What is Browser Compatibility Testing?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gowtham on October 11, 2008 at 1:48pm

Hi Kiran

In Browser campatibility testing we test Testing the webiste with multiple browsers, Versions whether the application is working fine.

Correct me if i am wrong

Regards
Gowtham

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shakthi on October 11, 2008 at 2:12pm

You want to test look and feel issue ... For example flash files IE6 will not support for that you want to install Active x Components. Some images and contents will not align properly for that you want to check CSS files… And we want to check java script enabled or disabled for all browsers for user validation… let me know if you have any queries regarding this testing. I have attached snap shot for clear under standing purpose Kiran.Thanks

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shakthi on October 11, 2008 at 2:18pm

Example snap shot for Browser Compatibility Testing. Thanks

Attachments:

• Issues.JPG, 116 KB

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sushant on October 12, 2008 at 11:46am

Browser Compatability means,
The pages which are opened in the browser like IE5.5 or higher version
& not opened in other browsers,like in mozilla fire fox

E:G
http://www.bankofindia.com
Open the site
Site will open in both browsers
But you can login only in I.E
Because it is not supporting in Mozilla.

Thanks
Sushant

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by S Sarita on October 13, 2008 at 4:45pm

Hi all,

Five simple tips for browser compatibility testing

1. Figure out what browsers are out there - and what the trends are.
* Knowing what are the major browsers out there.
This should direct our efforts in terms of how much time we focus when trying to ensure our site is compatible with browser X or Y.
* Observing trends.
From the example I gave above - Firefox is on the rise (and its not just from that source). So, thinking that we don’t have to spend lots of time on Firefox compatibility will come back to haunt is, especially if it’s growing at that rate.

2. Simple and manual tests are the best
Installing multiple versions of browsers on different operating systems is the best way to test your website for browser compatibility. However, this isn’t necessary the most effective way (in terms of time and resources) - but it yields the best outcome.

3. Virtualise where possible
To save costs on running multiple computers with multiple operating systems - run virtual machines on one box, with many browsers installed on different operating systems. Check out VMWare or Microsoft’s Virtual PC to get started on this.

4. Use tools and products that already exist
There are some tools that try to help you with this:
* BrowserShots.org
This is a free service that lets you test your site on multiple browsers. It simulates a browser on the web for you, and all you have to do is key-in your URL. However, this won’t work for internal sites - only sites facing the web.
* BrowserCam
This is a commercial service that has similar functionality as BrowserShots, but also lets you test mobile devices and PDA compatibility as well. Additionally, it lets you test your site on different operating systems, unlike BrowserShots.org. If you have money to spend on browser testing, consider something like this
* Adobe Dreamwever
If you are working on a basic / small website, browser compatibility testing with Adobe Dreamweaver can be relatively easy. Dreamweaver has a built in feature that scans your code for things such as JavaScript that might work on IE but not Firefox. It then produces a simple report summarizing issues that may arise between platforms.

5. Don’t forget mobile and other devices
Because mobile usage on the web is on the rise.

-S Sarita.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shakthi on October 13, 2008 at 4:53pm

Sarita Answer is Perfect ... Thanks

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ritu on October 14, 2008 at 10:26am

Every time a design is ready we go about testing it extensively on all kinds, so that the design looks universally alike.
This consistency is important, if you are serious about doing professional design work. When we go about asking, many times we face this that users really do not know which browser they are actually viewing the page in, also sometimes it’s difficult for them to judge which versions of browser they are using.

Especially in the current transitional period of going from IE6 to IE7, and FireFox2 to FireFox 3 where there are significant differences between the two browsers, it gets more important for you to make sure that your design works without problem in all kinds.

Most of the times while we are doing this test, If you see a problem in IE6, it is either working on Firefox or Opera. But ideally it is important that you are must initially test your page in Firefox or Opera, as both of these browsers are the most web standards compliant browser and have abundant resources for testing and debugging markup and code. If your code works in either of those, and the page validates in both html and css, then you can be sure that the webpage should work in all other browsers.

You must not miss doing the Browser compatibility test, cause it will let you to lose visitors if your web pages don’t work on all the popular web browsers. Your web pages may be inconsistent on each browser and the visitors would believe that the website is not professional or is buggy, no one blames the browser.

Browser display problems can basically just kill your web pages, and these display differences are caused by a lot of things such as different browser versions, different computer platforms, screen size, browser bugs, HTML errors, and multiple browsers.



Here is a list of few (19) tools below that let you view your site as other visitors do:

Validator.W3.org
This tool checks the markup validity of web documents in HTML, XHTML,etc. It can be used to check the issues in code to make it comply with any standard.

