The High Cost of Poor Coding

In light of the "browser wars," it will come as no secret that there is more than one browser out there in use. Those who visit and read our websites will use a wide range of different operating systems and browsers. Just a few of those with which our readers and prospective customers use to surf the internet and browse websites include Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Avant.

If you review a given website in any of those browsers, you may find that it will render differently in several of them. Every browser will parse code in a different way. Some elements of design are compatible with only one or two browsers and are unable to be viewed in other browsers. What does your website look like in those browsers? Is cross-browser compatibility an issue for your website??

If that's a question that you haven't asked, then it's time to broach the subject. If your bounce rate is up, your conversions are down, or your traffic is dropping, it may be that you need to take a long look at your website design. Cross-browser compatibility is an important part of site design and one that will ensure that your website does the job of marketing your products or services.

That new website may cost a little to implement, but it's a paltry sum compared to what a site that does not function in every browser can cost you. You lose integrity, reputation and money when your website is inoperable or invisible in some browsers. 

How Can You Test the Website? 

If you'd like to test your own website for cross-browser compatibility, your first and best means to do that is to download the three most popular browsers and simply take a look at your website.

When you review your own website, check it in more than one browser, what kind of view is returned to you? Does every element work? Does your navigation render correctly and does the text and imagery display well in every browser that you use to review it?

A much easier, simpler way to check cross-browser compatibility is to hire a website monitoring company.  The biggest benefit is time; website monitoring companies produce reports from across multiple browsers and show you where the trouble lies.  They don’t do it for every browser, but they report on browser compatibility for the most used (IE, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) which covers 96%+ of your target audience.  Most website monitoring companies also detect other errors in your website, including SEO checks, spelling errors, and site load speed.  All of these are a necessity to ensure an optimal gain in website revenue.   

Bear in mind that there will always be some browsers that won't work with a given element of any website.  That fact in and of itself does not make the website design poor or incorrect. There will always be the elusive browser with the .005% market share for which you simply can't afford to design. Overall however, your website should be able to be seen and render correctly in the top three browsers.

If your website is non-functional in even one out of the top three browsers, you are losing clients and you are losing money. It's time to review the site for an overhaul and to select a designer who can guarantee cross browser compatibility when your new site is built.