Webmaster 101

The opportunity that internet provides allows for hundreds or even thousands of alternatives to do the same thing. Take for example the number of browsers there are.. every browser views a website a little differently as long as it is not based on the IE engine. The most popular browsers today by the usage statistics are:-

Browser % Of Users

Internet Explorer 6 68

Internet Explorer 5 6

Firefox 1 17.5

Firefox 1.5 1.5

Netscape 3

Opera 1.5

Other Browsers 2.5

The basics of cross browser compatibility issues have already been dealt with in previous blogs, this series of blogs shall deal with more complicated issues associated with cross browser website design implementations and usability.

At this point it is important to mention that it is not just the different browser engines that render the websites differently, even different operating systems, versions of operating systems and different Distros of Linux can make a difference in the way a website is displayed to you.

So what should a Web master/designer do?

A 100% compatibility with all popular web browsers is more than just impossible, the alternative is however not simple either. You have to make clever improvising for each browser for a commercial site that requires perfection, on an average website all you need to do is follow the W3C guidelines as all the browsers adhere to these guidelines and when in use allow for near similar reproduction of your code no matter what client you use.

Confirming can be a challenge if your site uses highly complicated design and interface, however to check your work you can always use the validator free of cost located at http://validator.w3.org

In the coming blogs I will discuss in detail the use of HTML editors.

Filed under: Browsers, Website Design