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For example, any time we use javascript for an essential function of a site, there is a hearty percentage of potential visitors who we exclude. Does that mean never to use javascript? No, it means don't be casual about any technology decision - know the repurcussions of the choices you make.
I began messing with HTML back when Netscape was THE browser and Explorer was the upstart just beginning to grab market share. I had to accommodate both browsers and I set out to learn. It took a lot of time to develop websites this way, but there really was no choice, unless I was willing to cut out the 30% of my audience who used Explorer.
It's so much easier today than it was back then - creating mark-up that works on a wide variety of browsers is not the challenge it used to be. I still shudder at the amount of browser sniffing that used to be required.
In fact, cross-browser development long ago became second nature for me. Yes, there was a learning curve. It's a curve that was well worth climbing, because I learned so much about what HTML really is and how it works - in a sentence, I now approach HTML as the "mark-up language" it really is, rather than a "layout program."
If you are running an online business, the profits are there and the ROI and cash flow make good business sense, then you're doing fine - even if only IE users can make sense of your pages.
If you would like an extra edge, and want to future-proof your pages along the way, then writing cross-browser mark-up is one relatively easy way to boost your business. You only need to learn each bit one time and then it's a tool in your tool kit for every future page you author.
Today I only use IE for testing and never for shopping. So I guess I will not be your customer, BDW, and will not be recommending your site to anyone else (nod to buckworks) - and you can live with that fact because it fits your business model. This is the real world.
Today I only use IE for testing and never for shopping. So I guess I will not be your customer, BDW, and will not be recommending your site to anyone else (nod to buckworks) - and you can live with that fact because it fits your business model. This is the real world.
I'm not really selling anything as such so it makes no difference to me. Let me make one thing clear. I am not saying that we should not make sites cross browser compatible. Of course new sites should be built this way.
I have not been in this business for long so I have a lot to learn and my main site was not built this way because of my inexperience at the time. My stats suggest that this is inconsequential so I have no worries about it. When I redevelop the site I will look at it.
