The Motive Web Design Glossary

web browser

A web browser is a computer program that is used to access the web (to view webpages).

A browser can also be used to download files, send and receive email, or short messages across the internet.

Commonly-used web browsers, in order of market-share [1]:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)
• Firefox (Mozilla)
• Safari: (Mac only)
• Opera
• Netscape Navigator (NN) R.I.P, Dec 2007

…and soon, Google Chrome?

browser versions

Each time a web browser is improved (updated), it is assigned a new version number.

The version number can be used by web designers and developers to help find and diagnose problems with the way a webpage is working (bugs).

Bugs are a result of variations in the way a web browser works: either between different types of web browser; or between different versions of the same web browser.

Finding your web browser version number

In Internet Explorer:

1. Open/start Internet Explorer.
2. Move your cursor up to the File menu bar (this runs across the top of the screen).
3. Click on the Help item.
4. From the Help menu, select About Internet Explorer (this will open a new window).
5. The Version (number) is displayed at the top of the About Internet Explorer window.
   

A web designer will need both the browser name and the version number. For example:
Internet Explorer, Version 6.0.2900…

cross-browser compatibility

Cross-browser compatibility is an issue faced by designers/developers when creating websites.

The goal is that a website can be used by the largest possible audience, with minimal variation in the user-experience…

The goal is that a website can be used by the largest possible audience, with minimal variation in the user-experience: a webpage should ideally look and work the same in all web browsers. The unique challenge of achieving this goal lies in the nature of the medium itself.

A web browser is a computer program (software) and is not subject to physical constraints unlike those present in communications technologies such as television and radio. As browsers are re-programmed to run on different operating systems, and are progressively improved, variations in the software can have an impact on how a webpage looks or works.

In addition as different web browsers are created by different organisations, user-interface enhancements (convenient ways of interacting with content or services), may be added to one web browser and not another. The designer/developer must then devise a strategy that accounts for this possible variation to ensure that a website can still be used without the enhancement; or only use features that are supported by ‘all’ browsers.

Related terms: chrome, degrade gracefully, doctype, download/upload, email, FTP, HTTP, internet, plug-in, quirks mode, sniffer, web, web standards.

References and further reading

• [1] Browser market share, accessed Sept 2008 (Market Share)
• End of support for Netscape web browsers (Tom Drapeau, Netscape Blog)
  Dec 2007: Netscape’s owner AOL announces that it will end development of the Netscape branded web browser, encouraging current users to switch to Firefox.
• From [doctype] switches to [web browser] targets (Eric Meyer, A List Apart)
  21 Jan 2008: How to manage the issue of forward and backward compatibility, to ensure that new web browsers can still be used to view old webpages.
• [Introduction to] Google Chrome (Google)
  Sept 2008: A comic-book introduction to the thinking of the development team and an overview of key features of the Google Chrome browser.
• Google Chrome information for web designers/developers (Google)
• Graded browser support (Yahoo!)
  Not all browsers are created equal. With over 10,000 browser brands, versions, and configurations, ensuring that a webpage looks and works the same in all browsers is problematic. Formalising a tiered-framework for describing browser compliance.
• How to build a better web browser (Scott Berkun, UIWeb.com)
  Insights from the former program manager of the Internet Explorer project into the design of content navigation and searching systems.
• Improve usability for older users (Tim Fidgeon, Sitepoint)
  There are a number of aspects of browser-use that are likely to be unfamiliar to older (or inexperienced) computer users. An awareness of notions such as assigning blame, emotional reaction and mental models make for a more sensitive/aware approach to web design.
• Reporting bugs: A how-to guide (Rachel Andrew, EdgeOfMySeat.com)
  The web is very much a ‘work-in-progress’, when things don’t work the way you expect you might just have unearthed a ‘bug’.
• Standards and Testing: Testing [Web Browser Compliance] v.3.0 (New Zealand E-Government)
  Minimum (about 96% of users), Extensive (about 98% of users), and Comprehensive (almost all users) standards for web browser compliance/testing for New Zealand public sector websites.
• My web, my way (BBC)
  A guide to customising your web browser (changing text size, filling out forms, etc.).

Motive Web Design Glossary Trivia