"Best viewed with 'Browser-X' at 'this-by-that' resolution."
Translation: "This site was slapped together by a lazy Web Designer." A casualty of the Browser Wars.
Ask any professional designer in the biz, and he'll tell you that browser compatibility is the biggest pain. You know, this works in IE, but doesn't work in Netscape, and vice versa. Mix in a variety of O/S'es, differing resolutions, 3.0-5.0 versions, Opera, Lynx, AOL, WebTV, etc. Next to your software, Alka Seltzer has become your biggest business investment!
Of course you CAN take the easy way out and post the above message on your business site.
It's not like you'll alienate half your visitors or anything.
They'll gladly change their resolution, reboot their computers, download a new browser, and come back to you.
Sure they will.
It's YOUR job to make that page look good, pal.... NOT your customer's.
They'd rather fight than switch.
These days, a person's choice of browsers is held as sacred as religious and political affiliations.
You think I'm exaggerating? Go to someone who uses "the other browser" and bad mouth it. I have literally seen this heated discussion turn into a fistfight on at least two occasions.
It's time you asked yourself: "Can my business stand to offend potential customers over a browser I'm not even being PAID to endorse?"
Netscape and Microsoft are doing just fine without you. Trust me on this.
And don't forget Web TV!
They may not have spent a fortune to browse the Internet, but they have credit cards, and they know how to use them!
How does your website look on WebTV?
You can get the "Web TV Viewer" for free at http://developer.webtv.net/design. See how your site looks in 800,000 living rooms across the country. It also comes with a detailed report of tags and attributes not recognized in Web TV.
I'll say it again: Eight hundred thousand subscribers.
Statistics also claim they are on the web 70% more that computer-based surfers. I would say that constitutes a reason to optimize your site (or at least a section), don't you?
