Compatibility Testing. How Much Do You Think Is Enough?

[minimcmonkey 0]

I always make sure I test in plenty of browsers. I have every browser I could find installed for testing and test in every resolution I can (including multiple displays and different window sizes) I put a lot of time in to checking compatibility. Does everyone else consider it such a bit thing?

[rvalkass 5]

I try my best to test all my work in as many different scenarios as possible. I test in Firefox, Opera, Konqueror and Lynx on my own computer, then test things like IE, Safari, etc. on other platforms. I also check my sites on my Nintendo Wii, and try to get people to test with smartphones and mobile browsers. Each of the machines I test with (and get other people to test my sites with) has a different resolution, but it is still difficult to test all browsers at all resolutions on all platforms. For that I make use of BrowserShots to test in pretty much every browser on all platforms.

Making sites accessible is incredibly important. I include useful alt text on images, which also helps with text-only browsers like Lynx. I generally don't include options on my sites for changing colours and font sizes. For font sizes I try to use sizes that depend on browser settings, so that if people set their browser to a larger font, they'll get one. The 'zooming' method now included in a lot of browsers somewhat negates the need for this, but is still helpful to have there. With colours I make sure that my colour schemes can still be seen as well as possible by those suffering from colour blindness. Again, I don't include options on my sites for changing the colours - people can always use custom stylesheets if they need certain colours, and would likely use them anyway, whether I provided colour changing options or not.