With the rapid growth of internet, there is a parallel growth in the number of Browsers. So, this article explains the importance of web browser compatibility and why you should get your website made compatible with all major web browsers.
Browsers As the internet was created to unite the world into one inter connecting community, the use of so many different browsers that view Web pages in different ways makes it harder for a Web designer to create a Web site and it can stop users seeing a Web page in the same way. When designing a Web site, the designer must test their pages in different browsers to check the outcome of that page. With so many browsers available, it is important to consider which browsers to test for and how many past browser versions need to be catered for within the designs. As technology has advanced, the situation has improved to that of a few years ago but the problem has not been completely resolved. You can now be confident that at least 99% of users have browsers that support nearly all of HTML 4. However, there are still inconsistencies in the way Cascading Style Sheets are implemented and older browser versions pre-dating the current standards take a long time to fade away entirely. A Web site designer must now also consider the mobile user; phones, PDAs and other handheld media devices that have access to the internet. The browser that these devices use will be a variant of a standard browser but the user will view the pages on a much smaller screen. A mobile browser, also called a micro browser, mini browser or wireless internet browser (WIB) are optimised so as to display Web content most effectively for small screens on portable devices. Mobile browser software must also be small and efficient to accommodate the low memory capacity and low-bandwidth of wireless handheld devices. Typically, they were stripped-down Web browsers but as of 2006 some mobile browsers can handle latest technologies such as CSS 2.1, JavaScript and Ajax. Jennifer Niederst Robbins (2006) says;
Opera can be downloaded for free - in the past you had to pay for the ad-free version, but with the release of the latest version all that has changed. Another plus: no security issues have yet to be associated with the browser, so it's your best bet for surfing safely, although compatibility issues may sometimes hamper your ability to view particular websites.
Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari are among the most popular browsers. They cover about 98% of market share. Even within them, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer cover nearly 92% of the browser market. So, it is very important that your website must be fully compatible and displays properly at least in these web browsers. Though all the browsers follow web standards set by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), certain HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags, properties and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) properties may not be supported properly by all the web browsers. This is the case where your web designer should think on browser compatibility before writing the code for the website.
It is evident that not all internet users are using the same browser and also there is possibility of them using different versions of different browsers. So, if your designer has not taken care of browser compatibility, this may result in different interpretation of your website as all the browsers and their different versions may not support the HTML, PHP and CSS properties used in your web site. And it may directly affect your business as it would mean customers would trust your website less as they cannot view it properly. For example, let us assume that you have an online store and it is not compatible with Google Chrome but the customer uses Google Chrome. In such a scenario, he might either not be able to shop at all if the shopping cart is not working properly or he might not trust your website well enough to purchase the product from your website. This would mean direct loss in business for you. This is why browser compatibility is an important factor to keep in mind when you design your website or get it created from someone else.
Web Application Security When creating any Web application such as an e-commerce Web site, security must be on the designers mind at all times. A design flaw in the application could cause a hacker to easily access the Web server through cross site scripting on the Web site. The Web server is a common target for hackers as it is a very powerful machine with a large amount of bandwidth and also allows anonymous users to access it. The Web wasn't designed to be secure, nor was it designed to run applications or for businesses selling over a network. It was designed to be static and for users to gather information. As the Web applications become more powerful with what they are able to do, the security risks become greater for a potential attacker. As code is intermitted with data such as Javascript embedded in HTML, hackers use a malicious piece of code that gets mistaken for part of the Web site code which then gives a hacker more permission than they should be allowed, enabling them to alter securely protected data.
Safari For all you Apple users out there, Safari is your best bet for an alternative web browser. If you own a Mac, you probably already know about Safari, as it came bundled with Mac OS X, but it's worth mentioning as an alternative to Internet Explorer simply because it is another option that works well for most web users. Safari possesses all the usual browser features, such as bookmarks, but it also offers features people have come to expect from the other popular alternative web browsers currently on the market. The browser offers tabbed browsing and an integrated Google search box, similar to Firefox, and an automatic pop-up blocker. Again, like its competitors, Safari also offers a faster browsing experience for the keen Internet junkie. Many Mac users prefer Safari to Internet Explorer for Mac for the same reasons more people have been flocking to Opera and Firefox. Overall, it makes the whole Internet experience faster, and the browser is very easy to use.
