If you’re new to the web and you’re undertaking the development of your first website, you’ve probably been hearing the term “browser” a lot lately. And most likely you’re confused.

Browsers are one of the most important parts of a user’s web experience; which browser you are using can have a very large effect on how the websites you visit look and behave.  So clearly, understanding how browsers work will be important for you so you can understand fully how your customers will experience your new website once it is complete.

Below I present an introduction to browsers, with the purpose of helping a business person better understand what their designers and programmers are talking about when they start mentioning things like browsers, browser compatibility and cross-browser testing.

What Is A Browser, Anyway?

According to Wikipedia, a web browser is:

…a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

Pretty important stuff… essentially, without a browser no one would be able to visit websites. The internet as we know it would not exist.

There are primarily 5 major web browsers, and you are probably using one of them right now to read this article (though you may not know it). They are:

1. Internet Explorer
2. Mozilla Firefox
3. Apple Safari
4. Google Chrome
5. Opera

And just to complicate matters, there can be several versions of each browser currently in use. I’ll discuss how this affects website development a little later in this article.

Typically, a browser is pre-installed on computer systems, and the person or program that set-up your internet connection automatically tied a browser to your internet connection.  That’s why most new users don’t know what a browser is; their browser is working silently in the background without user intervention.  However, several browsers can be installed on a computer if a user chooses.

To determine what browser you are using, check out the top left corner of this application window, then use the figure below to match the program icon displayed to the name of your browser:

It is worth noting that if you can’t find one of the icons above in the top right or left corner of your application window, then you are likely browsing the internet using AOL’s built-in browser which is actually an old version of Internet Explorer. I can’t recommend strongly enough that you download and install the latest version of one of the listed browsers above if that is the case. You might also be a power internet user, browsing this blog using a specialized browser or RSS reader… in that case, you probably are already familiar with browser basics.

All Browsers Are NOT Created Equal (or “Why your website looks different on your mom’s laptop.”)

Don’t worry. I’m not about to launch into a discussion of which browser is the best. That’s a topic for another day. Instead, I want to briefly explain how browsers do their job – delivering websites – and in the process help you understand how the internet in general and your website in particular works. The most important thing for you to understand though is this: all browsers do their job differently.

Your website exists as code, written primarily in a programming language known as HTML with additional information conveyed using languages like CSS, ASP, PHP, XML and more. When someone visits your website using a web browser, your web server (the computer that is hosting your site), sends a file that looks a lot like the figure below.

It is the job of the browser to translate that computer language into a visual presentation that is attractive to the website visitor, hopefully as the web designer intended, with images placed just so and text displayed at just the right size and color. But just as there are dozens of translations of “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy for sale on Amazon.com, the different browsers will translate the basic code for every website differently. Most of the time these differences are very slight – spacing and kerning differences in the font or tiny layout and display differences.  But sometimes entire functional features just won’t work in one browser, while the other browsers work just fine.

Cross-browser Testing

The differences in the major browsers’ display of websites is the reason for what’s called cross-browser testing. After a website is completed (and typically at intermediate stages during development), a web designer will test the new pages in the major browsers to make sure everything is working correctly.  As of the writing of this article, the browsers that NetSource Media and most other development companies will test include the following:

• Internet Explorer, versions 6, 7, and 8
• Mozilla Firefox, version 3.5+
• Apple Safari, version 4+
• Google Chrome, version 3+
• Opera, 10+
• AOL 9.0 Security Edition

While it is possible that a website visitor might use a different browser to view your site than those listed above, unless you have a specialized target audience it is likely that such visitors will account for much less than one percent of all traffic.

Accepting Limitations (or “Websites Are Not Brochures or Flyers.”)

Even with testing, most times it is impossible to present a single website in the same exact way in all current browsers. In particular, older versions of Internet Explorer have many limitations in regards to newer web innovations. However, keep in mind that web designers have user experience as their guiding principle when building and testing a website.  Unlike print designers who have rigid control of the layout of their designs down to the pixel, web designers must work within the fluid limitations of their medium to ensure that each visitor can interact with a website without it breaking.  For instance, that fancy rounded corner and text drop shadow might not be visible to visitors who are using Internet Explorer 6.0, and cool fading transitions that other browsers render beautifully might be gone, but as long as site clarity and function does not suffer a web designer can sleep soundly.

