Browser Compatibility Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. You say you test with all major browsers. What browsers do you test with exactly?
2. Why does my Web site look different on different browsers?
3. How many people use Internet Explorer?
4. How many people use Netscape Navigator?
5. How many people use the Mac?
6. How does screen size affect how my Web page will be displayed?
7. How many people use each different screen size?
8. Is there any HTML that I can add to my Web site to determine what browser will be used?
9. Can NetMechanic fix my browser display problems?
10. Can I tell if I have browser problems before I publish my Web site?
11. Do browser problems affect my search engine rankings?
12. My site was created and hosted on a free hosting community. How can I fix my browser display problems if I don't have my HTML code?
13. Does FrontPage cause browser display problems?
14. Doesn't GoLive show me how my page looks under different browsers?
15. Why did Browser Photo take a picture of a pop-up window, instead of my Web page?
16. How can I get a photo of the bottom of my Web page?
17. How many pictures can I take?
18. How many photo sessions will you store?
19. What do you mean by "any" page in my Web site?
20. How do I access an .htaccess protected site?
21. I want to test "http://beta.mysite.com" with my Browser Photo subscription, but the "Start a New Photo Session" page returns an error stating "The URL submitted is not part of the domain you signed up with." What am I doing wrong?
22. Does Browser Photo support IP's and port numbers?
23. The pictures received in my results are not sized properly and there are system error or memory messages imposed on my webpage. Why? How can I fix this?
24. The browsers you currently offer in browser photo are starting to become outdated. When will you upgrade the browsers in browser photo?
25. My photo shows a complete white page. There is nothing showing on my photo. Why?
26. I have lost my browser photo username and password. How do I get it again?
27. How do I update my email address or personal information within my account?
    

Q: You say you test with all major browsers. What browsers do you test with exactly?

A: Browser Photo will take a snapshot of your Web page as seen on 27 different browser and computer combinations. Our test set includes multiple browser types (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Opera, and Safari), browser versions ranging from version Navigator 7 to Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0, multiple computer types (PC with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux), screen sizes ranging from 800x600 pixels to 1024x768 pixels, and even different browser font settings.

Click here to see a full list of the browsers and computers we test with.

Question #2

Q: Why does my Web site look different on different browsers?

A: A full explanation is too long for this FAQ. We suggest you read our tutorial What Causes Browser Display Problems?.

Question #3

Q: How many people use Internet Explorer?

A: Microsoft Internet Explorer is the world's most popular browser, being used by over 39 million users.

Question #4

Q: How many people use Netscape Navigator?

A: As of February 2001, Netscape Navigator is used by 15 million users.

Question #5

Q: How many people use the Mac?

A: At the time of this writing, roughly 12% of all desktop computers are Macintoshes.

Question #6

Q: How does screen resolution size affect how my Web page will be displayed?

A:If you don't test your pages using different screen resolutions, your page may be stretched to fit a large screen, or be cropped to fit a small screen.

Many experienced Web designers use HTML tables to control their page layout, yet they design their pages on large, 1024x768 pixel screens. When these pages are displayed on smaller computer screens, the browser may not be able to fit all the content onto the screen. In these cases the content scrolls to the right of the page and is rarely viewed by visitors.

This problem should be easy to avoid, yet a surprising number of otherwise well-designed Web sites don't fit within the standard 800-pixel PC computer screen. This is especially a problem for pages built by graphic artists using a Macintosh, whose standard screen size is 1024x768. Many designers forget that designing for an 800-pixel screen means using roughly a 750-pixel layout.

Many less experienced Webmasters design their pages without tables, or dimension their tables to fit 100% of the screen width. If you've built your Web page this way on a computer with an 800-pixel screen, you may be surprised how your page is stretched to fit a larger screen. Text and graphics that were adjacent on your smaller screen may not be so on a large screen.

Question #7

Q: How many people use each different screen resolution size?

A: As of February 2001, about half of all computers surfing the Internet use an 800x600 pixel screen resolution. About 10% of computers use a small (less than 800 X 600 pixel) screen resolutions. The remaining 40% of computers use a screen resolution ranging from 1024x768 pixels to 1280x1024 pixels.

