I’ve been designing webpages for as long as I can remember. One of the recurring issues I run into is the ability to display the same webpage across all browsers and platforms. The number of browsers we need to check with are enormous: Safari 3,0, 3.2, and 4.0, Internet Explorer (IE) 7, 6, 5.5 and 5.0, Firefox 2.0 and 1.5, Opera 9 and 8, and so on. And then there are the different platforms: Macintosh (Mac), Windows, Linux, etc.

More often than not, its the Internet browsers that are inconsistent on delivery. It takes a lot of patience to smooth out the frustration. Here are some helpful links that you should definitely check out when working with webpages.

W3C Validation Service – This validator checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc. You can also validate specific content such as RSS/Atom feeds or CSS stylesheets, MobileOK content, or find broken links. I always run my pages through this validator before publishing or going live.

IE NetRenderer – Internet Explorer is the default browser for most PC users so getting your webpage checked for compatibility across all versions is vital. This site allows you to check how a website is rendered by Internet Explorer 7, 6, and 5.5. Just type in a URL and test it out – it’s free!

Browsershots – A popular free service that will provide screen shots of a page from just about any browser from all of the common operating systems. All you have to do is enter your URL and select the browsers and operating systems that you want to test. Paid users have priority in getting their screen shots first. When the service is busy it can take a while to get the free screen shots, but you can pay $15 per month for priority processing.

iPhoney – Technology has opened the doors for mobile phones with Internet capability so you need to develop your website to be smart phone friendly! iPhoney gives you a pixel-accurate web browsing environment—powered by Safari—that you can use when developing web sites for iPhone. It’s the perfect 320 by 480-pixel canvas for your iPhone development. And it’s free.

The Site Wizard – Check out this site if you want to be very thorough by learning how to check with multiple browsers on a single computer.

Full credit goes to the image authors.