It is the immutable fact of a web designer’s existence: no two computers will ever display your website the same way. With browser differences, along with screen resolution, monitor settings, operating system differences and more, our goal is to make a website usable and enjoyable for as many visitors as possible. If that means only 80% of visitors see the cool Gallery transition, but everyone can easily browse the Gallery pictures, that means we’ve created a cross-browser compatible website.  People with older browsers and technology are delivered an optimal site for their browser, while people using newer technology enjoy some icing on their cake.

Back in the infancy of the world wide web, frames were a pretty useful tool.  They allowed a designer to have multiple panels on a page with one or more displaying consistent content (like a menu).  With the advent of the modern web programming languages such as Active Server Pages (ASP), PHP & ASP.Net, frames are now really nothing more than a relic of the past. In fact, they can actually be harmful to your site’s performance in the search engines and your customer’s user experience.

Some of the main downfalls of frames in today’s SEO concerned world:

Page URL – In a framed site, when you click around from page to page, the URL will never change as it keeps the URL of the parent frame.  This can be a little frustrating to the end user, and they never really know where they are at any point in time.

Bookmarks: Hand in hand with point 1, if a user tries to bookmark a particular page in your site, since the URL never changes, the bookmark will always be to the base URL.  Frames denies your user a way to quickly get back to a drilled-down point in your site.

Search Engine Indexed Pages – This may be something that is never thought of when a frame based website is designed. Say your site has a layout similar to this (it is intentionally bright for demonstration):

A search engine may index your site including your framed in pages.  When a visitor clicks through the link listed in the search engine, they will return to the actual source page of the frame not the entire framed site itself. Typically this means the menu frame suddenly disappears from your page. Ie:

This could lead to a visitor reaching a single, dead-end page with no way to navigate to the rest of the site.

Even worse, depending on how the frames were constructed, some of your internal links might even be invisible to search engines.

In all, unless you have a specific requirement for the use of frames, they really should be avoided.  Are you tired of being framed in?  If so, contact us at Netsource and we’ll straighten our your situation.

RVUSA.com, one of the RV industry’s leading interactive agencies, announces the launch of www.ThompsonFamilyRV.com, a new web site for Thompson Family RV, a recreational vehicle dealership and service center located in Davenport, Iowa.

www.thompsonfamilyrv.com

The site features information about Thompson Family RV’s range of new and used RVs as well as their selection of popup campers, toy haulers and cargo trailers. The web site’s user-friendly inventory search is powered by RVUSA.com. The blue “American Highway” EZ-Site design was customized for Thompson Family RV. Every page on the website is set up with SiteSource, our content management system created exclusively for RV Dealers. The staff at Thompson Family RV can easily add, edit, and delete these pages without any HTML or programming knowledge.

Family owned and operated for 51 years, Thompson Family RV is one of the largest RV facilities in the midwest with over 55,000 square feet on 16 acres. They are a winner of the RV Business Top 50 RV Dealer Award for 2009.

RVUSA.com, a subsidiary of Netsource Media, is an award-winning interactive media agency dedicated to serving the RV industry nationwide. Visit their web site at www.rvusa.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

RVUSA.com, one of the RV industry’s leading interactive agencies, announces the launch of www.ancirarv.com, a new web site for Ancira RV, a motorhome and recreational vehicle dealership and service center with locations in Alvarado, Texas, and Boerne, Texas.

www.ancirarv.com

The site features information about Ancira RV’s range of new and used RVs as well as their RV service and parts operations and their mobile RV services. The web site’s user-friendly inventory search is powered by RVUSA.com. Every page on the website is set up with SiteSource, our content management system that makes website updates an easy task. The staff at Ancira RV can easily add, delete, and edit pages 24 hours a day, without any HTML or programming knowledge. This allows visitors to see the most up-to-date inventory and information about the RV dealership.

