There are many ways to view your website. If you are using a PC for example, you could be using one of the versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome (these are the three most popular).
Users of an Apple Mac might be using Safari or Opera.
So, straight away we have five browsers to cater for. In addition, there are many variations of screen resolution, mobile technology, screen readers, etc...
As you can see, creating a website has to cater for many browsers and screen resolutions. Unfortunately, many designers tend to develop for one browser (usually Internet Explorer) and one screen resolution (usually their own!)
Cross Browser Compatibility is the art of ensuring that your website displays in all of these browsers in a similar way. It's not easy though considering that IE6, IE7, IE8 & IE9 all display pages in very different ways!
Not everyone uses the same browser. Similar to how everyone is running on a different operating system, you can’t expect all people to be using the same web browsing tool. There is also the fluctuating trend for most popular browsers.
At the time of writing, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera make up most of the market share. In 2012, Internet Explorer dominated the market with nearly 40% usage. In March 2014, Internet Explorer has dropped to 22%, and Google Chrome has a massive 44% market share.
When there are so many different options out there, each interpreting websites slightly differently, how do you ensure that your web design will hold up in each of them?
It is important to ensure that your web designer or developer understands the concepts, and tests across all browsers.
