Tips, Tricks, & Questions

Browser Question - There are several browsers one the Web. One is much more popular than the others.

Links to popular browsers

To learn more about the browsers mention here, click on the links below to go to the publishers' Web sites. Each link opens in a new window.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Safari
• Opera
• Netscape

Many browsers are now-cross platform. Netscape, for instance, can now be used on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux machines. Safari, which for a long time was only for Macintosh computers, is available for Windows, too.

Versions of Firefox can be downloaded that are suitable for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it is available in many different languages.

Internet Explorer only runs on Windows computers.

Testing and Checking a Web site

It is necessary to test a Web page in two or three browsers. Because of the way that browsers interpret HTML/XHTML code and handle Cascading Style Sheets, pages may look different depending on which browser is used to view them.

In addition to checking pages with different browsers, it is good practice to validate your code. Valid code is more likely to make your pages display properly.

Many Web editing software programs, such as Dreamweaver, have code validation functions. But many Web designers use the World Wide Web Consortium's online code validators.

You can find that at www.w3.org and just follow the links and instructions.

Top Tips to Annoy and Insult Your Web Site Visitors (click links to see examples in a new window):

• "This site best viewed with _____" - Don't suggest to your visitors that their monitors are set wrong or that they use the incorrect browsers. Sites should be designed to work right on all combinations of equipment and software.
• "Under Construction" - Web sites are assumed to be periodically updated, changed, or otherwise "under construction." This just annoys people. You are telling them that you'd rather aggravate them than finish the site. Remember, people take detours around roads that are under construction.
• Background music - Takes too long to download, many people cannot hear it, and it will probably sound bad. Most users have music players (such as Windows Media Player and RealPlayer), and in may instances when they visit your page the player will start and cover up the Web site! One solution is to use a Flash! move with embedded music.
• Horizontal scrolling - Avoid it because people will click out rather than do it.
• Animated GIFS - The general advise these days is to avoid animated gifs because they are old fashioned and take longer to download. But, when animated gifs are carefully selected and chosen for a specific goal or purpose they can be effective. For instance, they can be used to illustrate a concept of technical detail. Never use them just because "you can."
• Scrolling text or marquees - These often cannot be seen because browsers don't run the JavaScript that makes them work, or your page's visitors might have JavaScript turned off. Avoid the <marquee> tag because it is proprietary and doesn't work with all browsers. When you click the link above, be prepared because the scrolling marquee might not work!
• Splash pages - The latest thing to be classified as obsolete. This usually involves downloading a "useless page" that has no pertinent information outside of a "Click Here" or "Enter" button. Splash pages can have their uses, and in some instances, such as Web sites for movies, bands, or high tech businesses they are almost expected. Be careful, however, and make sure your splash page has at least some useful information.