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08.04.05
Cutting the Browser Cord
by Brandon Rochelle,
technical director, Designsensory
category: search engine optimization
An ode to Netscape. When is it time to say goodbye to the browsers of yore?
To some of us Netscape is a word of the past used to refer to a time when the internet was a toddler. But, there is a segment of the internet population who still use what web professionals call "legacy browsers". These are browsers which do not have the latest security patches or which do not support up-to-date web standards. The mettle of a designer or programmer can be easily tested by viewing their work in one of these legacy browsers. At best, the site will look exactly the same as in up-to-date browsers, at worst, it will look like a garbled mess. Whether we like it or not, your website needs to be viewable to visitors who have these older browsers. But how can you offer the latest and greatest in web architecture or interactivity?
The answer could be CSS (cascading style sheets). This is a method of building websites which separates design from content, leading to better accessibility and search engine visibility. All of the graphical elements of the website are moved into a special text file. Once a user accesses a website in CSS this file tells the web browser how to reconstitute the informational parts of a site with image elements and formatting. The great part about CSS is it is extremely flexible. A website owner can redesign a well constructed CSS site exponentially faster than one not in CSS. To the web user, a CSS site will load much faster. CSS is not without its shortcomings though. It takes slightly longer to do an initial site design in CSS, and thus it can be a little bit more expensive. More importantly, CSS is not well supported in older browsers.
The question a person looking to redesign a website needs to ask is: what percentage of my user base is going to access my site in legacy browsers? The average is around 3-6%, but I have seen as high as 15%. Look to your website statistics for this answer. If you do not have a statistics package, demand one from your provider. There are several free options and there should be no reason for your provider not to have at least one option available. In the case where more legacy users will be visiting a site, I would recommend a site design based upon table layouts (the current de facto of web design). If the site has an average number of legacy users, I would recommend a CSS site (the future de facto). Still undecided? Think of your website as a window into the future of your company and let it guide your decision.
Do not worry too much about legacy browsers and CSS playing nice together. If done properly, a site will degrade out gracefully. So, for users with the oldest web browsers, your site can appear as text only, while those with the newest browsers get full interactivity.
Ready to move forward with a revitalization of your site or want to upgrade to CSS? Designsensory offers a full-range of website design and programming options focusing on long-term, sustainable results.
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