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7 Fresh and Simple Ways to Test Cross-Browser Compatibility
Posted Iebruary 25. 2009 in Programming. Web Design 263 Comments
This post is written for designers. developers. or anyone else who has struggled with testing their
websites across multiple browsers.
As little as one year ago. there were almost no good options for testing cross-browser compatibility
of websites. The tools out there usually had significant drawbacks either in cost. capabilities. or time
required. Lately. though. there have been a lot of newcomers to the browser testing world. some of which
offer truly excellent services.
In this article weve listed 7 fresh and simple tools for cross-browser compatibility testing. tools that actually
make this stuff pretty easy. Not only that. but every single one of these tools can be used for free.
#1 Xenocode Browser Sandbox
7 Fresh and Simple Ways to Test Cross-Browser Compatibility | Freelanc... http://freelancefolder.com/7-fresh-and-simple-ways-to-test-cross-browse...
1 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
The Xenocode Browser Sandbox is a game-changer for browser testing on Windows-based machines. With a
single click of your mouse you can have an open and working browser without any installation. You can test
in various IE versions. Iirefox. Google Chrome. and even Safari. And really test. too. not iust screenshots. To
top everything off. the entire service is provide free of charge. Zip. nadda. nothing.
Alas. this isnt yet the perfect solution. There is currently no Macintosh support. which is definitely a
significant problem. Ive heard rumor that this may be coming in the future. though. and at that time this
service will be in a class of its own.
#2 CrossBrowserTesting.com
Iree 5 minute test sessions for registered users. and a lot more than that for paid users.
CrossBrowserTesting.com makes things as easy as logging in and selecting an available machine with the
browser/os you want. Once you pick your machine and browser you can begin your testing.
You can use a web-based iava applet to connect to their remote test machines. or you can use a local VNC
client if you have one installed. Their system allows full testing of a sites interactivity and. like Xenocodes
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solution. is not iust screenshots.
#3 IETester
This is a free downloadable windows program that is still in the early stages of development. That being said.
it is a single free resource that will allow you to fully test all of the relevant versions of Internet Explorer.
Just download and install their free browser. and you can easily select which IE rendering version you want to
browse in. The program even allows comparing two different versions side-by-side. Did I mention its free?
#4 BrowsrCamp
With all of the IE-Only test sites out there. it was about time someone ioined in and created a site that allows
testing on Safari/Mac. The free version of their service offers near-instant screenshots on the newest stable
release of safari. and though its lacking a bit in browser versions it definitely makes up for it in rendering
3 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
speed.
Ior a few dollars extra. they offer the ability to take over an entire machine and perform much more in-depth
testing.
#5 Litmus
Over a period of iust a few months. Litmus has risen in popularity to become one of the most favored cross-
browser testing tools on the market today. Unfortunately. their free options are very limited and only allow
testing in IE7 and IireIox 2.
The paid version of their app is significantly more robust. and allows testing in dozens of browsers and even
email clients. Unfortunately again. with a single-user subscription starting at $49/mo. this isnt cheap either.
Ior those who need a robust test suite. though. it can be worthwhile.
#6 NetRenderer
4 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
NetRenderer is a slightly more humble-looking option for testing IE compatibility. Like many of the other
services. NetRenderer creates screenshots of your website in various browsers. It currently supports
everything from IE5.5 all the way to IE8. and creates your screenshots very quickly without needing to wait.
They also provide a browser toolbar that allows you to quickly test any of the pages you are visiting with their
service. This is also a free service. and they dont even offer a paid version of the tests.
#7 BrowserShots
BrowserShots has become one of the most common methods of testing lately. and with good reason. They
allow testing in almost any browser/os. including some very rare combinations. The free version of the app
only has one limitation you must wait for paid users to get access first.
Because of their popularity. though. it can be very slow to receive the test screenshots at certain times of day.
Since they rely on member computers to provide the screenshots. the more popular the browser/os
combination you select the faster youll receive your renders. Unless everyone else is trying for the same one
:-)
Bonus #8 Adobe MeerMeer
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Adobe MeerMeer is a sweet looking test suite that is going to be released very shortly from Adobe. They
previewed some of the features at their Adobe MAX event. and since then nearly everyone whos heard
about it is excited.
