Why does my web page look different when I use different computers and web browsers?
Because HTML was designed for an environment common to different platforms (e.g., Windows, Mac OS X, the X Window System) and configurations unique to each user, a web page will not look the same on all computers. When designing your pages, keep in mind that users will have set different browser window sizes and may even have configured their browsers to have different font, text, link, and background characteristics. If your page looks correct only with a certain window width and particular font, reconsider its layout.
Remember that browsers can interpret HTML differently. There are tags that some browsers will read but that other browsers won't understand, e.g., Java, floating images, frames, or I-frames. For more, see Webmonkey's Windows Browser Chart. This page also contains links to browser charts for other operating systems.
If you are using style sheets (CSS), be aware that different browsers interpret style sheets differently, particularly text size. To learn more about how different browsers interpret text size specifications, visit Webmonkey's Web Typography Tutorial - Lesson 2.
It is essential to look at your pages with several browsers, including text-based ones such as Lynx. Numerous HTML style guides are available that will help you optimize your page for both appearance and legibility across browsers.
Last modified on June 30, 2011.