The default screen resolution size for a PC is 800x600 pixels. The default screen size for a Macintosh is 1024x768 pixels.

Don't know what screen resolution size your computer is using? Click here to find out.

Question #8

Q: Is there any HTML that I can add to my Web site to determine what browser will be used?

A: Designing a Web page that works for all major browsers can be a real challenge. Designing pages that work with older browsers often means neglecting Dynamic HTML and other exciting aspects of HTML.

As a result, many Web designers build two or more versions of their Web pages, with each version optimized to work under a different browser.

These designers then use Javascript to sense the type of browser a visitor is using, and then direct them to the appropriate page.

If you're interested in trying this technique, try this useful Javascript.

Question #9

Q: Can NetMechanic fix my browser display problems?

A: Our HTML Toolbox can cure many browser display or browser compatibility problems. HTML Toolbox checks your Web page for HTML errors that can cause browser display problems, and can fix the majority of these problems automatically.

HTML Toolbox also includes a browser compatibility report that can tell you if you're using tags and attributes that aren't understood by all browsers. This helps catch display problems caused by different browser versions.

We strongly recommend using HTML Toolbox as a first step to solving your browser display problems. However, we don't guarantee that HTML Toolbox will solve all of your browser display errors. In particular, it won't address problems caused by screen sizes or browser bugs. But using HTML Toolbox is an important first step to curing your display problems.

Question #10

Q: Can I tell if I have browser problems before I publish my Web site?

A:To some extent, yes, you can check your pages before publishing them. We recommend that you install the latest versions of both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator on your computer and check your pages with these browsers.

However, fully checking your pages requires you to view them with older browsers, and view them on the PC, Macintosh, and other computers with a variety of screen sizes. Doing that requires you to publish the pages to your Web server.

We recommend that you publish your pages to a testing location on your Web site, and then check them for browser display problems. If you're happy with the way your pages display, you can then move them to their permanent location.

Question #11

Q: Do browser problems affect my search engine rankings?

A:The answer to this depends on what's causing your browser display problems. If your display problems are caused by HTML errors, then, yes, these can affect your search engine rankings.

When a search engine indexes your site, it uses a "spider" to scan your Web page and check for keywords. A spider is really just an automated Web browser that interprets the HTML on your page. If your page contains HTML errors, that can scramble your page and affect the search engine's ability to extract keywords.

If you're concerned about the impact of browser problems on your search engine ranking, we strongly recommend using HTML Toolbox to check your page for HTML errors.

Question #12

Q: My site was created and hosted on a free hosting community. How can I fix my browser display problems if I don't have my HTML code?

A:Free hosting communities are a great way to create a family or hobby Web site. Some of these free communities allow you to build your Web pages with your favorite HTML editor, and then upload them to the community. Other communities want you to use their built-in HTML editor to create your page.

While using these built-in editors makes it easy to create your Web page, you also lose a degree of control over your page. Unfortunately, if you use one of these editors, you probably won't be able to change your Web page to correct browser display problems.

Question #13

Q: Does FrontPage cause browser display problems?

A:Unfortunately, the answer is often "yes." FrontPage tends to create Web pages that work well under the latest version of Internet Explorer, but not as well under Netscape or other browsers.

Specifically, FrontPage will often use Microsoft "extensions" to the HTML language. Extensions are tags and attributes that aren't an official part of the HTML language, and are only supported by a specific browser. A good example of this is FrontPage's use of attributes to set the margins of your Web page, a feature that works only when that page is viewed with Internet Explorer.

In addition, Internet Explorer often leads the field in its support for the latest official additions to HTML, and FrontPage follows suit by creating Web pages that use these cutting-edge features. If visitors to your site use an older browser that doesn't understand these new aspects of HTML, your page may not display the way you wanted it to.

FrontPage can be configured to create HTML that is more compatible with other browsers, but this option is turned off by default. If you are a FrontPage user, check the user manual for your version of the software to see how to activate this option.

