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Posted by Rik on 07/13/06 12:13
Alan J. Flavell wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Jul 2006, Rik wrote:
>
>> I still like my sites to be as similar as possible in various
>> browsers.
>
> Then you are setting yourself a goal which is not merely pointless,
> but actively counter-productive.
>
> The end users care, at the first priority, about the content that
> you're making available to them, and at the second priority, that it
> looks presentable without having to wait *too* long for the furniture
> to arrive.
>
> Hardly any of them (*not even* those who use several browsers) are
> going to display the same page in different browsers and deduct points
> for any merely cosmetic differences.
>
> Even "looking the same" on Firefox and on Firefox is not necessarily a
> good idea, if their respective users have widely different needs
> (visual acuity etc.).
>
> And one of the main aims of the WWW was to present the same content
> across a wide range of presentation situations. Sure, the
> presentation situations that we had then were quite unlike the ones
> that we have today, but the principle is the same.
You've got a point.
However, if I take on project, the client usually wants a certain layout,
which I have to match as much as possible in standard browsers. So that's
what I'll try. Not meaning pixel-perfect, but as near as possible.
There are limits to this offcourse:
1. I never, ever, use CSS hacks: workarounds are OK, hacks are ugly, and
unreliable.
2. The site has to be scalable for users using larger fonts.
3. The page has to make sense with no CSS applied (I thoroughly like Opera's
options here).
When making a page, my list in order of importance:
1. Must be valid HTML & CSS (duh..).
2. All main functionality must work in pure HTML (allow for no javascript,
no flash, etc).
3. Has to be semantically, logicial HTML.
4. Has to be readable in any browser (not text disappearing by incorrect
sizes/margins etc.).
5. Will keep the use of presentational HTML (such as <img>'s across the top)
to a bare minimum, if at all.
6. Has to make sense without CSS (which is actually derived from point 3
offcourse).
7. Has to look/feel the same in all main browsers.
Offcourse, let's not forget that CSS is not only for layout in browsers, but
can also be used for print, handheld devices, text-to-speech
whatjamacallit's etc.
In this case, when faced with the options to style a list, I'd choose the
option that will make it generally look the same in most major browsers.
Grtz,
--
Rik Wasmus
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