Seeing things differently in Firefox
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been updating and viewing web stuff 4 writers with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7. It’s the default browser on my laptop so it contains all the bookmarks I use regularly. It’s got the del.icio.us plug-in installed. I thought everything was going okay.
Originally, the layout of this blog was based on a template by Anthony Baggett. I checked it on Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari when I first installed it. But since then, I’d been tinkering around with the code for the side-bars, adding the BlogRush widget, a search box, the sponsor ads and the icon for the Blogs by Women network. In Internet Explorer, everything still looked fine.
Web stuff 4 writers in Internet Explorer 7
Then, yesterday, I opened up the site in Firefox. Suddenly the blog which I had thought was relatively clean and easy to read, looked an absolute disaster. The BlogRush widget and WordPress icons had moved into a new third column. There were random bullet points against the right-hand margin. The second column had moved half-way down the page.
Web stuff 4 writers in Firefox 2.0.0.7
It was easy enough to fix this. A few tweaks to the code, and the layout of web stuff 4 writers now looks as it should in both Internet Explorer and Firefox.
The point is that not all browsers display your content in the same way.
Since the majority of web users still use Internet Explorer, it could be argued that you should focus your efforts on making your website display correctly in that browser. However, it could be that the majority of your website visitors are using Safari or Firefox. They might be browsing on a Mac or a mobile phone. Even viewing the same site in different versions of browsers, such as Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, may result in different versions of your site. I believe that these are things to take into account when designing/choosing a template for your website or blog.
What does my site look like in different browsers?
Obviously it’s impractical to have every version of every different browser installed on your computer. I’ve only got Internet Explorer and Firefox on this one. My husband has got Safari installed on his Mac, so I can check my site designs on that as well.
To see how a site looks on other browsers, I use Browsershots.org. This is an online service which allows you to type in your web address, select which browsers you want to see your site on, and then sit back and wait for screenshots to be produced.
How do I find out what browser my visitors are using?
If you’re using any sort of web statistics package, such as Google Analytics or WebTrends, then you should be able to get these figures easily enough. For example, over the last week, 54.55% of my visits came from people using Internet Explorer, 41.82 from people using FireFox; 1.82% each from people using Safari and Opera.
Alternatively, you could set up a poll on your blog or just ask your readers to leave a comment on a post. I’m going to do that here.
Your thoughts
Which browser do you use to view web stuff 4 writers (and other websites)? Do you have reasons for using one browser over another?
I’m still on Internet Explorer 6 but I do have Firefox installed, someplace. I’ve been around online for so many years that Internet Explorer just seemed to grow with me. It was my first browser and I’m so set in my habits that using anything else is irritating.
Thanks so much for the fantastic link! I’ve often wondered how I could check my web designs without installing all the various browsers and versions people may use. I ended up just settling with the majority vote but am always surprised when I see sites I’ve designed from other computers.
Another thing to remember is that different screen resolutions can provide vastly different web site appearances. This sort of thing you can usually check to some degree from your own computer by changing your screen properties.
interesting post (i found it using the 20-something feed reader by the way, hi!)
as a designer this is one of the most frusterating things about the internet and i absolutely despise it! thanks for that link though. next time i’m working on a website design i’ll have to check it out.
Thanks Michelle and Rebecca… There’s actually a couple of web services that offer screenshots of your site. Browsershots.org is the one I use most frequently, but if it doesn’t work for you, let me know, and I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with a couple of alternatives.