Is testing websites in different browsers really annoying and time consuming, or am I just doing it wrong? I use Virtual PC loaded with the IE6 VHD which is not too shabby. Should I also load it with IE7 or continue using the IE7 browser mode in IE8? Also, should I test with past versions of Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari? What do I risk missing by just testing with the latest versions? Cheers!
To make your website as robust as possible you should try to test it with as many browsers and as many version as possible. Yes it is annoying and tiem consuming. But it realy depends on how far you want to go and how. I always try to test using latest versions of IE, Firfox, Chrome, Opera and Safari
Yes it is a tedious process But there are online tools that can help instead of installing all those different versions. One is browserlabs at Adobe. Another is IETester. Great for comparing designs in various browsers but won't allow any interactivity. Just for looks. We develop for IE6-8, Chrome, FF 3.59 and 3.63 and sometimes Opera 10.25 (if applicable) on PC and FF 3.59 and 3.63 and Safari on Mac. As well as iPhone and Android. Once IE6 goes completely away and IE9 catches up to everyone else with standards (so they say) it will be a lot easier to troubleshoot.
Yes, I was going to ask if Opera is irrelevant given that it is way below Safari and Chrome. But is testing on a Mac really necessary?
I've never had an issue with browsers on the Mac but have had people ask me about problems they have had. I know there are font layout concerns but, other than that, it's worthwhile since, for example, half of all college students use a Mac. The problem with IE is you have several different modes and multiple versions. IE8 does not work like IE7 compatibility which doesn't work like IE7 which doesn't work like IE6 and none of them work like the other far more modern browsers. Fortunately for me, my contracts only call for support of current version and the previous one so any requests for IE6 carried a 30% premium charge. @AtSeaDesign - waiting for IE6 to completely go away means you're waiting a long time and only encouraging them. If Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and other sites of that size can drop IE6 support, so can you.
yes , it can be time consumer but in my opinion its necessary, i personally test in Safari, IE, Firefox, Chrome, and even Opera sometimes!