OT web designers, a quick fix for browser display?

[jimcav]

my wife just did a website and it displays fine in chrome, but not in IE. she has tried a few code fixes that used to work (she has been out of the game for a few years now), can anyone point me to a quick fix, I assume on the code side, or perhaps a better forum to post the question? She just wants it to display properly in the various versions of explorer
thanks for any advice or guidance
jim
jacav2@cox.net

[jimoots]

my wife just did a website and it displays fine in chrome, but not in IE. she has tried a few code fixes that used to work (she has been out of the game for a few years now), can anyone point me to a quick fix, I assume on the code side, or perhaps a better forum to post the question? She just wants it to display properly in the various versions of explorer
thanks for any advice or guidance
jim
jacav2@cox.net

This question is the equivalent of "I feel unwell, what medicine should I take?"

More detail required - much more detail required!

[bewheels]

You will have to give someone access to the site so they can look at it. You should not need to give anyone access to any code or servers. Browser tools are advanced enough that someone who is willing can give guidance by poking around at the public site.

[bcroslin]

What version of IE are using to view it? If it's an old version I wouldn't worry about how it looks in IE.

[yoshirider]

Without knowing anything about the site, there are a few things to check for like CSS display property. From what I recall, I think the older versions of IE don't like inline-blocks. Backgrounds with alphas are problematic too. To create and use IE specific stylesheets, check out this site http://css-tricks.com/how-to-create-an-ie-only-stylesheet/

[GeekBoy]

As mentioned before, we need more info.

Just FYI, it's common practice to only go so far back with legacy browser support. IE is notorious for being extremely buggy at times.

Another option is to use a frontend framework like Bootstrap (http://getbootstrap.com/2.3.2/getting-started.html), which takes care of many of these cross-browser issues.

[Climb01742]

What version of IE are using to view it? If it's an old version I wouldn't worry about how it looks in IE.

This. Many sites don't even support IE any longer. They just offer/suggest the viewer download chrome, Firefox or Safari.

[jimoots]

A website should degrade gracefully. There are hoards of big corporates who are back on XP still, which maxes out IE8.

And of course corporate security policies dictate that employees cannot install other browsers.

If you want the masses of corporate drones that do most of their web browsing at work, then you're going to have to ensure your website is at least functional on IE8 and up.

This is particularly important if you're trying to sell something on your website. And even if you're not selling something - unless you are building a web application - ignore IE at your peril.

Anyone who try's to sell you other theories on front end web design is being lazy.

Back to the OP, my initial post was a bit obtuse. I find that google is a big help when you come across really obscure IE bugs. They are often simple fixes, but it takes some time to research the solution.

[thirdgenbird]

A website should degrade gracefully. There are hoards of big corporates who are back on XP still, which maxes out IE8.

And of course corporate security policies dictate that employees cannot install other browsers.

If you want the masses of corporate drones that do most of their web browsing at work, then you're going to have to ensure your website is at least functional on IE8 and up.

This.

This is something Oracle doesn't even understand. I've had their tech support and engineers tell me the "fix" is to use Chrome. Somewhat ironically, another portion of the SAS product didn't function on a computer that had chrome installed (regardless of what browser was bing used).

Like it or not, IE8+ support is pretty vital for many large corporations.

[Climb01742]

Having a different opinion doesn't make someone 'lazy'.

The answer to the OPs question may be in who the audience is for the site and what the resources are for building the site.

Working with many smaller companies, with finite budgets and short timelines and more limited resources, it's often a fact of life that you must choose which browsers you are able to support, which devices (laptop, tablet or mobile) you can support and making your site responsive.

It's true that large corporate sites have the resources to do everything. Many smaller companies and sites, particularly of a more creative bent, must pick and choose what they can do. In those cases, IE is usually the last browser on the list and if it is on the list, you support only the latest version.

If resources are no issue, support everything. If resources are limited, then very very often the browsers you support are limited. That's not lazy. It's being professional with a client's money, time and staff.

[GeekBoy]

If resources are limited, then very very often the browsers you support are limited. That's not lazy. It's being professional with a client's money, time and staff.

Bingo. I do web dev for a living, sometimes you don't want to go that far back with Internet Explorer. It all depends on the target market.

[thirdgenbird]

So what are you seeing for traffic? I haven't seen our stats in probably a year or so (position change) but at that time, IE was the predominate browser used by our applicants and independent dealership employees.

[jimoots]

I work on a reasonably large, high traffic website that gets a good cross-section in terms of demographics for retail traffic. I can't divulge the site obviously but it gives a good idea of where users are at in terms of tech.

Internet Explorer
IE accounts for 32.25% of total traffic
- IE 11 is 46% of that
- IE 8 is 22.29% of that (so 7.5% of total traffic, which on this site is 2,000 uniques a week)
- 9 and 10 make up the difference

The rest
Safari (mobile) - 19.59%
Safari (mac) - 6.04%
Chrome (mobile) - 4.91%
Chrome (desktop) - 16.58%
Firefox - 12.27%
Other Android Browser - 5.15%

Those IE numbers are even higher when you discount weekend usage and only look at monday to Friday. Jumps to 34% and IE8 is 24% of all IE.

You can argue budgetary reasons for ignoring earlier versions of IE, whatever. If you are working on a retail site where you actually want to sell things - as opposed to brochure-wear or a web-application... you're ignoring IE8 at your own peril.

Corporate hasn't let go of XP/IE8. People love using the web at work. It is so incredibly easy to build a business case suggesting that the effort and cost of developing to at least degrade gracefully (i.e. function) to the point of IE8 is going to make a business money.

Of course you can pat yourself on the back for saving the client money, but shouldn't you be patting yourself on the back for making the client money?

[thirdgenbird]

Your overall IE number is what I would have expected but the split using 11 is somewhat surprising to me. I guess a lot has happened since I changed roles.

[Climb01742]

The numbers I've seen for browsers usage, particularly when you account for mobile, are different. Chrome is, by far, the dominant choice and growing, and IE is shrinking every year. Combine Chrome, Safari and Firefox and you can reach 75% folks. But we all know how variable stats can be.

But we're debating in the abstract. What matters most is helping specific client in specific instances. It's cool that IE does what you need it too. There are just other instances where other solutions make sense for clients. It all depends on audience and resources. Let's hope everyone finds success.