Developing Websites for New vs Old Web Browsers

Hello people, hope all is well. I just have to do a little bragging about my browser, Mozilla Firefox!

Developing Websites for New vs Old Web Browsers:

I remember the old days when I was an infant in web design and development. The coding we had to do to satisfy the different browsers was a hassle. Back then, browsers weren't helping developers, we just had to comply and go along with the challenge of attempting to satisfy everybody. Today features are more universal within the major competing browsers so cross-coding is not an issue as much.

Other factors are impacting the web and browsers like the handling of media with HTML5 and WebM and all the major browsers are trying to be compliant to the new standards or get left behind. Also "responsive web design is here to stay with multiple devices delivering content.

A developer must be aware of these dynamics in their design standards at all times now. Browsers are available for all of these different devices and being able to know what your design will look like on a particular device is just standard practice as it was back in the day when testing a page out in different web browsers.

 

I can say with gratitude and thanks that the browsers of today have become more developer friendly. Especially Mozilla Firefox! I can't tell my fellow designers and developers enough that if you are not using Firefox, you are missing out on valuable tools that will make your life much easier throughout the Internet's growth and technological advances and of course speed up your editing time.

I am almost blown away every time I open my toolbox by the wealth of developer tools at my disposal. I think of the old days whenever I just click a button in my Firefox Tool chest and have a schematic of what I'm trying to adjust, modify or investigate. I think of having multiple programs open to facilitate uploading of files and editing web pages. With Firefox I can do everything conveniently from within the browser. I'm speaking of course about Firebug and FireFTP working seamlessly together and allowing me to edit a page without opening up my web builder, WordPress or any other design software.

I recently added Nightly to my arsenal and what a convenient tool that is, wow! I know some of you are asking yourself where has this guy been? But I, like millions of others the world over, was stuck in the IE-zone for many years because of convenience and familiarity.

I had bad experiences with browsers like Netscape, Phoenix and many others and didn't want to change from something that was proven although clumsy at times. IE was the number one browser of all time in the world and still competes heavily today for the number one spot with vicious opponents like Chrome and Firefox.

But as a developer and someone who is always learning and needs help from time to time, Firefox is like having a "team" of developers behind me with all sorts tools ready to spring in to action at the click of a button.

These are just a few of my favorite Firefox Developer Tools:

• Firebug
• FireFTP
• Pixlr Grabber
• Scratchpad
• Nightly (Design View)
• Rainbow

I use these on a regular basis and can't thank the great bunch of open source developers at Mozilla for putting yourself in our shoes and incorporating such wonderful tools and options! You have made my life so much easier and taught me so much which intern allows me to be even more creativity.

Hats off to Mozilla and the team at Firefox. Keep up the good work and success with all the adjustments for HTML5 and WebM which are sure to literally change the face of the web.

By
Allan Whitney
Owner/Administrator
MindVisionMedia.net