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Cross browser compatibility
Cross browser compatibility
General
- What is cross-browser compatibility?
- What are the most commonly used
browsers?
- How can I be sure my website is
cross-browser compatible?
- Are your templates cross-browser
compatible?
- Is there ever a time when I don't
have to worry about cross-browser compatibility?
Applications to Avoid
- Why does FrontPage put stuff in
their program that won't work in Netscape and some other
browsers?
- What are some things to avoid using
while designing my Internet site?
- Are there compatibility issues associated
with Dreamweaver?
Other HTML Issues
- How can I get rid of that space,
about 10 pixels, around the edges of my web page?
- My site looks good in IE but doesn't
show up or looks bad in Netscape and I didn't use any
of those bad things listed above. Why is Netscape such
a pain?
Tables and Borders
- Please
see our Table FAQs page for cross-browser compatibility
issues and other table and border facts.
General
What is cross-browser compatibility?
Browsers read code differently.
In fact, some browsers cannot read certain code at all.
Internet viewers use a variety of browsers. It is a
good idea to design your website so the vast majority
of viewers can get the full benefit of your site. The
best website designs are compatible with the most popular
browsers, thus being cross-browser compatible.
What are the most commonly used browsers?
Internet Explorer
(IE) is the most widely used browser. Next in popularity
is Firefox.
One that is gaining in use is Opera. Each of these
browsers have different versions which also read code
differently.
How can I be sure my website is cross-browser compatible?
Test, test, test
in browsers. I would recommend having at least three
browsers downloaded
onto your computer: Internet Explorer, Firefox and
Opera. The browsers listed cost nothing to download.
The more testing you do of your site while it is being
constructed, the more sure you can be of its appearance
to your audience. Frequent testing also reveals problems
early in the design process, making them easier to
pinpoint.
Are your templates cross-browser compatible?
Yes.
Is there ever a time when I don't have to worry about
cross-browser compatibility?
If you are designing an Intranet and everyone who accesses
it will be using the same browser, you do not need to
be concerned with the issue.
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Applications to Avoid
Why does FrontPage put stuff in their program that won't
work in Netscape and some other browsers?
FrontPage is a Microsoft product
as is Internet Explorer (IE). As far as I know, IE supports
all FrontPage applications. In the case of an Intranet,
where all site viewers are using IE, the matter of cross-browser
compatibility is not an issue. However, in the case
of an Internet website, a variety of browsers are used
and restraint should be encouraged in using the applications
where there are compatibility problems.
What are some things to avoid using while designing
my Internet site?
Absolute Positioning--Not all browsers can read
absolute positioning. When it is used, the content on
web pages can become jumbled or even overlap in some
browsers. At this point in time, using tables to control
the layout of web pages is our only alternative.
FrontPage Marquee--FrontPage uses the marquee
HTML tag which can only be read by IE. The alternative
is to use a JavaScript scroller. Many free JavaScripts
are available online. Be sure to check browser compatibility
of the script. If a script is compatible with Netscape
6x, it will usually be noted.
FrontPage Background Sound--While background
sound is very much frowned upon for business sites,
it is acceptable for personal or entertainment sites.
It is also wise to give your viewers the option of turning
sounds on and off. FrontPage uses the bgsound HTML tag
which is not cross-browser compatible. It also does
not provide a control panel for the site visitor. The
alternative is to embed the sound using the following
code, preferably near the top of the web page where
you wish the control panel to appear.
<embed src="filename.wav" width="51"
height="20" controls="smallconsole"
autostart="false" loop="false">
Replace filename.wav with the name of your sound file.
Change autostart to true if you wish sound to start
upon your page's loading; and loop to true if you wish
the sound to repeat.
FrontPage Page Transitions--These do not work
in Netscape and are slow and distracting in IE.
FrontPage Style Sheets (CSS)--FrontPage writes
a version of CSS that is not cross-browser compatible.
Netscape can read most but not all CSS that manipulates
text. It is best to stay away from CSS for positioning.
FrontPage DHTML--This meets with mixed results.
It is best to use DHTML or JavaScript that has been
tested and proven to be cross-browser compatible.
A word about FrontPage hover buttons--Hover
buttons are not to be confused with the hover attribute
in CSS. The CSS hover attribute allows a text to change
color or a link to become underlined or not upon a cursor
moving over text. This is compatible in IE and Netscape
6+.
FrontPage hover buttons are graphics "powered"
by Java (totally different than JavaScript). Being Java,
they require large amounts of available RAM on a site
visitor's computer in order to load, and they are slow
loading. They sometimes load well and sometimes do not
load at all, leaving a solid colored rectangle in their
place. Search engines cannot follow their links, some
firewalls block them, and browser translators for the
visually challenged cannot read them. They have even
been known to crash browsers, both IE and Netscape.
The best alternative is to use plain text links or
proven JavaScript or DHTML scripts/menus for navigation
links..
Are there compatibility issues associated with Dreamweaver?
Yes. Read the above issues to get a general idea of
what to avoid inserting manually into Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver's
tempter to noncross-browser compatibility is layers.
Layers can be used but they need to be converted to
tables. At this time, the only cross-browser compatible
method of controlling website positioning is by using
tables.
Other HTML Issues
How can I get rid of that space, about 10 pixels, around
the edges of my web page?
In FrontPage, be sure the following is inserted in the
HTML body tag: <body leftmargin="0" topmargin="0"
rightmargin="0" marginwidth="0"
marginheight="0"> There may also be other
attrubutes in the body tag such as text, background,
and link colors, among other things.
In Dreamweaver go to Modify > Page Properties. Make
sure Left Margin, Top Margin, Margin Width, and Margin
Height are set to zero.
My site looks good in IE but doesn't show up or looks
bad in Netscape and I didn't use any of those bad things
listed above. Why is Netscape such a pain?
IE is very forgiving of incorrect HTML code. Netscape
cannot read incorrect code. If you are experiencing
a problem in Netscape, check your code for missing tags,
closing tags, or parts of tags.
Occasionally, in FrontPage, the closing body tag, </body>,
and closing HTML tag, </html>, will disappear,
preventing the web page from displaying in Netscape.
They are usually the last items in the HTML View of
a web page. Typing them in should correct the problem.
However, every now and then a page will become corrupt
and those tags will not stay in place. Simply open a
new page, move the content to the new page, and save
using the offending page's file name.
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