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In the world of website design it is always important to be sure that your website is viewable by the largest audience possible. It is also good business sense as well. If you're selling products or services, the larger the audience you have, the more opportunity for sales you will have.

In terms of web browsers, there are currently two that make up the lions share of computers out there viewing your website. Internet Explorer still holds on as the number one web browser of choice with 55.7% of all web surfers using Internet Explorer in September 2007 (Version 6 & Version 7). However, it is important to note that Firefox controlled a whopping 35.4% of the market during that same time period (source: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp).

That means that one in every three visitors to your website is now using Firefox. So it begs the question, have you ever checked your website in Firefox? One should never assume that because your website looks fine in Internet Explorer that it looks fine in Firefox. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Internet Explorer and Firefox both conform differently to web page design standards and render web pages differently. Many times things that work perfectly in one fail completely in the other. If this is the case, you could be losing 33% of all of your web traffic due to coding incompatibilities. Turn this in to dollars and cents and you could be losing 1/3 of your sales as well.

So what can you do to help prevent Firefox users from fleeing your web site like rats from a sinking ship. Well, the first step is easy. Get the Firefox web browser and take a look at your website. Does it appear the way you expected it to? If so, then there likely isn't anything you need due except check it every now and then as new versions of the browsers come out.

But what if you have a problem? Luckily, these problems are usually easy to fix. One thing we have noticed quite often is that the browsers will sometimes place objects just a tad differently positionally on web pages, often off by a just few pixels. Usually a few minor tweaks using CSS can often lead to a middle ground that works for both browsers. If you have a javascript that doesn't work start searching the web using Google for others having the same problem. Many times fixes are already in place and only a few minor code changes are needed.

Having a website that provides a positive viewing experience for both Firefox and Internet Explorer viewers makes good business sense. If your website has problems with one browser or the other you could substantially increase your bottom line with just a few minor changes. If you need help with designing or fixing a website for your business, feel free to contact us.

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