In February, TechCrunch brought to light a paper that outlined that 1/3rd of Americans don’t have fast Internet (which translated to 80 million adults and 13 million children either still using dial-up or not using the Internet at all at home).

So, what does that mean for your site?

Years ago, compatibility and speed was a major consideration – does it work on all three browsers? On both operating systems? Ugh, where is that darn table close that’s breaking the table? Well, guess what? Even though the major buzz now goes to SEO (or what I like to call trying to fool the Google) and social media, cross-compatibility is still a major factor in a web site, possibly even more so than when site compatibility was all the rage.

Just in my house, I can view my site on: a desktop with Windows XP, a desktop with Linux Mint, on a Wii, on a Playstation 3, on a Blackberry Curve, on a Blackberry Pearl, on a Macbook,  on an LG Vu, on a computer with a large LCD widescreen and one with a non-widescreen monitor (that flips to portrait!) And probably more that I can’t even think of right now.

Designing for more than your set up is still imperative. Some things that are becoming very important to keep in mind:

1. Flash – iPhones can’t see it, iPods can’t see it.

Actually, that’s probably the big one.

Ok, while that was meant to be a bit of a joke, it does illustrate the problems web site owners have in trying to design one site that looks good on all platforms, in all browsers, with various capabilities. Trying to do it becomes exceedingly difficult – but you still have to try.

A Case in Point

I’m a big buffalo eater (sorry, my vegan friends). I really enjoy steak, and I really enjoy cheeseburgers, and I really wish they weren’t so freaking unhealthy for you. A few years ago at the Austin Pow Wow, I had Buffalo Chili on Fry Bread and I was hooked. When I came home and did some research, I found out how much healthier it was than beef, and I set out to find a Buffalo supplier.

After comparing prices, I found Elk USA (which is Grande Meats)– they had a Bargain Barn for meat that had been frozen a bit too long, was still good, and it was a great price. One problem – the web site was designed a heck of a long time ago and it was designed to work exclusively in Internet Explorer. Two or three times, I gritted my teeth and fired it up, and placed an order. They were wonderful folks, the food was wonderful, it was a small business. My only complaint was the site.

Eventually, they lost my business strictly because of their web site. Ordering was an unpleasant experience, it was difficult to navigate, and I was using a browser that made me feel like I was walking through a back alley alone and unarmed on a moonlit night. I switched to High Plains Bison for no other reason than the ordering experience, and that it seriously bugs me when someone forces me to switch a browser just to buy with them.

Tools to help you keep as much of your audience as you can

So, we try to lecture or opine, and then point you to some places that can help you. Some of my favorites include:

http://browsershots.org/

Linux, Windows, Mac, and BSD operating systems are represented, as well as various browsers including IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari – no Chrome yet, though. You can change the resolution, and change the capabilities, and you’ll get a screenshot at the end showing you what your site looks like with the various options you choose.

http://crossbrowsertesting.com/

Free 5 minute test session if you register for the free trial, this rather professional solution’s lowest paid cost is $19.99/m, which is probably awesome for professional designers but a little pricey for someone just handling one or two sites.

http://www.browsrcamp.com/

Mac-specific testing so that you can check out your site through the eyes of a Mac using various browsers and settings. Free and paid versions.

http://www.testiphone.com/

iPhone browser simulator to see your site through the eyes of an iPhone. Free.

http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/emulator.html

The Android Emulator will allow you to download and install an emulator so that you can preview your site on Android. An overview of how to get started with this is located on this great blog post.

http://www.webpageanalyzer.com/

Free web site speed test to improve website performance. Enter a URL to calculate page size, composition, and download time. The script calculates the size of individual elements and sums up each type of web page component. Remember – 1/3rd = dial up, and there is some indication that site speed may soon play a role in Google ranking. This is still really important.

How do you tell what everyone is using?

http://www.google.com/analytics/

Google Analytics (which provided the graphics in this post and are real metrics from visitors to our own site) continues to be our favorite stats program, which is kind of a given since Urchin used to be our favorite stats program until Google bought them and turned them into Analytics. It’s simple to set up, and free, and provides an amazing amount of information.

http://www.woopra.com/

Woopra is growing popular and giving Analytics a bit of a run for its money. It gives you most of the info Analytics does, as well as some other configuration options with alerts and so on. Woopra is free for sites with page views up to 30,000 a month, and starts at $4.95 a month for sites with traffic above that. The costs go up to $179.95 a month for sites with 10,000,000 page views.

None of you are there yet.

Trust us, we’d know.

Tags: web site optimization

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 10:05 am and is filed under DrakNet Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.Both comments and pings are currently closed.