Web Designing For Multiple Browsers

Think about a situation where you are unable to view your website in a browser after all the work had been done on it. What about the efforts and creativity of the web designer who have put his best efforts to make your site beautiful and appealing to the public so that it will attract more traffic and thus more revenues? Feeling devastated ? Don't be. Plan effectively so that your efforts and money shouldn't be like a painting done on water.

During the design phase of the website, be sure to check your new design layout for browser compatibility. A web browser is the software that retrieves and presents the information resources in the web documents. It depicts the website which is creatively and appealingly designed by the web designer. Now- a-days, there are a lot many browsers which are leading like Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Google chrome etc.

Your coding might be according to W3C compliance standards but still if your design is not cross-browser compatible, then it poses a serious technical issue. The emergence and development of new browsers have made the process quite complex. Internet users who are avid experimenters are likely to open your site in any of the latest browsers. So, ensuring browser compatibility is the primary responsibility of the web designer.

Should you design for Different browsers?

No, It is not necessary to design for all the available browsers in the market which is waste of time and money. Following the prescribed standards will ensure cross-browser compatibility, not only for the existing browsers but also for the future ones. But in some special cases, you may need to code the website and design it in such a manner that it is compatible with only certain browsers. Like for example, some highly confidential data of military agencies of some countries will be compatible with special browsers only. This is done basically for security reasons.

Test your site for multiple browsers

Cross browser compatibility means the website will look and feel the same and provide all the inherent functionality, whether opened in all leading browsers. Testing a huge website for browser compatibility is a tedious process unless there are several machines to do the testing. Now, there are so many automates tools and soft wares available which compare the design for compatibility with browsers.

Advantages of cross-browser compatibility:

Uniformity:
The design of the site may have graphical elements and informational content. The website will be seen the same when opened in all browsers if it is supported by multiple browsers. This provides uniformity in the website on a universal basis.

Attracts and retains relevant traffic:
It is very true that net savvy audience are very specific about accuracy and speed in the matter of website loading in browsers. Fast loading sites which provides good degree of informational data helps to attract and retain relevant traffic to your site.

Easy site maintenance:
After setting up a website, the next major task is website maintenance. A cross browser compatible website eases the process of site maintenance.

Minimize data loss:
If the website is not multi browser compatible, then there are increased chances of data loss in various transactions involved which deter the potential clients from engaging in serious business relations.

Ethan Dao is the managing partner of a web design company NY, MNMLIT. The company excels in delivering high quality web design and development solutions for global clients in a cost effective manner.

Author: Ethan Dao / Posted: 30-09-2011