Web Browsers - How Visitors See Your Site
Web browsers frame your site
Want a real shock? Today, instead of using your regular web browser to surf the internet, try another one. If you use Internet Explorer, try Netscape instead or Firefox or Opera. And if you're really bold and you usually use a PC, find a Mac and use Safari. Web sites can look very different, sometimes they don't even work.
Web browsers read the code of your page in different ways, and if you are building a web site you have to know how your web site will appear on all of the browsers visitors might use. You must have more than one web browser installed on your computer so you can test your page in the other browsers before publishing to the net.
What web browsers are out there?
The most widely used browser today is Internet Explorer but there is some very strong competition. With all of the security problems Explorer has had, many users are downloading and installing other browsers just to be a bit safer.
A very strong contender right now is Mozilla Firefox, growing very fast and having some very nice features. Netscape Navigator has always been strong but it seems to be fading a bit. Opera, a less well know web browser has a loyal following and gets rave reviews. The Mac community has Safari which looks really nice, too. All work well, all work differently and your web site needs to work well in each of them.
Update: Firefox is rapidly gaining market share. If you design web pages you must be sure to check out how they look in Firefox, many of your visitors will be using it. Of course, you should be using it yourself, too. It's a great browser.
Besides the different web browsers, there are many different versions of each and some people install a browser once and never touch it afterwards which creates a problem of its own. Old browsers do not recognize many recent developments such as style sheets.
Be kind to your visitors
Be sure you look out for all of your visitors, not just the ones using your own favorite web browser. They will appreciate it and be much more likely to come back again. Most users will not realize your web site works in every browser but theirs, they will assume your web site does not work. So remember, test your site before you publish.
Recommended Web Browser
Mozilla Firefox - An excellent browser, conforms to web standards, secure and very stable. Great features, too. Download Firefox. While you are at it, you might want to download Mozilla Thunderbird, their email program. It doesn't have any of the security problems associated with Outlook or Outlook Express.
I use and have been using both for about a year and they are very stable. You can download and install them with confidence.
Other web browser downloads
Here are links to download the other major browsers:
Internet Explorer
Netscape Navigator
Opera
