, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (MSIE6), Mozilla 1 and Opera 6 can look dreadful in Netscape Navigator (or Comminicator) 4 and older versions of the other browsers.
Then there is a matter of the "same" browser on different operating systems. What works in IE5 on a Windows PC may not work on the Mac. What looks good in Netscape Navigator on the PC may not look good on the Linux version.
Should we test in all browsers?
| Browser | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|
| View | MSIE 4.0 | Usable |
| View | MSIE 5.5 | Fine |
| View | MSIE 6.0 | Fine |
| View | NN 4.77 | Usable - Menu at bottom of page |
| View | Netscape 6.2 | Fine |
| View | Mozilla 1.0 | Fine |
| View | Opera 5.11 | Close enough |
| View | Opera 6 | Close enough |
| View | Lynx 2.8.3 | Usable - Menu is at bottom of page |
Ideally, you should. However, because there are so many variations possible, this is not practical.
Besides, if you write in Valid HTML, are careful about colour selections and test it in two versions of the major browsers, you can be reasonably sure that the site will at least display in all browsers.
No, it will not always look the same, but that is unavoidable.
We test sites in the browsers mentioned above and a few other versions. We are not overly concerned about very old browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer 4 and Netscape Navigator 4) but do check to see if the site is at least usable in those browsers.
Don't rely on javascript for critical elements of the website and split your style sheets into two files, one of which is only read by standards compliant browsers.
The links below lead to screen shots (all at 800x600 for comparison purposes) of the main (home) page. Browsers with javascript enabled should display them in a separate window with a button to close it. Without javascript, the images will be displayed in your main browser window.
