Browser Compatibility - basic developer setup

HTML & CSS
1

One area I have neglected is browser compatibility.

Viewing a couple of my sites on a store machine, (believe it was windows 7/8 OS with IE8 browser, on a “touch and pinch screen” – which I am not a fan of, at all, I’ll have to say, an opponent – my sites nav bar had jumped far out of the wrapper, particularly on a wide page, the image rolloevers not working, the page height(s) chopped short. These were also on the wide screens as they all are now, with the sites viewed in development on a comparatively square-ratiod Phillips monitor. I need to do something.
This could be a contributing reason to the falling site traffic.

So there are three main variables - the OS, browser, and screen dimension (I’ve always liked XP Pro & still use).

1) Is IE7 browser now in the past? Is everyone testing for IE8/IE9 as far as windows is concerned? I won’t miss it! (with IE falling off greatly anyway)
2) Is there a service to remotely test out both by OS and browser? Realizing the OS part may be a real trick.
3) Any other options rather than install multiple OS’s on my local pc?

Another issue is that with windows7, as I understand it, may not support Office2000 and other software I need. Simple can’t go thru this kind of upgrade. But I may have some sites for others to do now so I have to somehow resolve this.

I stay away from javascript entirely, larely due to compatibility/search engine reasons.

2

There are lots of options for browser testing, some of which I listed here a while back.

You can get a long way by just resizing your browser window, but ultimately, nothing beats testing each device. Of course, that’s not really possible, so you need to find some basic principles that will stand you in good stead. Media queries are really helpful for small screens. Also, it’s worth looking into the “mobile first” approach to design, meaning that every device will get a simple, usable site, and more capable browsers will get more.

IE7 is pretty dead now, with less that 1% market share. Unless you know for sure that a lot of visitors (in some niche market) are using that browser, forget about it. I no longer bother with it.

That’s missing the point of JS. It’s very handy for enhancing page functionality. The only time its use can affect browser compatibility or search results is if you are using it incorrectly.

3

Thanks for that link, very helpful.

And what do you mean by ‘media queries’?

4

It’s a new feature of CSS3, where you can target different devices in CSS. Here’s an intro:

It’s a big part of the whole “responsive design” movement that’s going on right now.