Browsers As the internet was created to unite the world into one inter connecting community, the use of so many different browsers that view Web pages in different ways makes it harder for a Web designer to create a Web site and it can stop users seeing a Web page in the same way. When designing a Web site, the designer must test their pages in different browsers to check the outcome of that page. With so many browsers available, it is important to consider which browsers to test for and how many past browser versions need to be catered for within the designs. As technology has advanced, the situation has improved to that of a few years ago but the problem has not been completely resolved. You can now be confident that at least 99% of users have browsers that support nearly all of HTML 4. However, there are still inconsistencies in the way Cascading Style Sheets are implemented and older browser versions pre-dating the current standards take a long time to fade away entirely. A Web site designer must now also consider the mobile user; phones, PDAs and other handheld media devices that have access to the internet. The browser that these devices use will be a variant of a standard browser but the user will view the pages on a much smaller screen. A mobile browser, also called a micro browser, mini browser or wireless internet browser (WIB) are optimised so as to display Web content most effectively for small screens on portable devices. Mobile browser software must also be small and efficient to accommodate the low memory capacity and low-bandwidth of wireless handheld devices. Typically, they were stripped-down Web browsers but as of 2006 some mobile browsers can handle latest technologies such as CSS 2.1, JavaScript and Ajax. Jennifer Niederst Robbins (2006) says;
Opera can be downloaded for free - in the past you had to pay for the ad-free version, but with the release of the latest version all that has changed. Another plus: no security issues have yet to be associated with the browser, so it's your best bet for surfing safely, although compatibility issues may sometimes hamper your ability to view particular websites.
Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari are among the most popular browsers. They cover about 98% of market share. Even within them, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer cover nearly 92% of the browser market. So, it is very important that your website must be fully compatible and displays properly at least in these web browsers. Though all the browsers follow web standards set by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), certain HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags, properties and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) properties may not be supported properly by all the web browsers. This is the case where your web designer should think on browser compatibility before writing the code for the website.
It is evident that not all internet users are using the same browser and also there is possibility of them using different versions of different browsers. So, if your designer has not taken care of browser compatibility, this may result in different interpretation of your website as all the browsers and their different versions may not support the HTML, PHP and CSS properties used in your web site. And it may directly affect your business as it would mean customers would trust your website less as they cannot view it properly. For example, let us assume that you have an online store and it is not compatible with Google Chrome but the customer uses Google Chrome. In such a scenario, he might either not be able to shop at all if the shopping cart is not working properly or he might not trust your website well enough to purchase the product from your website. This would mean direct loss in business for you. This is why browser compatibility is an important factor to keep in mind when you design your website or get it created from someone else.
Web Application Security When creating any Web application such as an e-commerce Web site, security must be on the designers mind at all times. A design flaw in the application could cause a hacker to easily access the Web server through cross site scripting on the Web site. The Web server is a common target for hackers as it is a very powerful machine with a large amount of bandwidth and also allows anonymous users to access it. The Web wasn't designed to be secure, nor was it designed to run applications or for businesses selling over a network. It was designed to be static and for users to gather information. As the Web applications become more powerful with what they are able to do, the security risks become greater for a potential attacker. As code is intermitted with data such as Javascript embedded in HTML, hackers use a malicious piece of code that gets mistaken for part of the Web site code which then gives a hacker more permission than they should be allowed, enabling them to alter securely protected data.
Safari For all you Apple users out there, Safari is your best bet for an alternative web browser. If you own a Mac, you probably already know about Safari, as it came bundled with Mac OS X, but it's worth mentioning as an alternative to Internet Explorer simply because it is another option that works well for most web users. Safari possesses all the usual browser features, such as bookmarks, but it also offers features people have come to expect from the other popular alternative web browsers currently on the market. The browser offers tabbed browsing and an integrated Google search box, similar to Firefox, and an automatic pop-up blocker. Again, like its competitors, Safari also offers a faster browsing experience for the keen Internet junkie. Many Mac users prefer Safari to Internet Explorer for Mac for the same reasons more people have been flocking to Opera and Firefox. Overall, it makes the whole Internet experience faster, and the browser is very easy to use.
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