As title suggests, how far do you go with cross-browser accessibility?

 

I always design for firefox, and check in google chrome and ie and currently my site is majorly fudged in ie5.5 and slightly out of sync in i.e6.

 

My question really, how far back should I worry with ie? Same with firefox really, is it ok to just design for the current version?

 

What does everybody else do?

These days I don't test in anything below IE7. I appreciate the fact that there are people who are forced to use older browsers but the amount I get visiting my sites is minimal (a few months back I had more people viewing the site through a Sony PSP than IE6 and IE5 combined).

 

I'm sure Google announced last year that they're no longer supporting IE6 for their products (ie: Gmail, Google Docs, etc...). Personally I think they're quite a good bench mark to base your browser support on.

Edited March 5, 201115 yr by Spitfire

These days I don't test in anything below IE7. I appreciate the fact that there are people who are forced to use older browsers but the amount I get visiting my sites is minimal (a few months back I had more people viewing the site through a Sony PSP than IE6 and IE5 combined).

 

I'm sure Google announced last year that they're no longer supporting IE6 for their products (ie: Gmail, Google Docs, etc...). Personally I think they're quite a good bench mark to base your browser support on.

 

Yeah just found http://www.theie6countdown.com/ so would seem even microsoft want to phase it out.

Depends on the project. I always make sure my sites are usable in IE6 but I never check IE5.5. If there are a few minor layout issues in IE6 I tend to leave them alone unless I'm doing a project for someone who specifically wants IE6 support. But if it's a fairly simple site with a straightforward layout, there's no reason why it shouldn't be compatible with all IE's since 6 and all the other major browsers.

If you are working with valid, semantic XHTML/HTML markup and best-practice CSS you probably won't have to worry about older versions of modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, FF, Opera), except perhaps for the odd bugfix. Same goes with IE 7-9. IE 6 should be usable but may not render with pixel perfection as would a modern browser.

 

That said, I support all current versions of modern browsers and IE 7+. I recently stopped supporting IE6 on client sites without extra development time/cost (outside of the initial quote).

 

I think the biggest thing to do when it comes to X-browser stuff is to make sure your code is really solid. I use XHTML Strict on almost all of my projects, and coupled with some good CSS practices I rarely have to make browser-specific fixes. Granted, I'm not working with any layouts that are earth-shatteringly radical.

As standard I always check in IE7 + IE8 + soon to be IE9, I also check in Firefox 3.x, Safari and Google Chrome.

 

If client requests additional support I will go back as far as IE6 and Firefox 2 but that’s about it. I can’t link yet as I don't have enough posts but Google "web browser stats" the top result should be w3 schools. They show browser stats by percentage of computers using what browsers so you can make an informed decision which browsers cover the majority of the internet users.

 

Hope this helps

I usually check with IE8, Firefox, chrome and safari.

Well up until recently I have been making sure it runs in the following:

 

IE

• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9

Firefox

• 3
• 4

Opera

• 10
• 11

Safari

• 4
• 5

Chrome

• Stable
• Dev

But I am starting to readdress, I think IE6 support will probably be relegated to a paid extra. The numbers I am seeing just isn't worth the time anymore

Edited March 14, 201115 yr by Matthew Stocker