Computers > Web Design
Design for the most popular browsers and OS versions - Instead of designing for every imaginable browser type / version / OS flavor, design for what makes up the majority of your website traffic first! Then if you validate your HTML you should be off to a great start.
You can literally drive yourself crazy trying to design for every possible browser type. There are so many versions of each type and nuances even within each computer OS (Mac / Linux / Windows). Instead, focus on the most popular browsers and version that constitute more than 95% of Internet surfers anyway. * You can then later address the less popular types.
Here is an example of website traffic statistics showing most popular browsers of users for MonkeyDoIt.com
For web design testing purposes here is what matters most:
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 6
Firefox
Safari
Opera
Of course you need to also be sensitive to the particular OS of users as well.
Here is a break-down of user operating systems (OS)
For web design testing purposes here is what matters most:
Windows
Macintosh
Linux
In a nutshell, the best practice is to test all most popular browsers listed here in every OS mentioned and base your web design on that. The OS shown in stats like iPhones, Playstation, and Nintendo only constitute a very small percentage of users. These variations can be designed for later if you feel compelled to do so. Also by validating your HTML you may prevent potential issues for most of your audience.
* Less popular does not mean they will not become popular in the future! Plan your strategy accordingly -- design for "your" audience and anticipate what the future may hold by creating a flexible design to accommodate modifications with validated HTML. If you think your audience will be using iPods mostly then design with that in mind.
Web Design for the Most Popular Browsers
Design for the most popular browsers and OS versions - Instead of designing for every imaginable browser type / version / OS flavor, design for what makes up the majority of your website traffic first! Then if you validate your HTML you should be off to a great start.
You can literally drive yourself crazy trying to design for every possible browser type. There are so many versions of each type and nuances even within each computer OS (Mac / Linux / Windows). Instead, focus on the most popular browsers and version that constitute more than 95% of Internet surfers anyway. * You can then later address the less popular types.
Here is an example of website traffic statistics showing most popular browsers of users for MonkeyDoIt.com
For web design testing purposes here is what matters most:
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 6
Firefox
Safari
Opera
Of course you need to also be sensitive to the particular OS of users as well.
Here is a break-down of user operating systems (OS)
For web design testing purposes here is what matters most:
Windows
Macintosh
Linux
In a nutshell, the best practice is to test all most popular browsers listed here in every OS mentioned and base your web design on that. The OS shown in stats like iPhones, Playstation, and Nintendo only constitute a very small percentage of users. These variations can be designed for later if you feel compelled to do so. Also by validating your HTML you may prevent potential issues for most of your audience.
* Less popular does not mean they will not become popular in the future! Plan your strategy accordingly -- design for "your" audience and anticipate what the future may hold by creating a flexible design to accommodate modifications with validated HTML. If you think your audience will be using iPods mostly then design with that in mind.