11 replies to this topic

[glyn]

First of all I've been using this tool, http://crossbrowsertesting.com/, which has a free trial for 7 days and gives you an hour. If you've launched a website I reckon it's a good investment and has revealed quite a number of issues with a website I launched, and we're talking critical issues. What's nice about it is that it launches a RDS session to a computer running a browser. You can select literally 10s of different configurations OS's, browser types, screen sizes and you can also run videos of the sessions and share with your developers.

Now I ask for a bit of reflection.

Browser compatibility used to be pretty easy.

Now it seems that Firefox, Chrome and Safari all play along absorbing Javascript errors with a burp and a grunt, but it's IE that is doing there own thing!


Just how far down the IE version do I need to feasbily go.

Once I hit IE6 we're looking at 0.3% of queries, with IE7 absorbing 2.4%.

Any others I should be testing.

Cheers.

[cre8pc]

Hey Glyn,

I took out a video that was in your post. It didn't seem to fit and I was paranoid and nervous about it. Wasn't sure you added it or some gremlins...

[DonnaFontenot]

IE has always been outlier. I don't know anyone who still tries to be compatible with IE6. I'm usually happy if IE9 works, and depending on the issue, I may or may not care about IE8 and IE7.

[bobbb]

Even MS does not support IE6 anymore. See no reason to support it also.
While on the subject Microsoft admits that its browser "sucks."

Browser shots also offer this type of paid service but if you only need 1 or 2 then it has a free service @ browsershots dot org

Edited by bobbb, 03 December 2012 - 12:42 PM.

[iamlost]

My sites work well with decrepit IE versions because when they were launched they rather had too. With a new site I'd consider the target market audiences. Personally simply not even having to contemplate IE 5/5.5 would be a sigh of relief heard around the world...

Without deep site visitor stats to fall back on my rule of thumb has always been chop when below 5% world share; with site stats it is once falls below 2% site visitors I look at conversions... if conversions continue to meet or exceed browser share it stays, if fall below half browser share it goes. Sadly, I stopped developing sites so long ago... my line was IE 3 for my first site and IE 5 for my last... you young'uns have it easy...

I'm presuming those shares are site stats?... if so, as I said, compare IE6 and IE7 with their conversion share and conversion value... likely the decision will be easy.

If

Any others I should be testing.

is a question, then from my site stats, also worth testing against:
Desktop:
---Opera

Linux:
---Epiphany
---Konqueror
---Midori

iOS:
---Atomic Browser
---Boat Browser/Mini
---Dolphin Browser HD/Mini
---iCab
---Opera Mobile/Mini

Android:
---Dolphin Mobile Browser
---Maxthon Android Web Browser
---Opera Mobile/Mini
---Puffin Web Browser

Note: It can also be worth testing against the mobile/OS specific versions of Firefox and Chrome.

[wiser3]

The corporation I work for dropped support for IE6 at the end of 2011. I'd love to drop IE 7. However, we have 145,000 employees using Windows XP with IE7. I'm sure the vast majority of our web traffic using IE7 is our own employees.

Earlier this year we started rolling out Windows 7 with IE9 computers to new employees and replacing the oldest sytems. It will take nearly 4 year to get everyone up to IE9. At which point i'm sure we'll start upgrading everyone to whatever is picked as our next standard system.

That gives us several more years of trying to get our websites up to modern web trends, ie. responsive design, while banging our heads together trying to get it to work in IE7.

[AbleReach]

Do not worry about IE6, at least not too much. The last time I complained about IE6, an acquaintance who works for Microsoft messaged me to tease me about still being concerned with it. However, at the same time, I was working on a WordPress theme for someone who was still using it on their office computers, so, yes, I did make sure the site still worked for the client. It just was not an exact match. That was about a year ago. If in the same situation now, I'd push a little harder for them to upgrade. If they're still using IE6 they're probably not seeing some sites as they should be seen.

[glyn]

Javascript exceptions on the ipad what are they? Is there a clever resource I can pass to my programmer to open his eyes?

[iamlost]

As a javascript exception is another term for javascript error ... is it a code problem, a code against user input problem, a code up against OS problem or... ?
Basically: what is/are the error(s)?
And why isn't your exception/error handling appropriately managing the problem?

* has your developer included in and/or tested each code block with try/catch/throw statements?

* as you include 'iPad' in your question:
---is the problem specific to iPad?
or is it replicable on iPhone as well?
---is the problem specific to Safari?
Different browsers have different javascript engines and error handling behaviours/tolerances.

[glyn]

Well IAMLOST at least I now know the type of questions that will throw you into an infinite spin If we ever met in a corporate boardroom, you're be swirling in circles!!

I am testing this problem in more depth and it actually seems to be CSS related and not JS related.

G.

[iamlost]

...now know the type of questions that will throw you into an infinite spin...

I am always happy to chase down encountered rabbit holes...

I am testing this problem in more depth and it actually seems to be CSS related and not JS related.

Ah, I see that it is time to review the differences between content, structure, presentation, and behaviour...
Shall I book you a remedial Intro to WebDev class...?

[glyn]

No way, I know a href="http:" and that's all I ever needed. I feel sorry for webdevs all that code getting replaced over and over again.