Ancira Enterprises was started by San Antonio native, Ernesto Ancira back in 1971. Today, it encompasses 13 brands of automobiles, 8 San Antonio based dealerships, including two RV stores. The RV dealerships offer an extensive selection of motorhomes manufactured by American Coach, Fleetwood, Forest River, Livin’ Lite, Skyline RV, and Tiffin.

RVUSA.com, a subsidiary of Netsource Media, is an award-winning interactive media agency dedicated to serving the RV industry nationwide. Visit their web site at www.rvusa.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

NetSource Technologies, central Florida’s premier web design and hosting company, is pleased to announce the launch of their new graphic design for www.steelintheair.com, a web site for Steel in the Air, a consulting firm that provides guidance and services on cell tower related issues.

www.steelintheair.com

The site features a broad range of information about Steel in the Air’s consulting services and their numerous benefits to landowners, leaseholders, tower owners and municipalities.

Steel in the Air specializes in assisting public and private landowners with cell tower and cell site related issues. The company has worked with more than 1500 clients in all 50 states and Canada. The company’s principals have acted as experts for cell site valuation lawsuits and have assisted numerous other clients with valuation services. They also have extensive expertise in development of cell towers and in due diligence services for tower development.

NetSource Technologies is an award-winning web design, hosting, e-commerce and consulting company that has been serving Ocala and clients nationwide  since 1995. Visit their web site at www.netsourceinc.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

Really the title of this blurb should be ‘How can a shopping cart help your business?’ – but since ProductCart is our e-commerce solution of choice here at NetSource, we’ll stick with that title.  For any business with any kind of product base, whether retail, manufacturing or wholesale, a listing of those products on the web should be a must.  After all, as a business you want – strike that, you need - customers to be able to find your products.

How does ProductCart help? Well, ProductCart is the door to exposure of your products to the web and consequently to people.  The makers of ProductCart, EarlyImpact, have included many features to help get your products in front of potential customers.  Here is a quick rundown:

• SEO Optimized Pages – ProductCart allows for keyword rich pages as well as optimized URL links for each product (for instance, instead of seeing “product_display.asp?id=134” you may see “Samsung-21B-LCD-Monitor-p134”)
• Google Integration
  • Google Sitemaps – Creates a file structured for use in the Google Webmaster Tools program.  This will help your products get indexed in Google.
  • Google Base – ProductCart can generate a file to be submitted to Google Base so your individual products will be searchable there and get returned as “Shopping” results.
  • Google Analytics – Is now fully integrated into ProductCart.  Google Analytics helps you understand what customers are doing on your site and how they got there.
  • Widget for Blogs – You may include products from your store automatically into your blog or social networking account.

There are many other features available in ProductCart that can help your business succeed.  (For more articles, click on the ProductCart tag to the right) If you would like more information, please get in touch with a NetSource consultant.

NetSource Technologies and RVUSA.com are proud to announce the launch of three new websites during the month of October.

www.campsitesarrowhead.com

The website for Arrowhead Campsites and Mobile Home Park, an RV Campground in Ocala, Florida, was created using our EZ-Site campground design, “American Mountains.”  The customized header gives their website a personalized look that showcases the campsite’s scenery. Information about campground amenities, rates, their location, and nearby attractions are listed on the website with photos and relevant links.

Every page on the website is set up with SiteSource, our content management system that makes website updates an easy task. The staff at Arrowhead Campsites and Mobile Home Park can easily add, delete, and edit pages 24 hours a day, without any HTML or programming knowledge. This allows visitors to see the most up-to-date rates and information about the campground.

Arrowhead Campsites and Mobile Home Park is a picturesque RV park and campground in Ocala, Florida with plentiful amenities. Their location in Central Florida is convenient to several attractions, including Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, and Busch Gardens.

www.quietwoodsrv.com

The new web site for Quietwoods RV Sales & Service, a recreational vehicle dealership and service center located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, features information about Quietwoods’ range of new and used RVs as well as their selection of popup campers, toy haulers and cargo trailers. The web site’s user-friendly inventory search is powered by RVUSA.com.