Doing this avoids the use of Microsoft extensions on your Web page, but doesn't address the use of cutting-edge HTML that may affect older browsers.

In addition, no matter what HTML editor you use, your page can still be affected by HTML errors, browser bugs, missing fonts, computer screen size and other factors. As a result, we recommend that you always test your Web page under as many browsers as possible.

Question #14

Q: Doesn't GoLive show me how my page looks under different browsers?

A: GoLive is an excellent HTML editor that has many powerful features. It includes a feature that tries to show how your Web page will display on different browsers, with limited success.

GoLive accomplishes this by "emulating" each browser. That is to say, it displays your page in a Window that represents the browser, and then filter out HTML tags and attributes that the browser doesn't understand.

While this approach helps to spot errors caused by browser compatibility problems, it won't spot problems caused by HTML errors, browser bugs, missing fonts, screen size, or differences in how each browser handles Dynamic HTML.

The only way to know how your page will display on a given browser running a particular computer is to actually view that page on that computer. Browser photo does this; software that emulates browser behavior doesn't.

Not convinced? Take a look at our gallery of browser display errors. Of the problems shown in our gallery, GoLive would have spotted only one of them.

Question #15

Q: Why did Browser Photo take a picture of a pop-up window, instead of my Web page?

A:If your Web page launches a pop-up window when loading, Browser Photo may sometimes take a photo of the pop-up window, instead of your Web page. If you encounter this problem, we recommend that you create a copy of your page on your Web site, edit the copy to remove the Javascript pop-up code, and then retake your photos.

Note that this problem will only occur if your pop-up window appears when your page loads. Pop-up windows appearing when a user leaves your page will not affect your photos.

Question #16

Q: How can I get a photo of the bottom of my Web page?

A: You can use Browser Photo to take a picture of the bottom of your Web page, but you will have to add some special HTML to your page to do so. To do this, add a A NAME link to the portion of the page you want to photograph (FrontPage calls this type of link a "bookmark," Dreamweaver calls it a "named anchor.").

For example, you might put this HTML code around the copyright at the bottom of your page:

To take a picture of this portion of your Web page, enter the URL of the page, followed by a "#" sign, followed by the name of your A NAME tag. The URL might look like this:

When you enter this URL into a browser, the browser will jump to the bottom of your page. Likewise, if you enter this URL into Browser Photo, it will take a photo of this portion of your Web page.

This same approach works for taking pictures of the middle or other portions of your page.

Q: How many pictures can I take?

A: Browser Photo One Time Use takes a single look at a single page with 16 browser combinations. Browser Photo Annual subscription will allow you to take pictures of any page within your site.

Q: How many photo sessions will you store?

A:We store up to 20 sessions at a time. When you reach the 20 session limit, just delete your old unnecessary sessions to make room for new sessions.

Q: What do you mean by "any" page in my Web site?

A:If you purchase a subscription for mysite.com, you can test any page whose URL begins with mysite.com. You can also test any page in green.mysite.com or other third level domain. We will have problems accessing sites that require a password to enter, unless that page is accessed via .htaccess (see next question) or the page is accessed via the GET method. In the latter case, you simply enter the URL (with the CGI parameters) of the destination page.

Q: How do I access an .htaccess protected site?

A: As with our other tools, we can test sites using htaccess password protection, so long as the "basic" authentication method is used. To test a password-protected site, enter your URL in this form:

http://username:password@www.domainname.com

Please keep in mind that your password will be transmitted over an open network in unencoded format. Though we take reasonable precautions to safeguard your password, use of this feature is at your own risk. NetMechanic is not responsible for the security of your site. We recommend methods other than .htaccess to protect highly sensitive information.

Question #21

Q: I want to test "http://beta.mysite.com" with my Browser Photo subscription, but the "Start a New Photo Session" page returns an error stating "The URL submitted is not part of the domain you signed up with." What am I doing wrong?

