I've written many times about cross browser importance and you all know how clients can be difficult when it comes to project review and the final result isn't what they asked for (usually because most of them still use IE6) so you just have to test your code and design in all major browsers, operating systems, screen resolutions etc.
Multiple IE program can help you here for IE testing and here's the list of couple services you should bookmark that make testing your latest web design a breeze.
Browser Shots
I think this one is currently the best, it's free and it generates screenshots of your web design on a wide number of Windows, Mac, and Linux browsers. Enter your address and press submit and after 10-45 minutes (depending on current loads) you'll get screenshots of your site as displayed on a variety of different Windows/Mac/Linux browsers. The interface can be confusing at first, but it is a great free service. It's available on other languages too and the one of the best things here is that you can enable Java, Flash and JavaScript. http://browsershots.org/
Browser Camp
This one i really like and use a lot since i am not Mac user. It's not free, prices are starting fro $3 for two days, but you can do Apple Safari testing for free. It also supports large number of browsers including Javascript, DHTML, Ajax, Flash etc.. http://www.browsrcamp.com/
Site Vista
Site Vista is product of Litmus, it's a commercial web page testing service starting at $9 a day. Besides wide range of platforms for design testing you can also test Over 90% of email clients to ensure your email displays correctly for all your readers. It has clean, friendly, and fas user interface and also offerers some interesting services like one-click publishing, with just one click you can show your client a copy of the compatibility results. Precise bug tracking lets you see exactly where the compatibility issues are at any time, painless version management keep your results super-organized with our unique versioning system. http://litmusapp.com/
Browser Cam
It costs more then the rest starting at $39.95/month but provides testing on the largest variety of different OS and browser combinations. It offerers free 24 hour trial with 200 captures. And two features really stand out the first is a special VNC remote access service that allows you to test interactive design elements such as pop-down menus, rollovers, or flash animations. The second is inclusion of several mobile browsers such as BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. http://www.browsercam.com
Cross Browser Testing
This one is a new service, but it offers a lot of bang for your buck. First, it offers private VNC access to a multitude of operating systems and browser configurations that allows you to fully test for html, ajax, css, javascript, flash and other dynamic feature compatibilities on a website. Second, they allow you to run any configuration for 5 minutes for free. Not just once, but as many times as you like. They also have screenshot capabilities and there is no limit to how many you can take. Finally, they differentiate their service by utilizing a pay-as-you-go model. If you need to run sessions longer than 5 minutes, there is a paid service which removes this limitation and gives you priority access over users of the free service. There are no recurring monthly fees and no long term commitment. You just pay for what you need. http://www.crossbrowsertesting.com/
Have some feedback? Leave a comment
I just knew for the first one, thanks!
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I really recommend against multiple IEs – the multiple IE6 can give mixed results, creating unpredictable “results” when a user on a real copy of IE6 visits the site.
Microsoft all ready offers virtualPC and a (timebombed) XP image with IE6 (or 7) and the web dev toolbar for download, for free. This way, you get reliable results that don’t rely on a hacked browser interpretation.
I was using Browser Camp for Safari testing a lot, but I prefer testing in real browser … but again nice article and helpful collection …
Nikola,
Yes me to, but since they released Safari for Win i don’t use it that often
Safari for Windows and Safari for Mac render differently from one another. (I have both a Mac and a Windows machine, I should know.)
I’ve been using MultipleIE for quite a long time, it’s a great solution for fast testing for cross-browser compatibility. Keif, have you noticed any differences between originial IE6 and hacked one that can be found in MultipleIE?
Ivan,
There’s was a word about it on
http://stylizedweb.com/2007/12/31/multiple-versions-of-ie/
so i guess there are some differences since so much people mentioned and this Microsoft virtualPC sounds interested so i will probably try that these days
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I definitely recommend virtual PC – I duplicated the image and installed the most recent IE8 beta as well (although, that’s mainly for curiousity – until it’s released I don’t trust it’s rendering capabilities fully)
Usefule for IE testing:
http://www.ipinfo.info/netrenderer/
Actually you can have account at browsercam.com for $25/year. Check this http://www.fundable.org/browsercam
I use such account and I’m very satisfied.
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Yes, I’ll second what Ben wrote. http://ipinfo.info/netrenderer/index.php is another great tool.
Nice list. Just want to point out though that the link for http://browsershots.org/ is broken.
Niall Doherty
Thanks, fixed!
Browser Shots looks good! Free also helps
The main issue with using any site that shows you a picture of a rendering vs. seeing it yourself, is that a picture merely shows a picture of what’s wrong, not the actual code itself. Using virtual PC, you can test in IE6/7/8 on an OS, with toolbars/debuggers installed, to actually see what’s wrong in the code – otherwise you’re left guessing what IE got wrong.
there is a organization named SaveTheDevelopers,these organization is aiming to get rid of IE6, may be with these campain developers can be rescued to test one browser
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I agree these are all great tools, but honestly they still don’t cope with other issues such as accessibility and people having different toolbars, spyware, extensions, etc to their website. The best practice is to just keep a web design concise and simple – no matter how rich in content it is – the design remains a basic set of elements.
Also, IE6 is no longer supported so anyone using it needs to upgrade already.
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Hey you forgot us! Look at http://crossbrowsertesting.com. You get a 5 min vnc session on different OS/browser combos. Come check us out and tell us what you think. Drop me an email. We want feedback good and bad… and to be truthful we want people to review our service. Thanks
Hi Tony
Your site looks good, i didn’t know about it, it must be new?
Go ahead and write a short review and I’ll publish it
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the banner is not coming out okay in firefox. Can anybody let me know why?
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I have used browser shots.. but others i havent tried.
Any freeware solution available to test a site offline? ie, from localdisk?
Giridhar
And you could try this
well from local you can only use bunch of browsers i don’t think there’s a program for it
http://stylizedweb.com/2007/12/31/multiple-versions-of-ie/
You could try http://www.my-debugbar.com/wiki/IETester/HomePage. It is an alpha program right now(Apr-2008) but it looks promising.
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thank you nice sharing
nice roundup, thanks!
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Hi
I want to do browser compatibility test for my application using IE 7.0, the web application currently works well with IE 6.0.
Can some one help me by sharing the knowledge or experience?
1. Is there any free tool which I can download and use from my desktop?
2. Also, do you have a checklist of somesort which tells me what all to test in browser compatibility tests, if I have to do this manually?
Regards
J
J,
Why don’t you download it? it’s free…
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx
I have used browser shots.. but others i havent tried.
Any freeware solution available to test a site offline? ie, from localdisk
the banner is not coming out okay in firefox. Can anybody let me know why?
Browser Shots looks good! Free also helps
Hi there!
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thank you nice sharing
Thank you for tips.
eror please type a comment
thank you nice good.
thank you nice sharing
I have used browser shots.. but others i havent tried
thanks you site..
Thanks..