Seven Useful Web Development Tips & Tools for Cross-Compatibility

A web designer has to test the web page a number of times after coding with different popular browsers. It is important to check with every browser since they are different in some way or the other.

Different web browsers showcase CSS and HTML in different ways. Therefore, when you are designing any website, you need to consider one very important factor generally known as cross browser compatibility. With this you make sure that the website you design is displayed in a consistent manner in every web browser.

Below are some useful tips that can help you in the cross browser coding work to show better results:

1)Keeping the coding simple:
If you are using complex kind of HTML or CSS coding, you will for sure face browser compatibility issues. So when you are at the stage of designing, make sure you keep the layout as simple as possible. Also avoid using a number of elements in your markup coding.

2)Always try the code validation:
Make sure you use proper validators to check HTML and CSS coding before you upload your website. Since if you have any invalid code in it then it will be a tough task to fix them especially when the site is up on the server. You will find a number of validators for both the HTML and CSS validations, or you may also find them in a form of plug-ins.

3)Avoid the quirks mode of browser:
With the quirks mode you get a duplication of older and faulty kind of version of the browser. This compels the older websites to carry out the task with any new browser without any recoding work on these pages. This quirk mode can complicate things especially when you are creating modern pages as the browser submits something of the older versions.

4)Employ the CSS reset rules:
Majority of browsers carry the default settings regarding the padding and margin around element. These default settings can create havoc in the other CSS rules. This can be avoided by making the CSS rule consistent across all the web browsers.

5)Test your site in Firefox:
Designers often test their website at one browser and then head to another. Instead of doing this, you can test your website in just one browser like Firefox, since it is considered best in many ways. After testing it in Firefox, its time to try with others like IE, Google Chrome, Safari and so on.

6)Make IE8 to work with transparent PNGs:
Transparent PNGs are the images files which are performed to get translucency factor along with smooth borders in the background of the site. However, the default setting of IE8 do not display the transparent PNGs. This is the reason why you need to make IE8 work with transparent PNGs.

7)Prefer manual Coding:
To get a good level of browser compatibility, sticking to the idea of manual way of coding of HTML and CSS is always considered to be a better deal. Hence avoid using any kind of software for the coding purpose to get better result.