Cross-Browser Compatibility – A Critical Factor for Your WordPress Website

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Cross-Browser Compatibility

WordPress has captured 40% of the Internet with its expert level of customization provided and a large amount of community support. You can create cutting-edge websites using all the latest web technologies or using the Plug and Play blog posting website in the form of themes, extensions, and more. WordPress is easy to process, organize, modify, gauge, uphold, and expand learning. But it also comes with an added responsibility for compatibility between browsers. – Cross-Browser Compatibility 

Each website created from it is uniquely built to serve a specific purpose, and almost all websites are slightly different in design and content. By default, WordPress isn’t enough to make up for the lack of functionality. Thus, many turn to third-party themes and plugins, as well as custom CSS and JS code using a variety of APIs, functions, and technologies to meet their requirements. And this is where the cross-browser compatibility begins.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

What is a cross-browser test?

Today over 455 million sites use WordPress. A Cross-browser test is a way to examine the quality of your web application to see if it works properly in different web browsers. The test checks your website’s design, function, ease of use, readability, etc., allowing developers and testers to ensure its compatibility with various devices and operating system versions that users commonly use.

Factors such as screen size, screen resolution, operating system version, and browser version are constantly changing. Therefore, cross-browser testing is required to address these changes and understand these differences. The ultimate goal is to eliminate all inconsistencies in the website’s interface and maintain browser compatibility.

Why do you need it?

Today, there are many devices on the market and many different browsers. Google chrome tops the charts with a 65% market share on desktop computers and 57% of the market share on mobile devices. Other browsers like Firefox, IE, Safari, etc., follow the trend. There are everyday changes with agile techniques which means you must have a compatible website that considers the trending and latest technology. This helps teams build robust products. 

Each browser renders HTML, CSS, and JS differently. With the excellence of cross-browser testing services, many businesses enhance the user experience by testing their website to make sure it is compatible with all running browsers. A WordPress development company can implement responsive website designs based on authentic cross-browser testing to accommodate website functionality.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

 

How to do cross-browser testing?

Here are some things to consider before you start testing:

  • Determine the number and type of browsers to test, depending on your user base concentration.
  • Then choose to build your device lab or test it in the cloud?
  • Testing on real devices is always recommended as it captures real user actions and device reactions.
  • Investing in cross-browser testing tools can be a good move as it saves money and allows you to consider speed, features, and device choices on a single platform.
  • Parallel testing with an automated cross-browser compatibility test tool allows you to run multiple tests in parallel, covering up to a maximum number of tests in a very short amount of time.
  • You can explore various other features such as live testing and browser screenshot comparison analysis to focus on developing high-quality products.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

The role of cross-browser testing in refining the user experience

1. Convenient and accessible- Cross-Browser Compatibility 

At the end of the day, it is all about customer satisfaction. It may also improve your ranking on Google search engines. If a customer can’t move smoothly through the site, they will leave the site immediately. CSS Gradient and Opacity form the basis of how design affects the UI/UX and the usability of websites. It doesn’t make sense to provide a top-notch website, which has terrifying CSS gradients and opacity that vary from browser to browser. CSS opacity may not be compatible with older browsers such as IE. Also, by leveraging the capabilities of simple CSS Gradients native functions, designers ensure faster website loading without sacrificing website resolution and clarity.

2. Smartphone compatibility

The operating system is different for each smartphone. The goal is to be compatible with all browsers, regardless of which browser you use to access the website. Cross-browser testing helps maintain website usability and accessibility on devices such as desktops, mobiles, and tablets.

3. Better CTA

The website is the face of your business which eventually attracts the customer to click the Call to Action button for further dialogue. The CTA is uniquely designed and placed on the site so that customers can know where to click to complete the transaction. End-to-end testing is required to ensure that the website’s CTA button functionality has been tested across browsers and operating system environments.

4. Ease of navigation

Website navigation should be simple and aesthetically pleasing. Google also takes this aspect into account when displaying search results. Your website promotes users to buy or fill out forms and take action on their website. And when performing these tasks, the user should not appear to have a difficult task at hand. Technical errors and inconsistent navigation in website navigation are a loss to the company. These issues can be resolved using browser compatibility testing.

5. Browser-compatible registration forms

All companies have the goal of turning visitors into customers. The registration form is used to register the customer on the website. Mismatched registration forms due to overlapping notifications are not a good technique. There should be no discrepancy in profiling, registration, calendar-based forms, and more. If there is a discrepancy, in this case, the cross-browser testing tool will perform the trick and apply the fix.

6. User-centered design and browser synchronization

Cross-browser compatibility testing helps improve the customer experience while following the best design practices. You can integrate many user-centric themes into your website to improve the user experience. If you don’t support your default browser, all your efforts will be wasted.

7. Compatibility with website templates

WordPress provides endless templates which may be incompatible with browsers and require developer intervention. Incompatible templates can cause problems with some features such as sliders and toggles. Therefore, these templates should be extensively cross-browser tested before being presented to the end-user.

8. Image compatibility

Due to the different data processing speeds of each engine, some images on the website may be corrupted. It can also be caused by incompatible plugins that disrupt your website’s UX and reduce your experience.

9. Variable font compatibility

Today there are limited design constraints and Typography is an important aspect of web design. Heavy fonts can slow down loading times and can have a more serious impact on your website’s Google search engine rankings. Cross-browser testing tools can check the responsiveness of your website, and track the performance of your website’s web app.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

Why test a WordPress website for cross-browser compatibility?

When you enter the URL of your website in the address bar, the browser sends a request to the server which further responds with content (HTML files) displaying the final structure of the page. Eventually, CSS and JavaScript were needed to add interactivity to web pages. However, various browsers have adopted their methods for displaying CSS and JavaScript. Due to the differences in rendering mechanisms, the developer is responsible for explaining them. That’s why we need cross-browser testing today. There are two needs for testing related to WordPress websites.

  1. Component Conflicts: No two WordPress websites will be the same unless they are part of the same network. The theme plugin matrix and custom code are unique. By testing your WordPress website, you can be sure that theme and plugin conflicts will be detected and fixed
  2. Browser compatibility: Developers can monitor the console to minimize conflicts between plugins and themes under development. Also, the website may be interrupted in another browser. If your site uses plugins/themes that are not cross-browser compatible, your site can have some errors.

WordPress Website Browser Compatibility Testing

Basic Considerations

The following features should be tested in the cross-browser test suite.

  1. Basic usage: Make sure that input fields, mobile touch input, etc. work between browsers/devices.
  2. Design: Make sure the layout and all its components are responsive. Check your responsive design on your real device with this free responsive design checker.
  3. Accessibility: Make sure you comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) so that people with disabilities can access your site. Page load speed is important for UX and SEO, so maintain it also on bandwidth-limited mobile networks.

Conclusion

WordPress is almost bug-free but adding features to the core installation can introduce more obvious bugs. Incorporate cross-browser testing into WordPress development to build a line of defense between browser-specific bugs and UX. You can hire a WordPress development company for cross-browser testing to ensure that your websites comply with the standards of interest and the users get the most efficient and user-friendly platform. It helps maintain the quality of the UX.

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