We take browsers for granted. Most folks still use Internet Explorer 6.0 or have upgraded to IE7.0 by now. Less used browsers include Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Safari (for Mac users). Netscape, one of the first browsers, sadly closed its doors in 2008.
We know browsers open up web sites for us, help us search and keep our "favorites" stored away for later use. Some block pop-ups, warn us if a website has criminal intent (like stealing our passwords) and prevent bad guys from running damaging scripts on our computers.
Other than that, why should we care about which browser we use?
Think of it this way: your browser interprets all the programming code that goes into a web page, then displays it so a mere mortal can read the text, see the images, hear the sounds and watch the videos.
Unfortunately, not all browsers interpret web code the same way. Sometimes the differences are subtle. You may see a collection of images looking one way in Explorer and another in Firefox. Text can be floating around, or an image not centered, for example. This is because each browser has different nuances on how it reads the "tags" in your programming. Tags are programming commands enclosed in brackets <> and when a browser sees it, it follows the direction. This tag system goes back 30 years to the first mark up languages on the internet and in publishing. It's been revised, obviously, over time.
All that said, you should care because if your web designer can't adapt your site for viewing in each browser, a significant portion of your visitors will be turned off by its appearance!
Internet Explorer 8.0 has been released and many websites that have not been upgraded to the new programming standards will look terrible in this browser. If you're not sure how this will impact your web site, call us or write and we'll take a look at your programming code.
Keep your website beautiful by adhering to the web's programming standards.
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