Some of the new capabilities of html 5 and css were put to good use in my latest web design, an update for Hermosa portrait photographer Cheryl Ogden. Visit the site using the Safari or Chrome browsers and you’ll see some little goodies on the home page. Check it out!
One of the issues when incorporating some of the vastly expanded capabilities of new web browsers is providing a good experience when visitors are not using the latest and greatest browser. So one must be a little cautious so that all visitors can enjoy the site — not all visitors will get the same experience, but all will get a good one. That is my goal and my mantra :-)
These days I also design for mobile, my iPhone and iPad are never far away when I’m working. And this year promises an explosion of new Android devices as well as Blackberry’s new Playbook tablet. The good thing about all these new devices? They all use Webkit, the open-source browser technology championed by Apple and Google, so they all offer more or less the same user experience.
Of course there are limits to this egalitarianism. Visitors using Internet Explorer 6, that shipped in 2003 with Windows XP? You people are not going to get the sweetest experience. Of course I test in IE6, as well as IE7, IE8 and the new beta IE9 (see how far behind these people are?) to make sure the site doesn’t break, but some details that I’m sweating to look great in new browsers… well I’m not sweating for IE6 anymore, sorry. If you haven’t upgraded in seven eight years even though Microsoft is buying advertising to get you to upgrade, well you get what you and your corporate IT department deserve. The good news is that less than 1% of my site visitors are using IE6. Your mileage may vary, but I don’t think I need to be concerned about them anymore.
I’ll get off my soapbox now, so you can enjoy the site!
