Question for web designers: Browser Compatibility: Where do YOU draw the line?

Draeger

Draeger

Draeger

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I've just about finished my own website for my web design business at long last.

It's been on the "back burner" for months as I've been far too busy with other individuals web sites.

But recent events meant I really needed to get it updated and finalised, so its almost done.

Anyway, here's a question for anyone in web design that has been bugging me for a while.

At what point do you draw the line when it comes to browser compatibility?

Do you really care that someone still running IE 5.5 or lower cant display your website at its full effect?.

I try and make mine display pretty much exactly the same within anything from IE 6.0 upwards as well as Firefox. Not always easy as a task, as I'm sure you will all agree, but a valid concern nonetheless. But how far "backwards compatible" do we go in this day and age?.

Its kinda strange though.

My newly built site displays fine in IE 6.0 upwards as well as FF, but I was at work today ( Fire Service ) and when I tried viewing my site and another recent one I've completed, the Flash animation "fading" images didn't appear. Just the placeholder with the "red x" within.

I'm wondering if its something to do with the set up of the brigades network PC's themselves. We are subject to various restrictions such as image displaying and downloading files. I could not download the Active-x to get the Flash to display on my site.

However, various other sites with Flash anim's contained within display fine on the work network PC's?. I know Flash has its own issues when used as part of a site's content, there are probably alternatives I should think about exploring and if anyone can suggest any, I'm all ears.

So two questions really. Why is my Flash not displaying but other Flash is and what do you think about the first question about how far back to go to ensure compatibility with certain older browsers?.

Thanks.
 
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I try to get things to look and work the same in IE6, IE7 and Firefox.

People still with IE5.5 and lower should not be using the Internet.
 
JamesU2005 said:
I try to get things to look and work the same in IE6, IE7 and Firefox.

People still with IE5.5 and lower should not be using the Internet.
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Same 'ere m8. :cool:

But I'm just wondering what the general opinion of folks are as far as IE 5.5 and backwards goes, I only do web design part time as a small business and I'm relatively new to it all ( been up and running for a year ).

Wondered what the guys who do this for a full time job had to say and indeed, what any web design company with a large staff had as any sort of "guidelines" as far as backward compatibility goes nowadays.
 
IE6 on Windows 2000 and XP
IE7 on Windows XP and Vista
Firefox 2 on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, OSX 10.4 and 10.5
Safari 2 on OSX 10.4
Safari 3 on OSX 10.5

That's for an e-commerce site where incompatibility costs money.
 
Depends what I'm paid to do. But all I check with for my own site, or when browsers aren't specified, are Firefox (latest), IE6, IE7 and recently Safari too.
 
You gotta check on different OSes too. We recently found a tiny difference in the way that IE6 works on W2K compared to XP - just a small CSS thing but it required using specific CSS for W2K compared to XP.
 
MikeTimbers said:
You gotta check on different OSes too. We recently found a tiny difference in the way that IE6 works on W2K compared to XP - just a small CSS thing but it required using specific CSS for W2K compared to XP.
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Good point, I had not even thought about that, OS wise, but I can understand it being a factor worth considering.

As far as Safari is concerned, again, never even considered it as I ( perhaps unfairly ) look upon it as a bit of a niche set up. But then again, its easy to forget not everyone uses Microsoft based systems.

So as far as MS are concerned, it appears from the feedback so far that anything older than IE 6.0 is not worth bothering about ensuring compatibility?.
 
IE6/7 + All other browsers. IE<6 I don't bother.

Oh, and you have a mistake in your title. This question is for web developers, not designers. :p
 
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I draw the line at IE6.

While developing I use FF and Safari, then tweak for IE7 and mainly for IE6:rolleyes:. I usually test on different screen resolutions too just to see what it might look like on a low resolution screen or laptop. I have never tested on older operating systems though.
 
We check IE7, FF, and IE6 and it must work on these. We also view our work on Mac FF.

IE6 has many incompatibilities and it either takes hacks (which we don't use) or re-work the div layout until it does work properly. In fact it has so many bugs I would say it's not compatible at all. What works in FF and IE7 sometimes comes out wrong in IE6.

You've got to cover all the big browsers, and Mac these days.
 
simisker said:
Heh :D

Hang on: you are kidding, right?
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I guess it depends where you draw the line. Personally I think it's a bit silly to call yourself a "web" designer if you can't write (x)html / css by hand - if you just draw pictures then the "web" part is immaterial.

I'd say as soon as you start delving into scripting languages, then that's developer territory.
 
I'd say designers just draw the pictures and don't necessarily need to have any technicaly knowledge. The web designer here doesn't know any html at all.
 
Designers design, developers develop. Some people do both, but this question is firmly a question for developers. The design has already been er.. designed, you are now developing your pages to look the same in all (or not all, as the case may be) browsers.

Yes, I'm a pedant.
 
I design/develop for IE5.5 onwards, Firefox and Opera

Not interested in Macs or *nix web browsers (Firefox under linux renders differently to firefox on Windows)
 
Dj_Jestar said:
IE6/7 + All other browsers. IE<6 I don't bother.
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Same here.

Oh and don't use flash - I hate flash for many reasons:
1. if your site uses flash and they don't have it installed the site brakes
2. SEO reasons
3. server load
4.it became passée long, long ago
5.many of the things people use flash for there really is no need at all
6. accessibility concerns (site impairments etc)
 
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