Browser Compatibility-Focused Web Design

One of the most essential features of a successful website is browser compatibility.  However, it is also one of the most overlooked areas during the website design and development process.  Browser compatible website designs make sure that your website renders well on most of the popular browsers and is accessible by a large number of audiences.

When users want to open a web page, they specify a URL to the server through the browser.  Your audiences may be using a number of web browsers like the Firefox, IE, and Opera Safari etc. that connects the servers through the internet gateway.  The request is send to the modem through IP number of the users' computer.  The modem subsequently sends the request to ISP's IP number and then connects it to the DNS.  When the web page is connected, ISP sends the contents of that web page to the requesting computer.  All the information’s comes in the form of HTML and it further converts into normal text by the browsers.  This is the reason why HTML refers to as client side scripting language.

The problem of browser incompatibility arises because different browsers read HTML differently.  In addition, the website would need to cater to all of them if it needs to display the design well.  Here are some tips to guide you as you make your web design:

1.            Follow W3C Standards

One of the prime factors that determine browser compatibility of a website is the complexity of its design.  Simple web designs made compatible with multiple browsers by sticking to certain web conventions like W3C validation and adhering to the standard resolution of 1024 pixels X 768 pixels during the design & development process.  However, with complex designs entails more changes to consider.  Use validating tools to check the HTML coding and W3C criteria of your website.

2.            Analyze the Browser Habits of your Target Audience

It is important to make your website compliant with the popular browsers.  In addition, to figure out what browsers you need to focus on, it is important to identify your target audience and anticipate their browsing habit.  For example, if your website largely caters to the Asian population, users would prefer using IE or Firefox.  Nearly 60% of the internet users globally use IE followed by about 35% (and increasing) who uses Firefox.  The rest use browsers like Safari, Opera and so on.  Moreover, also an increasing audience segment use mobile devices to access the internet and browse websites.

3.            Check the CSS

CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are a popular design tool used by web programmers.  CSS classes apply to different HTML components.  However, a single CSS class can behave differently in different browsers.  Therefore, it is important to develop the CSS in such a way that the HTML output looks the same in different browsers.

4.            Maintain a Simple Structure

A simple website structure allows you to deal with several incompatibility issues and make the website compliant across multiple browsers.

Browser incompatibility with multiple browsers generally does not affect the website functionality.  However, it has an impact on the design and layout of the website viewed in different browsers and gadget size screen.  In addition, this further influences how visitors view your website and what impression they get of the same.  If you design your website for IE 7, it would display perfectly for all the users using IE 7 but for those people who use Firefox, it may display differently.  A simple solution follows the idea that no single website design fits all browsers profile, thus, you have to make different sizes and format of your web design in order not to affect the outlook and deter the interest of your client in the process.