Just so you know, one year ago I knew almost nothing about coding web pages. That’s when I wrote my article about Opera, which was fully about the interface of that piece of (good) software. To be honest though, I’d be happy as well if you used that Firefox 3 or 3.5, or Google Chrome, or even Safari. As long as it’s not Internet Explorer, everything is good.
Little premise: don’t think Firefox is better becase it has AdBlock, I can ensure every browser has adblock plugins.
So I am going to tell you about my nightmare: I am building a complete restyling for FoOlRulez. Want to see it? Try it: http://foolrulez.org/woxxy/blog/, even though I am not yet decided on fonts to use, nor it’s completed (for example, if you view the page). It works great on Opera, since it’s the primary browser I use, and it works pretty good on Firefox, Chrome and Safari as well, beside some more problems with the fonts. Now, count the fact that the font is wrong, it will simply look a bit misplaced: since I have to make it compatible for both Windows and Machintosh (I work on a MacBook Pro), the font will need a lot of retouching, but that’s fine, I am just unexperienced and have no real idea which font are conformed in HTML.
That’s right though, I fully learned CSS (it’s for the design), HTML (the text of the page) and quite a bit of PHP (the active content) in order to make possible for FoOlRulez to have a completely original website design, that can make simpler browsing the website through wide use of images and big titles, while making the page smaller. Also, for how thankful I am to Justin Tadlock for the theme we used for a year even though it’s modified to the point of not being recognizable, I don’t want to credit anyone anymore.
It shouldn’t take more than few days of hard work – and I am good at working hard – but I was suddendly stopped from going further with the developing because I checked the situation with other browsers to see how it looked. At the beginning it looked fine just under Opera, but easily I made so it could look fine also on other browsers. Yet, there was no way for IE8 to show the page correctly. I am still stuck honestly, maybe the website was ambitious, but this is beyond myself for now.
No Google Chrome: the version for Mac is still being devloped.
In other words, there’s a 20,34% of the users using still Internet Explorer, so I am just going to try over and over again till I make that website I am creating work for IE users too, because the number of people using it is still far too big to just go and ignore them.
That’s why you should take more care when you decide using a browser, not only for the features it can give you, but also thinking about the developers like us, that must trick your broswers in order to display correctly our Web 2.0 websites.
Also, I will add it here, I think Safari is the best browser when it’s about compatibility: it’s the only that always shows the pages how they’re meant to be. Works with every everything really.
Personally, I use Opera, but it doesn’t mean it’s compatible, or rather, it’s not really supported by websites, so while being an extremely solid software with a real ton of functions, it shows some Web 2.0 pages, especially Facebook, with some mistakes.
I hear you brother… IE is the bane of the web developers life. It’s the only browser that doesn’t comply to the w3 standard and goes off on its own mission. By the way, there is a very cool plugin for firefox that you can use for web debugging. It’s called firebug and it lets you inspect elements on your page, do live css manipulation as well as gives error messages for your javascript. Give it a try and you’ll see what I mean. Oh and what I mean when I say inspect elements is that you can right click on a part of your page and see the code displayed below with the css, layout info (padding margins etc) all displayed. Hope this helps
Yeah, I heard about that. Opera and Safari got a similar tool inbuilt. Initially I used the Opera one (DragonFly) but when I say how much more powerful was the Safari one (no name for this) is, I simply kept using that one. Later today I’ll try the one you suggested.
Why bother with IE? You would be doing the world a better service if you put up a massage like “Ur stoopid IE are not making the page rightly – get a real browser now!” instead. The only people using internet explorer are those that haven’t realized that you’re supposed to get something else.
Yeah, I saw this “semi-official” popup I could add on the website, but I was really disappointed that they didn’t list Opera as one of the browsers.
I’ll try making your suggestion true, because after all it’s always the same people browsing this website, and maybe we can change the things at least for this little community.
oh yeah, you said there was no google chrome mac, but the beta IS out already, along with buildbots chromium (though I do get your point, don’t get me wrong).
also, is this just to the blog or the whole forum?
and good luck.
also, there is one good(?) thing about IE: it lets Nyarth have those screwed up IE nude filters, making him a faphappy 13 year old.
Forums once the version 2.0 of the forum is complete, we’re running on SMF 1.1.9. But of course the plan comprehends forums.
some nice javascript here for detecting browsers : http://www.quirksmode.org/js/detect.html you can plug it in and then if browser = IE then
alert("Get a real browser!")I like.
Except the menu-ish thing on the right, perhaps you could make them more like compact bars..? They look like they take up too much room.
Good job though, I’m looking forward to the finished product!
Lol, I think I have IE 6, crashes instantly on flash ads. ;-;
Firefox ftw.
my IE stopped working completely as soon as i installed IE8…..it always sys”Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage” and will not open any webpage…..I GIVE UP ON YOU IE!!!…..good thing i had already gotten Firefox 3 and Google Chrome, or i would’ve been without any browsing
pretty nice, I’m still sticking with Firefox, nothings gone wrong yet!
In relation to my last post.. Photobucket link.
That’s really goold muge, I will most likely do that! It also seems an easier solution really.
Hay, that’s the blog I bought for two dollars!
Just leave the IE users behind, their fault for not changing browsers yet. *shot*
Seriously sounds like you’re putting in alot of work, I admire that. :o
if people absolutely have to use IE they should download the firefox plugin like the rest of us…..
I too have tried to make a site that’s compatible with IE but i failed, so i know what you meant . When you’re done whit the comparability of the seite (except IE) why not put the site and put warning on the EI user “because you use IE the sait wont show correctly”and put same links to downloading Opera, Firefox etc. and you will say that you will make it work whit IE or don’t (you choice).