Browser compatibility?

[Susan]

I have FP 2003 and am learning about the Browser Compatibility tool. I have
a few simple websites and set the browser to both IE/Netscape and 4.0+. I
have received several lines that were flagged. Are there any tips somewhere
about recommendations on how to set this, what to change, etc.

What is the recommendation for settings for a simple website for local
community information. Are there any statistics as to what browsers are
commonly used now?

Thanks,
Weak in HTML but trying to learn!
Susan

 

[Chuck Davis]

-----Original Message-----
I have FP 2003 and am learning about the Browser Compatibility tool. I have
a few simple websites and set the browser to both IE/Netscape and 4.0+. I
have received several lines that were flagged. Are there any tips somewhere
about recommendations on how to set this, what to change, etc.

What is the recommendation for settings for a simple website for local
community information. Are there any statistics as to what browsers are
commonly used now?

Thanks,
Weak in HTML but trying to learn!
Susan



.

Browser stats:
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

 

[David Berry]

If you want to make sure that all users can see your site then you should
set it for the NS/IE browsers and then the options that can't be seen in
both browsers will be grayed out.

 

[Susan]

Thanks for the stats! It looks like Mozilla is more popular than Netscape.
How would you test compatibility with Mozilla?

 

[Murray]

Get it from http://www.mozilla.org.

Be aware that NO program is going to guarantee you browser compatability.
You can still use perfectly valid and compatable code in ways that throw
browsers for loops. The key is you. If you are wanting browser
compatability, then you have to study and learn HTML to know what you can
and cannot do....

 

[Jon Spivey]

Hi Susan,
The most common browser by a mile is IE6. The easiest way to build a web
site in FP is to set browser to custom and use all the features on the menu,
you'll provide a nice site for IE6 users in a short time and you won't need
much skill. The decision to be made is what do you want to do with users not
running IE6 - risk losing them because the site doesn't work or take time to
provide a site that is functional but doesn't look so nice.

I'd say the key question here is are you providing community information as
a free service for no gain or are you looking to generate revenue? If for no
gain, given that you don't know much HTML, I'd suggest leaving your browser
settings on version 4 browsers and build a plain and simple site to
accomodate the most possible users. It's probably not worth your time to
learn enough HTML to do the job better - your users are getting free useful
information and they will be happy with that.

If you want to generate revenue check your browser stats to see who's
actually visiting your sites. There's 2 kinds of users that don't run IE6
1/ Old browser users - they're either sat at home running a very old
computer (ie have no money so probably can't buy much) or using an office
computer that they can't change (probably student, local government employee
or low level corporate employee). Might be a profitable segment for low
value products - depends on your site. If you're selling expensive products
ignore these guys - if you see traffic from them they're dreamers who like
to look but won't buy.
2/ Sophisticated Users - They run macs, firefox, opera etc. These guys are
knowledgable up on technology and probably have money to spend. If you're
seeing this kind of traffic in any numbers they're worth supporting

Bottom line - there's no way to build a site that will be accessible to
absolutely everyone. You need to decide how much time to invest in
supporting non-IE6 users and what return you'll get for that time - more
revenue, better job prospects etc.

 

[Murray]

there's no way to build a site that will be accessible to absolutely

everyone.

I disagree.... It may not look the same to everyone, but it can be
accessable.

 

[Jon Spivey]

Fair point. I'm not sure

Let's say you take your wife to a fancy restaurant, you walk th

 

[Murray]

Uhh - huh? 8)

--
Murray

Fair point. I'm not sure

Let's say you take your wife to a fancy restaurant, you walk th

 

[Jon Spivey]

Gremlins got in somewhere This is what I posted.......

Fair point. I'm not sure how relevant accesibility is to commercial sites
though.

Let's say you take your wife to a fancy restaurant, you walk through the
door and probably judge the quality of the food by the restaurant decor.
Much the same with a web site - you judge the site by it's appearance. If a
user, through disability or sitting in an NN4 only office etc, gets the
"downlevel" version of your site they're not as likely to buy as the IE user
that sees the proper version because they won't have a favourable impression
of your site. That's why I often think accomodating each and every browser
is a waste of time. Often it's a case of appealling to your best potential
customer and ignoring the rest. Totally different for informational sites
though, there's no excuse for a site like google to not be accessible to
NN2, a cell phone a screen reader and everything in between. But then they
have a useful service and don't need design to sell themselves. Horses for
courses

 

[Murray]

Yep. Such is life....

--
Murray

Gremlins got in somewhere This is what I posted.......

Fair point. I'm not sure how relevant accesibility is to commercial sites
though.

Let's say you take your wife to a fancy restaurant, you walk through the
door and probably judge the quality of the food by the restaurant decor.
Much the same with a web site - you judge the site by it's appearance. If
a user, through disability or sitting in an NN4 only office etc, gets the
"downlevel" version of your site they're not as likely to buy as the IE
user that sees the proper version because they won't have a favourable
impression of your site. That's why I often think accomodating each and
every browser is a waste of time. Often it's a case of appealling to your
best potential customer and ignoring the rest. Totally different for
informational sites though, there's no excuse for a site like google to
not be accessible to NN2, a cell phone a screen reader and everything in
between. But then they have a useful service and don't need design to sell
themselves. Horses for courses