A:When purchasing a subscription to Browser Photo for a particular URL, most Webmasters should avoid adding "www" to the beginning of the URL. NetMechanic's tools are restrictive to the domain level for the URL for which they are purchased, so if you subscribe to "http://www.mysite.com", you will not be able to test "http://beta.mysite.com" or other different third level domains. In this case, you would be able to test any forth level domain such as "http://beta.www.mysite.com". So, if you want to be able to test "http://beta.mysite.com" and "http://www.mysite.com" with the same subscription, you should sign up for Browser Photo with the URL "http://mysite.com".

If you need to change your URL so that it does not contain the "www", please contact the NetMechanic Support Department for more information.

Note that this rule applies to most NetMechanic subscriptions. We do offer Browser Photo as a Bulk Purchase subscription where there is no restriction on domains submitted. Contact the NetMechanic Sales Department for more information.

Q: Does Browser Photo support IP's and port numbers?

A:Yes. When using port numbers browser photo will support ports 80, 443 and ports 1025 through 65535.

Question #23

Q: The pictures received in my results are not sized properly and there are system error or memory messages imposed on my webpage. Why? How can I fix this?

A: Browser Photo is a very unique system that is utilized by thousands of customers worldwide. Occasionally customers have pop ups or screen resize scripts on their Web pages that causes the Mac’s to auto size to these resize scripts. Also, during heavy system utilization, you might experience system resource messages. If you experience either of the above, utilize the photo retake link next to the words Didn’t Get A Photo? You will be allowed 3 retakes for each photo per session. If this doesn’t correct the issue please retry you session again later. Browser Photo has been designed to reset itself and restore system resources. A system reset will usually fix the problem. If you’re a one time user and this doesn’t resolve your issue. Contact Customer Service. A technician will reset your usage at no charge after reviewing your results and validating the problem.

Question #24

Q: The browsers you currently offer in browser photo are starting to become outdated. When will you upgrade the browsers in browser photo?

A: Browser Photo support for different browsers and operating systems is constantly under review. We continue to add more such combinations every so often.

Question #25

Q: My photo shows a complete white page. There is nothing showing on my photo. Why?

A: The majority of the time this is caused by a Web page that does not have all its table tags closed. Please ensure you close all your table tags and this will usually fix your problem.

Question #26

Q: I have lost my browser photo username and password. How do I get it again?

A: If you are a direct NetMechanic customer you should have filled out a security question. Simply answer the information correctly at http://r.netmechanic.com/netmech_pro/forgot.cgi or read more at http://www.netmechanic.com/Problem.htm. If you are a NetMechanic customer through a reseller please contact your reseller for log in information.

Question #27

Q: How do I update my email address or personal information within my account?

A: Go to http://www.netmechanic.com/login.htm
Log into your account with user name and password.
Click the "Edit Profile" link in the top portion of your account control panel.
Make the necessary modifications within your account.
There is another location you may need to change your email address.
After logging into your account with your user name and password.
Click the Edit HTML Toolbox link if you have an active HTML Toolbox subscription.
Make the necessary changes.
Click Save configuration button.

Why should you care about different browsers?
There are many different browsers out there - Too many to list! While 90% of Web surfers use Internet Explorer, you can't just ignore the remaining 10%! The chart below shows just how many people are using one of the four most popular browsers. Keep in mind that new browsers like Firefox and Safari for Mac’s have seen significant adaption rates lately! That means your page could appear differently on each browser!

1% and 2% of users doesn't seem like a lot, but when you consider that's one million customers, it could change your opinion!

Variety of screen resolution sizes - There are different screen resolutions at which your monitor can be set. Roughly little over half of all users choose the 800 x 600 pixel screen size. Approximately 45% set their screen size to 1024 x 768. Each of these resolutions can change the layout of your page by increasing or decreasing its size. View the examples below:

Different computer platforms - There are PC's and MAC's- each with a different operating system. Not all operating systems have the same features, fonts, colors, etc. which could cause your page to appear differently. Even though Windows has a 90% monopoly on the market share, you can't forget about the other 10%. To put it bluntly, you could be eliminating a little over 5.5 million potential customers!

Range of font sizes - Did you know that you can change the size of the font that you view within your browser? Go to "view" on your menu and select "text sizes". There are 5 different sizes a user can choose from and each one can change the way your site appears!

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