SortSite Professional v1.01
This tool is capable to check accessibility, usability, multi browser compatibility, broken links, legal compliance and
search engine guidelines. Really Useful.

Browser Photo
Useful Tool by Netmechanic, it tests your webpage browser compatibility and lets you see how your pages look on different browsers and operating systems. We use it often.

IE NetRenderer
This is a great online tool for web browser compatibility test for Apple iMac and Linux. It allows you to check how a website is rendered by Internet Explorer 8 to lower versions. It’s free.

BrowserShots.org
This site allows you to test your site in many different browsers including linux, mac OS, and bsd. It’s a helpful web service to provide perfect user experience to your site visitor and a smooth production for you as web designer.

QuirkSmode Bug DB for Mac IE
This tool checks the configuration that can be targeted at a specific browser or profile of a chosen browser. The repository of configurations is extendable by anybody that uses this tool.

AnyBrowser.com
Here you could view your own site as your visitors would. Simply enter your URL to a surfer site view and it will give results in a few seconds.

Lynx Viewer
A free online tool to view your web pages as they would be viewed in the Lynx text-only browser.

Palm OS Simulator
It’s a free web browser simulator software that simulate a Palm device on your computer.

Browsershots
This tool makes exact screenshots of your web design in different browsers. Computers will open your website in their browser and will make screenshots and upload them to the central server. This helps in verifying your site as cross-browser compatible.

BrowserCam
This tool test your site on any operating system, speed up your workflow and create screenshots.

Javascript Browser Support
This simple tool let us know if our browser supports certain JavScript/VBScript versions. It test your browser, collecting each version of javascript supported and the installed version of vbscript.

BrowerPool
It will test your website live in all current browsers.Also it tests the functionality in addition to simply testing the layout of a site. Only a live test can really test all functions such as a pull-down menu. It provide test for Mac, OS, Windows and Linux systems.

ieCapture
You can test your site in Internet Explorer 7 without installation using this tool. It’s free and gives instant results.

Multi-Safari
The current version of the Web Kit Framework determines the rendering of web-sites. This site offers 10 Safari-versions which can be installed along side other versions under Mac OS X. Great & Highly useful!

Browsrcamp.com
It’s free and offers the OS X Live test, a service which gives you the possibility to test your website by taking full control of a Mac OS X system.

Litmus
It provides you with screenshots of your websites and offers you the management of your compatibility tests. Which is very useful to keep a track of versions while you are testing.

BrowserHawk
Amazing online tool that can detect Flash, detect screen size, detect connection speed, improve web site usability, detect Acrobat, detect plugins etc. It detects all browser settings, screen size, plugins, SSL, line speed, and many more. It has a free trial.

Dreamweaver CS3 compatibility checks for Browser Compatibility
It’s a tutorial series on how to check browser compatibility using Dreamweaver CS3. It provides demo for easy learning.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kiran Kumar on October 14, 2008 at 12:08pm

Thanks Ritu for your valuable answer.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stella on May 20, 2019 at 4:44pm

Designing and developing websites and applications can be a lot of fun, along with that there is also responsibility to ensure that everyone is receiving the same experience across different devices, browsers, operating systems, resolutions, etc. When you think about it, there is a lot that can go wrong, and most likely your project will never be perfect 100% of the time. But if you don’t, you could lose potential customers. Say for example your website doesn’t render properly in IE9. That customer might simply leave and visit your competitor who did spend time on browser compatibility testing.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anand Singh on May 28, 2019 at 4:29pm

Hi,

Browser compatibility testing is one reason, due to which many developers go with companies providing qa services as they have wide range of resources available for this requirement.

Under browser compatibility testing, compatibility of your website with different browsers like Firefox , Google Chrome , Internet Explorer, Safari etc is checked.

When to perform Browser Compatibility Testing:
- When any webpage has a lot of animation, ActiveX , Java Applet and Dynamic content, then Cross browser testing should be started as soon as it is possible.
- If algorithm is running on Client side then Cross Browser testing should be started.

Common Issues found during Cross Browser testing:
- Inconsistency in Page Layout
- Page Validation not work on certain Browser
- Transaction is not being posted to data-base on clicking submit button or link
- SSL certificate error that has been noticed mainly with lower version of browsers
- Inconsistency in Tab Flow
- Some time pagination error also occurs.

Thanks,
Anand

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Priti Gaikwad on December 22, 2020 at 4:36pm

Hello,

Cross Browser Testing is the type of Compatibility Testing, In which Cross Browser Compatibility Testing Companies Test the application in multiple browsers and make sure it works perfectly and consistently.

Regards,

Priti, Work at Compatibility testing company

• ▶ Reply