The Importance of Cross Browser Compatibility in Web Design

By: Nahida Haque / 15 August 2018

Whether your visitors are using Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari (as well as other mobile or non-mobile browsers), they’ll need to be able to gain the same information and experience from your site. Your website won’t appear in exactly the same way across each one, but it’ll need to look just as impressive. Luckily, this doesn’t mean creating different versions of your website for each browser! Here are several ways in which your web designer can ensure that, no matter how people are accessing your website, they’ll have the same experience every time.

 

Checking Site Performance

It’s obviously not practical or feasible to download all of the different browsers to check how your website appears across all of them. Programs such as Adobe Browser Lab and Browser shots do this job instead, producing screenshots of the different ways in which the website will appear. This method instantly flags up any compatibility issues and offers the chance to see the site through visitors’ eyes.

 

Site Validation

Validating a website means running checks to ensure pages conform to the standards set by various organizations. If your website doesn’t match up to the norms required, then this can affect how your site will be seen by web browsers, as well as how it will perform in search engines. Most developers validate using the W3′s XHTML  Validator.

 

Mobile Compatibility

Nowadays, web browsers are not the only things to consider when thinking about website compatibility. Mobile technology increasingly means people will be checking websites on the go. To keep up with this trend, you’ll need to make sure your website is mobile compatible. When creating a website, developers will use conditional statements within the coding to ensure a site detects which browser is being used and adapts the content accordingly. This is a good way to ensure you’ll never have to worry about browser compatibility, so make sure you choose a web designer who offers this service as standard.

Cross-browser compatibility is vital if you want to make sure everybody can view your website in the same way. Don’t forget, you could be losing out on sales or inquiries if some visitors can’t access some or all of the features of your website. Any good web designer will offer this service, so make sure of this when making your choice and you’ll be on your way to a wider audience in no time.