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Testing Pages

To a large degree, the Web is what your Web browser makes it. Because Web pages are written in code such as HTML, it is subject to interpretation and a web browser can profoundly affect the appearance and functionality of Web pages. For instance, HTML can not determine how colors in graphics will be interpreted by your browser or monitor nor which font, font size, or color will be used to display text. Such text formatting is a product of user settings established in the end user's browser and PC. Also, different end users may have screen resolution settings that may greatly affect layout of the web page, so it is important to code and test for these different screen size settings.

There are several types of browsers available, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla/Firefox, and Opera to name a few. Each of these browsers and their potential user settings can vary in their support of HTML tags and script enhancements, such as Style Sheets, JavaScript and Java. Browsers that are run on different platforms, such as Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX, may introduce display differences as well, even though the code was designed to be compatible across a wide range of machines. Lower-end or older versions of browsers typically support fewer tags and subsequently are less functional. Likewise, an end user who is concerned about security may enable restrictions in their browser to prevent sharing of personal information or active content such as JavaScript.

According to the EPA's Public Web Server Statistics (March 2007), most page requests (~55%) to the Agency's Web server are received from visitors using Microsoft (MS) Internet Explorer (IE), versions 6.0 and above. However, there are many people using Netscape/Netscape compatible browsers and Firefox browsers. Although there is currently a clear winner in browser popularity, the market is always subject to shift and, as a government agency, the EPA must make strides to accommodate the broadest audience possible. It is important to design, test, and optimize web pages and application for the browsers that your target audience is primarily using, but also design to accommodate other browsers.

Beyond browser and platform discrepancies, Federal Agencies such as the US EPA must comply with Section 508 Accessibility standards and web pages must be coded and tested to comply with these requirements.

With these issues in mind, here are some tips for designing and testing web pages and applications for various end-user environments:

• When creating a site or page, avoid using proprietary or browser -specific code.
• Code pages to accommodate users who may, for security reasons, have active content such as JavaScript or Java turned off.
• Review EPA web statistics to determine what browser technology your audience is using.
• Follow Accessibility Guidance to design for end users with varying capabilities.
• Test web pages and applications in as many different browsers as possible.

Development Resources

• Use the EPA Standard Look and Feel Template to develop new pages (http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/).
• Follow the EPA Procedures, Standards and Guidance (http://yosemite.epa.gov/oei/webguide.nsf/standards-guidance) .

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