[woodsytime]

Hi there,

I've just been to http://browsershots.org/ to test how a site I developed looks on different OS/Browser combos.

Ubuntu and FreeBSD are causing some problems due to using different font types pushing layout elements into areas in which I don't want them to appear.

How important is it to develop for these platforms?

Also, when I went to http://browsershots.org/ the section where you select browsers for Mac OS was filled with adverts. Therefore I also don't know what the site looks like on Mac's either??? Anyone else have this problem? Are there any other recommended Browser Compatability Testing tools?

Thanks

[KieranA]

This totally depends on the site, if you plan properly you'll be able to decide on this yourself. I tend to think of it like this: If a user from one of these browsers visits on your site and purchases something then that conversion probably pays you off for the time you've spent on tweaking it.

[traxor]

Ubuntu & FreeBSD are renowned for having poor text rendering and support for websites so it's up to you. What I tend to do is launch the site working in all the main browsers and operating systems (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, IE7+, Opera on Windows & OSX) and then monitor my analytics. Head over to http://www.google.com/analytics/ and set yourself up an account if you don't already have one. Let it track your site for a good 2 or 3 weeks then click on "Visitors > Browsers Capabilities > Browsers and OS".

When you've determined whether linux users visit your site, you can then decide whether it's worth spending the time on building your site to work on said OS'.