10 Most Useful Tools for Cross-Browser Compatibility Check

You may sometimes encounter a situation when you’re trying to access a particular website using your smartphone and you can’t. You know that the website is working because when you check through your laptop, using the same browser, you are able to access it without any problem. Trying it another time on the smartphone but this time using a different browser, you succeeded in opening the site but there are portions which are not displaying on the screen.

While the major browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer offers unlimited options, their adaptability is sometimes hindered by the medium on which it is used. And for most websites, they should be designed such that they are compatible in multiple browsers regardless of version.

Cross-browser is defined by Wikipedia as “the ability for a website, web application, HTML construct or client-side script to support all the web browsers.”

In many cases, when a user is unable to view or access a website, he will not attribute the problem to his browser or operating system but will instead blame the website for not working properly. It is therefore important that web developers take this into account when they build and design a website. Fortunately, there are tools to check cross-browser compatibility. The 10 most useful are:

1. Cross Browser Testing. This tool supports multiple OS and browser configurations for testing cross-browser compatibility. This is an integral and important part of the website design and development process – making sure that the website runs in all environments. This is done by performing cross-browser testing say in some of the major internet browsers such as Opera, Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.     
2. IE Tester. This is a free web application that allows a view of how the web page appears when used with Internet Explorer 5.5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.   
3. DotMobi Virtual Developer Lab. This is a free web-based tool that allows checking of your website on real devices including iPhone using remote access technology.
4. Adobe Browser Lab. This is an online cross-browser checking tool that displays screenshots of the website when accessed or viewed using different web browsers. The web developer can compare results through the displayed screenshots.
5. Cloud Testing. This is a tool that allows web designers and developers to view how a website appears when accessed using any of the following browsers: Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8; Mozilla Firefox 3, 3.5, 3.6; Apple Safari 3.2, 4.0, 5.0; Google Chrome’s latest version and Opera 9.6.
6. Browser Photo. This is a tool that provides actual images or photos of how your web pages will appear when accessed using different web browsers and platforms.  
7. Browsera. This is a tool that tests and checks the cross-browser layout of the website, showing errors and differences from browser to browser.
8. BrowserCam. This is an online paid tool service that allows developers to view web pages on various browsers and operating systems, including mobile operating systems and browsers.
9. Microsoft Expression Web SuperView. This is a new technology created to make the life of developers easier, allowing the use of multiple pages with multiple browsers at the same time and allowing you to see how the pages are rendered differently – vertically or horizontally.
10. Spoon Browser Sandbox. This is one of the powerful cross-browser testing tools supporting almost all web browsers and mobile browsers and multiple plug-ins like IE Developer Toolbar, Firebug, ActiveX controls, Java applets, CSS and JavaScript debugging consoles.

A good web designer initiates cross browser testing and creates a website compatible to almost all internet browsers there is. This inhibit instances where a user would rather hit the back button and browse a different website instead of browsing yours. A good practice in website design and development practice allows user with different internet browsers use a website without any hindrances of browser incompatibility. Think about website usability and your website will definitely attract more visitors.

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