Cross browser compatibility is an essential part of the modern Software Development Industry. It ensures that the website offers a smooth and seamless experience on all browsers and devices. Thus, your audience can access your web application from any web browser.
In normal cases, programmers use JavaScript, CSS and HTML, and CSS3 and HTML5 to develop websites. So, if you are a software developer, there are consider points that you must keep in mind to develop a successful web application.
The first thing to do is to develop the application for your favourite web browser. Additionally, you can also try to target the browser that has the highest number of audiences. For instance, Google Chrome supports the latest version of CSS and Framework Technology. Thus, it allows you to create amazing websites with the integration of animated transitions and clean formats. Moreover, it also ensures that the website provides smooth functioning on all devices.
The real challenge appears when you develop the web application for other versions of Internet Explorer or Safari. In this process, you realise that there is a change in the application form. Additionally, it becomes visually different as the browser isn’t triggering the animations. However, you must remember that every browser holds a massive share of the market, and it will be a huge mistake to ignore any one of them. In this article, we will discuss all the processes involved in creating a cross-browser compatible website.
Browser Incompatibilities
As soon as you realise that there is a variation in performance on different browsers, you have to make some minor changes in the code framework. The main reason behind variation in performance is due to different technologies and features unsupported by certain Browsers. It would be best if you found out the reasons that are causing compatibility issues for your web application on other browsers. Now, let’s take a look at some of the possible issues on the major browsers.
Cross-Browser Compatibility issue on Windows Browser
Windows Browsers usually have support for most of the latest technologies. However, certain issues might arise due to compatibility errors. These compatibility issues might arise due to:
- Irregularities in Filesystem and File Writer API.
- Change in Web SQL Database.
- Variation in XHTML and SMIL animation.
- Varieties in EOT fonts.
These elements are mostly unsupported by the latest update of the Firefox Browser. Thus, if you use these technologies in your web application, your web application may crash on the Firefox Browser.
Compatibility Issue on Mobile Browser
In the present market, the touch screen is a standard norm for every mobile device. There will be variation in performance based on the screen size and resolution of the device that a customer might be using. Some of the possible issues in mobile browsers are:
- Integration of 2D transitions along with CSS3 3D transitions.
- Incompatibility of Background images on HTML5 form features.
- Errors in Web Authentication API due to Semantic elements
- Reallocation of Theme-colour meta tag
- CSS Pseudo-class with a Placeholder
These are the primary errors that will occur in a mobile browser. Keep in mind that even one of these errors is enough to crash your entire web application.
Compatibility Issues on Safari Browser
Certain features do not work on Safari at all. For instance, shared web workers, CSS overflow, and web authentication API have complete Safari incompatibilities. However, Safari has partial support for certain HTML5 features and CSS masks. Thus, your application might not work if you have integration for any of these features.
In case you have any doubt regarding the compatibility of the features in your web application, you can use the ‘CanIUse’ tool to find all the details about Safari compatibilities. In simple terms, you must ensure that all the features on your web application have complete support for Safari Browser so that your customers can experience a seamless and smooth User experience.
The compatibility issues are required to ensure that your web application works in the same manner as intended. Additionally, there are certain guidelines that you must follow to ensure that the final release is completely cross-browser compatible.
Doctype Testing
DOCTYPE is highly essential for any HTML file that is connected with the web application. This amazing application allows the browser to recognize the programming language of the web application.
In the modern era, certain smart browsers can automatically detect the programming language of any web application. However, certain older browser versions cannot figure out coding detail and might fail to render certain elements of the web application. The “Strict Doctype” function allows you to integrate programming language recognition features on Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. In case you fail to integrate this behavior with the application, the older browsers will work in “Quirks mode.” This mode will enable the browser to mirror the functioning of any older web application.
Application of CSS Reset
It is natural to expect that every browser will have a different approach to website rendering. For instance, a certain style will work on a browser and fail to load on the other. In such cases, the major deciding factor is CSS.
As a developer, you will notice that the buttons have different rendering styles across the browsers. CSS is responsible for all these issues, incompatibility, and visual effects. Many developers try to apply a CSS reset command to ensure that every browser removes the web application’s styling and resets it to default. It is one of the most popular methods to solve cross-browser incompatibility.
Internet Explorer is the most common browsers that have the highest amount of CSS Reset application. You can also use a standard CSS command, “normalise.css,” to reset all the visual elements on your website. For the application of CSS Reset, you have to download the CSS file on your computer and add a header for the reset code. Additionally, you also have to ensure that you reset the partial stylesheet before the code framework’s main portion.
Use of Separate Style Sheets for Different Browsers
The application of separate styles is one of the most commonly used solutions to avoid style-stylesheet compatibility issues. The developers can use conditional commands to link various style sheets with every browser that they are working on. For instance, this command allows the Chrome browser to use a definite stylesheet, whereas Firefox will go for a different one. The basic commands for style sheet integration are quite simple and easy to implement in your web application code. This process also helps to solve all the issues related to the visual aesthetics of your web application.
Use of Libraries and Frameworks that are Cross-Browser Friendly
All the cross-browser friendly libraries and frameworks allow you to ensure that you don’t introduce any dumb bugs in your website. jQuery, AngularJS, and ReactJS are some of the most popular cross-browser friendly libraries. In the present software market, reduced development time is essential to ensure that your company maintains a stand. Thus, as a developer, you should remove as many bugs as possible to reduce the testing time.
Validation of the Website
By this time, it is safe to assume that you have finished almost the entire coding process. All you have to do is validate your site and ensure that it is completely following your development strategy. So, you can use tools like HTML and CSS validator to serve this purpose. This application will help to find all the mistakes and areas for improvement in the final code. Additionally, certain applications allow you to validate the CSS portion of your web application. It is highly essential to get information about all the errors in a web application to sort them out quickly and forward the website to the production team.
Importance of Cross-Browser Compatibility Testing
Presently all the major browser companies have shifted to Open Browser Standards. This transition is indeed uniform for all the companies, but the interpretation of the shift remains different. The major reason for this difference is the variation in rendering ideals. It means every web browser will render the JavaScript or HTML website differently. So, even if you perform rigorous testing on a web application in a particular browser, it won’t ensure that the website will function in the same manner on other browsers. Thus, you have to manually test your web application on every browser to ensure consistent performance.
As a developer, you must remember that all the features of Open Browser Standards come under the criteria of Browser Abstract differences. Thus cross-browser compatibility testing allows you to ensure that your web application is compatible with all websites. Additionally, this process allows you to find all the application errors and sort them out in a systematic manner.
As a company, you must provide a seamless and smooth experience to all customers irrespective of the device and Browser. For instance, it can be very dangerous to alienate a particular section of a userbase based on browser incompatibilities. If you want to grow in the software market, you must have a firm grip on the entire user base.
Recommended Tool – LambdaTest
LambdaTest is a very popular cloud-based tool for both manual and automated testing. Using this tool, users can easily find all website bugs that may be giving your users a bad experience. Additionally, the interactive mode allows you to test various browsers without even installing them on your desktop. You can also use the screenshot feature to take automated full paged screenshots on Windows and Mac Machine running real operating system in a Single Click. Ensure pixel perfect digital experience across all latest and old versions of browsers & OS. LambdaTest also allows you to check the responsiveness of your web application easily. Test & Debug on the go with LambdaTest
The Verdict
We can conclude that you must develop a compatible website with all the browsers available in the market. This will allow you to have a firm grip over the massive user\base that is currently active on the internet. Additionally, cross-browser compatibility ensures that the application is accessible to differently-abled people.