Mention “cross-browser compatible” to any web designer/programmer/developer/coder/n00b and you’ll get a long-winded rant about how annoying the rendering quirks of several different browsers can be to the overall design process of a website. But why? Aren’t all web browsers created equal?
Different Browser Engines
You may think, “they’re all web browsers, don’t all they do the same thing?” Well essentially, yes, but each popular browser uses its own rendering engine (Gecko, Webkit, KHTML, Webcore, etc.) that is unique to that browser. Each engine has its quirks and handles a few CSS design element attributes differently than the others. For instance, the margin attribute of an element in IE is handled very differently than in Firefox and results commonly in discrepancies in the layout.
Browser Compatibility
Some people might give you the impression that total, or near-total, cross browser compatibility is impossible or unattainable. However, this is far from the truth and is usually something an unknowledgeable web designer will tell you hoping you’ll blindly believe. Getting more advanced effects and complex javascript functions can be near-impossible to get 100% compatible on all browsers, but simple CSS and HTML based websites should almost always be cross-browser compatible unless a blaring exception to regular design keeps it from being so.
Is YOUR website cross-browser compatible?
Check your site in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and examine closely how the design and layout of the site resembles the sketch or final design. You may need to apply some browser fixes and css hacks to make sure the design looks 100% to all of your visitors. But its worth the time and effort! Your visitors will love you for it!