Quietwoods RV Sales & Services has been serving Sturgeon Bay and surrounding areas for over 25 years. In addition to their extensive inventories of both new and used recreational vehicles, they also provide award-winning service for RVs and motorhomes.

www.hwmotorhomes.com

The new web site for HW Motorhomes, Inc., a recreational vehicle dealership and service center located in Canton, Michigan, features information about HW Motorhomes’ range of new and used RVs as well as their selection of cargo trailers, utility trailers and motorcycle trailers. The web site’s user-friendly inventory search is powered by RVUSA.com.

HW Motorhomes has been serving the Canton, MI, and surrounding areas for over 49 years. They carry an extensive line of both New RVs and Used RVs from quality manufactures like Forest River, R-Vision RV, Cruiser RV, Livin’ Lite, and Pilgrim International.

RVUSA.com, a subsidiary of Netsource Media, is an award-winning interactive media agency dedicated to serving the RV industry nationwide. Visit their web site at www.rvusa.com or netsourcervs.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

The team at NetSource Technologies is happy to announce the launch of Bent Oak Tree Farm’s new website and email marketing campaign, which presents information about their wholesale tree farm.

Bent Oak Tree Farm

The Bent Oak Tree Farm website is a custom design that uses natural colors and textures to represent their business. The website has information about their tree farm,growers, and process for growing top quality trees. A content management system allows the client to quickly and easily list trees that are available directly on their website for visitors to browse. Information about the the species, size, specs, and availability are listed with photos that can be viewed full size. This information is also displayed on the homepage in a random rotation to showcase featured trees.

‘Straight Talk from Bent Oak’ is a new newsletter from Bent Oak Tree Farm that shares knowledge and advice from their nurserymen and expert tree growers. This eNewsletter shows off their expertise in tree growing and also serves as a marketing tool for their business. Visitors are able to sign up for the newsletter on the website and browse an archive of previous eNewsletters, which can also be indexed by search engines.

Bent Oak Tree Farm is a top wholesale tree grower with a staff of knowledgeable and respected nurserymen. They provide quality container trees and B&B trees (Balled & Burlapped trees), along with on-time deliveries, personal customer care, and knowledgeable planning services. Their three locations consist of over 500 acres in Marion County, Florida and Thomas County, Georgia.

NetSource Technologies is an award-winning web design, hosting, e-commerce and consulting company that has been serving Ocala and clients nationwide since 1995. Visit their web site at www.netsourceinc.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

NetSource Technologies is happy to announce the launch of a new website for Your Trusted Contractors, a group of independent contractors in Northern Virginia that provide home improvement services.

Your Trusted Contractors

The homepage features a custom flash animation to showcase their diverse set of services. Our powerful management console gives Your Trusted Contractors the ability to grow their website as their group includes more contractors. Each member has a unique login so they can manage their own page, which includes their logo, contact information, contact form, and a free-form area where they can add photos and additional information about their company.

Your Trusted Contractors is a group of independent home improvement contractors in Northern Virginia that perform home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and handyman services. This co-op was created to provide customers with a list of contractors that are the best known and most reputable home improvement contractors in the area.

NetSource Technologies is an award-winning web design, hosting, e-commerce and consulting company that has been serving Ocala and clients nationwide since 1995. Visit their web site at www.netsourceinc.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.

NetSource designers and programmers are thrilled to announce the launch of a new website for Lemieux Diamond Company, an Ocala jeweler specializing in watches and bridal jewelry.

Lemieux Diamond Company

This custom-designed website at www.ocaladiamond.com showcases the diamond jewelry and watches for sale at Lemieux Diamond Company, along with information about their expert repair services. Products are presented in carousel galleries, which showcase large photos of their diamond jewelry and watches. Our content management system allows the staff to update these galleries and other text on the website easily.

Lemieux Diamond Company is located in Ocala, Florida and has been serving customers since 1980. They offer a wide selection of high-end engagement rings, wedding bands, and other bridal jewelry. They also sell watches and have an in-house watchmaker to service all brands of watches.

NetSource Technologies is an award-winning web design, hosting, e-commerce and consulting company that has been serving Ocala and clients nationwide since 1995. Visit their web site at www.netsourceinc.com for more information on their services and to view additional client web sites.