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What webbrowsers to write to?


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Alright so i am working on a commercial website and iv'e been making websites for some time now but i always get stuck on what web browsers to target.

 

Of course i need to target:

Mozilla Firefox

Chrome

Safari

Opera

Internet Explorer (YUCK)

 

what versions of Mozilla Firefox should i target?

what versions of Chrome should i target? (not really an issue since chrome auto updates THANK GOD!)

what versions of Safari should i target?

what versions of Opera should i target?

what versions of Internet Explorer should i target?

 

I ask this because i am basing my website off of

<!DOCTYPE html>

compatibility for html5 and CSS3

 

Usually i build my websites without html5 capabilities but i am just feeling the html5 for some reason.

(i will end up going back and rewriting the website with out html5 capabilities for outdated browsers for a back up).

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I wouldn't bother with Safari or Opera, you'd get good coverage with those from Chrome.

So it's just IE, Firefox and Chrome, for IE and Firefox it depends on the type of site you're working on, a personal site can just rely on the latest release, something "more corporate" would probably support 2 releases back (the last 2 ESR releases for Firefox). Just target the latest release for Chrome, since they don't do the same kind of releases as IE/Firefox.

And HTML/CSS doesn't really have "versions" it's just the name we give to the spec releases but the syntax is the same between versions (So even IE4 wants "<!DOCTYPE html>", etc.)

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I will try to support IE9+, Firefox 24+, Chrome 30+, I do not support Opera or Safari. Firefox pretty well always works so long as Chrome and IE do.

 

Firefox 24 and Chrome 30 were released about 1 year ago, in the next Month or so I will no longer support either.

 

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

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Before you get started, you should drop the idiotic act and take an objective look at Internet Explorer.

 

Secondly, support for IE9 and higher, Firefox's latest versions and the past 2 ERS releases should do it. For the sake of ease, also support only the last version, but be aware that bugs can run in your site with any update Google does, as they alter the way stuff works prety often due to making a feature based on a draft instead of proper standard. I wouldn't botter about Safari and Opera to much.

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IE 6!

 

The eternal browser that must be the lowest common denominator and is PHB approved!

 

If you can't get your HTML 5 to work on it then you suck if you ask management. After all if it fails on the big bosses browser then something is wrong with the web developer as IE 6 sets the standards.

 

... ok I need to let the past go. Those who know what I am talking about from the past decade can relate.

 

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*sigh* This is why we can't have a nice Internet.

 

First off, your question isn't complete. It should be 'which browsers on which platforms'?

 

Desktop: IE is the huge winner with 59%, then Chrome with at 21% and Firefox at 13.25%. Everyone else is in the last 6% or so.

 

BUT..

 

Mobile: Safari is 45%, Chrome is 21.5%, Android Browser (yes...) is 19%, Opera Mini is 8% and the rest are around 6%.

 

The market share of IE on the desktop has been dead flat for the last year (as has Safari) while chrome has been eating away at Firefox.

 

So, like it or not - your best mix if you want to hit desktop and mobile targets would be Desktop IE first, then Mobile Safari, Chrome on both and Android Browser - and Firefox if you feel up to it..

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IE 6!

 

The eternal browser that must be the lowest common denominator and is PHB approved!

 

If you can't get your HTML 5 to work on it then you suck if you ask management. After all if it fails on the big bosses browser then something is wrong with the web developer as IE 6 sets the standards.

 

... ok I need to let the past go. Those who know what I am talking about from the past decade can relate.

 

Please. Even Microsoft wants people to stop using IE6.

 

IE 11 - 25.5%

IE 10 - 7.5%

IE  9 - 9.1 %

IE 8 - 15.1%

Total - 57.2% (which means you can skip anything older than IE8)

 

Chrome 38 - 11.25%

Other Chromes - ~10%

 

Firefox 33 - 4.43%

Firefox 32 - 5.99%

Other Firefoxes - ~1.5%

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If there's an existing site you're redeveloping, see if you can get some stats on what browsers people who use the site use, then base your decision on what to support on that. Some types of websites attract a lot of people on legacy browsers, whereas tech sites like Neowin have users who tend to be as up to date as they can be. It depends a lot on the audience of the site.

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Generally, build for current Stable Chrome, FF, and IE. Check in older IE versions (at least to 9, though 8 still has decent market share too) and if the error is significant, work to resolve it.

Also it is worth making sure the site is at minimum functional on iOS Safari, and Chrome on Android.

 

If you are re-building an existing site, or otherwise have access to a website of your current demographic, use Google Analytics or other similar tools to see what browsers and platforms predominantly are seen. Some markets tend to slant the demographics (though this has been significantly lessened since the death of IE6 as the business and government browser of choice).

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This all gives me headaches remembering the days when you had to run a Netscape/IE browser identification JavaScript function and different code. One step forward, two steps back.

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