Member Avatar for Member #596162

Maybe this is on the site already, but I'm going to ask directly. How do you guys/gals test your scripts or websites on all browsers for compatibilty. I'm new to this and would like to know. For the most part I've found that Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera do alright. But Internet Explorer is a pain in my neck sometimes. How do you test your code for older IE browsers?

Edited by Dani because: Moved to Web Design forum
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Dani AI

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A practical testing strategy starts with a realistic support matrix driven by real user data. Given 's note about Internet Explorer being troublesome, pick a small set of target engines that actually matter for the site (desktop + mobile + any legacy corporate systems) and treat the rest as best-effort. Favor progressive enhancement and feature detection over browser sniffing so the site degrades gracefully instead of trying to be pixel-perfect everywhere. Keep a short, written policy of supported browsers and the reason for each choice.

Mix fast, low-cost checks with deeper, engine-level testing. Quick visual snapshots (as suggested) are useful for catching layout regressions, but interactive or JS-heavy bugs only show up in a real engine — run those flows in dedicated test environments or cloud browser runs (an approach and pointed toward). Add automated end-to-end tests (WebDriver/Playwright-style) in CI to catch regressions early. Serve polyfills conditionally and prefer small, targeted shims so modern users don’t carry legacy weight.

A short hands-on checklist:

  • Use analytics first to pick the top 3–5 browser targets.
  • Smoke-test core user flows in a real engine (login, form submit, checkout).
  • Run visual regression checks for layout, plus automated UI tests for functionality.
  • Add feature detection and conditionally load polyfills only when needed.
  • Isolate and document any browser-specific hacks so future maintenance is easier.

If legacy IE support is required, isolate fixes in dedicated legacy CSS/JS and justify them by analytics and business need (as implied). Exercise caution with third-party compatibility helpers — verify they are actively maintained, as suggested. Overall, focus effort on real users and real functionality rather than every historical rendering quirk.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

I sometimes use browershots.org if I want to see how the website renders accross a series of different browsers.

Member Avatar for Member #596162

I was figuring that you guys had all versions of IE on your computer or you just knew. Can you run older versions in a virtual computer? I'm almost certain having them all on your computer would cause problems. Some may know. I sure do not. Thanks for the link, I'll check that out.

Member Avatar for Dani

I used to run IE7 in a Virtual PC environment. Right now I just make sure to test with IE Compatibility mode set to each one of the versions.

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Can you run older versions in a virtual computer?

Yes of course, you can setup various XP VMs since you really cant run multiple versions of IE without a hack.

Member Avatar for Member #596162

Sorry about posting in the wrong area. I'm going to give the VM idea a try. Dani, how exactly do you test with IE Compatibility mode? I'll search the site to see if this subjects been discussed or not. I want to thank you both for quick replies.

Member Avatar for Assembly Guy

I run Linux, so I test on up-to-date-ish Firefox, Chromium, Arora, Midori, Netsurf, Opera, Rekonq and Seamonkey. I also run a Windows XP VM for testing in IE6.
Like Jorge said, browsershots is good for checking rendering on different versions of browsers.

Member Avatar for pritaeas

I've used IETester in the past, not sure if it's still up-to-date.

Member Avatar for Member #596162

What's anyone's take on this ?

Member Avatar for HoverportMedia

If you're looking to check Internet Explorer browsers, I would check everything from IE5-6 till IE11.

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