The StyleSheet - For businesses that use the internet

Preparing Your Web Site for Internet Explorer 7

Posted October 1, 2006 By Mike Wisian |

In a previous StyleSheet article, I reviewed a beta version of Microsoft’s newest browser, Internet Explorer 7. Known by acronym enthusiasts and web developers as IE7, the product is slated for release by the end of year.  Microsoft’s new browser is a great step towards web standards compliancy, but it still has a ways to go.  Because of this, it is a good idea to be prepared for its release.

As designers became aware of Internet Explorer 6’s shortcomings, it became necessary to use workarounds and fixes to get sites to look the same across all browsers.  These fixes would “trick” IE into behaving the way it should or have it ignore the code it couldn’t handle.   As a result of IE7 addressing some of the issues but leaving others unresolved, some of these workarounds no longer work.  

“…it is important that you test your company’s site with Internet Explorer’s pre-release before the final product rolls out”

For this reason it is important that you test your company’s site with Internet Explorer’s pre-release before the final product rolls out.

Microsoft has made the beta of IE7 readily available for this reason, and installation is a cinch.  All you have to do is go to Microsoft’s IE7 download page, download the setup, and install.  A word of caution: Internet Explorer 7 will install over your current version of IE, so if you aren’t ready to make the switch it would be a good idea to install it on a workstation or server that you don’t normally use.

After you have it installed, take a leisurely stroll through your site and make sure it looks like it should.  Microsoft has stated that this beta release will render pages the same as the official release at the end of the year, so what you see is what it will look like at release.  Chances are it will be fine, but it’s a good idea to take this precaution so there are no surprises. 

But don’t stop there. Browser technology is always changing, so it is always a good idea to test on all the latest releases.  After all, you never know what will be the next dominant browser.  With contenders such as Firefox, Opera, and Safari winning over users with innovative features and better standards support, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is fast slipping as king of the web browser hill.  As such make sure you test, test, test!

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