Website Browser Compatibility
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 5:37PM | Print Article Anyone that has ever created a website will know that getting it to look the same across different browsers can be more of an art then a science. Browsers that follow the standards like Firefox, Chrome and Safari make things easier, however at least 60% of the world still use a version of Internet Explorer and with each different version comes a new set of challenges. For example Internet Explorer 6 which is still the default browser supplied with Windows XP, will render a page very differently to Internet Explorer 8, which is the new default supplied with Windows 7.
The most comprehensive way to ensure your website is compatible with all of these browsers is to complete detailed testing with each of them. Unfortunately this involves having multiple platforms available, which can be made easier with virtual machines, but however is still a pain.
The simpler way to complete your testing is using a tool to emulate the different browsers. This is where Adobe BrowserLab comes into play.
BrowserLab is a free* web application that emulates your website in different browsers. This includes Firefox 2 (OS X and Win), Firefox 3 (OS X and Win), IE 6, IE 7, IE 8, Safari 3 and Safari 4. The only two major browsers missing from that list are Chrome and Opera, however Chrome is built on webkit, which is the same framework as Safari and therefore you can be fairly confident that it will display correctly.
The image below shows BrowserLab's split viewing which allows you to compare two browsers side by side.
Another cool feature shown in the image below is "Onion Skin View". Apart from showing you what your website looks like when drunk it also overlays two outputs over each other, which with the use of the weighting slider, allows you to easily identify any differences.
*At the moment BrowserLab is still in beta. During this time you can use the service for free, however once it goes live there will be a nominal charge for the service. That's just another reason to head over to Adobe BrowserLab today and try it out why you still can.