MeerMeer will offer a significant number of benefits compared with existing test suites. The most notable is
probably the onion skin. or the ability to overlay one rendering on top of another from a different browser.
Keep your eye on this one. it is going to be big.
More Online Resources from FreelanceFolder
If you liked this list of browser testing tools. you might also enioy these other resource posts from
IreelanceIolder:
5 Game-Changing Proiect Management Tools
15 Useful Twitter Tools Ior Web Workers
10 Essential Plugins Every Modern Wordpress Site Should Have
15 Iirefox Add-Ons to Tame Social Media Addicts
15 Applications No Online Business Can Live Without
How do you test browser compatibility?
Did you know of these resources already? Do you have a few of your own tools stashed away? Let us know
in the comments.
Do you use an entirely different way to test browser compatibility? If you do. there are undoubtedly a lot of
people who would love to hear about it.
About the author: Mason Hipp is a designer. entrepreneur. and writer. He is co-author of the Book The
Unlimited Ireelancer. and has iust recently launched a collection of premium graphic resources for web
designers called MediaLoot. Iollow him on twitter .MasonHipp
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263 Comments
Chase Campbell
Iebruary 25th. 2009 at 1:42 pm
Great article Mason!
I love CrossBrowserTesting.com. I have been using it for awhile. When it comes to testing across
browsers I have two things I use.
1. I mainly use Cross Browser Testing to check IE6.
7 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
2. I invested $300 in a little Acer netbook. which I do most of my IE7 and Iirefox testing in. I do all my
work on MAC. so its nice to have the little netbook right there to check sites out in a Windows
environment.
Thanks for the other sites. Ill have to check them out. Drop by graphicdesigntwist.com and say hello
some time.
Cheers!
eraevion
Simplest solution is the working one in this case.
Just running all necessary browsers IETester. Works for me!
TY
Unfortunately. Im not using any of those and testing is becoming a pain. Im testing at work. home. and
iust about every corner available. Will be taking a closer look at the items listed in the post. I know one
will allow me to speed up my work.
Great post.
Nachtmeister
Im iust using the Browsershots service. Ok. sometimes it takes a lot of time. but there are all
configurations you need.
8 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Pothi
Of all the 7 sites. I highly recommend crossbrowsertesting.com though the pricing is little higher than
other services.
David Link
I use a Mac. So I test Safari. Opera. II on there. Next to me. I keep a Windows XP box that I use
almost exclusively for browser testing. I keep IE6 installed on it and run IE7 Standalone. I dont have
the patience for Browsershots. or the budget for the paid services.
Jarel
I didnt like IETester. It performed poorly when running on an instance of XP via Parallels which had
plenty of allocated memory and CPU. Often times the application would crash which is maddening
when youre in a time crunch.
A much better solution that I use is http://tredosoft.com/MultipleIE to run IE6 side by side with IE7.
You can also run older versions of IE side by side but I only test as far back as IE6.
John Wang
9 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Always used #7 Browsershots. But now. kind of curious to try out the other ones too. I always test on a
small set of local browsers too though. Iirefox 3. IE6 and 7. Safari 3. and Chrome.
Steve
I usually test on last 2 iterations of IE and Iirefox. Safari current Chrome and Opera at build time.
Vista XP and Ubuntu for operating systems.
Then I send out an bulk email to a list of around 150 people many of whom test on their own
configurations and are very good at giving me feedback. I also test for many of the people on this list)
I have yet to find any emulated / virtual testing solution that matches this.
PureDezigner
I use a PC with VPC for IE6. Chrome. IE7. Safari. Opera. Portable II2. and II3. Then on my MB Pro
I use Safari and II3. What else would I need this covers everything Right?
Kenroy Rodricks
Ive been using Browsershots for quite sometime. But now I have alternatives to check.
Thanks for posting.
10 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Doug Waltman
I work on a PC running Vista. and have been having to use another computer to test IE6 until now. The
standalone downloads from XenoCode are AWESOME! You totally made my day by enlightening me
on that link. Thanks for the summary article. Mason.
Matt Davidson
If you are working on an Intel mac. having a second computer shouldnt be a solution. You can run
multiple installations of windows (one running IE6. one running IE7). This allows you to test any
operating system (you could also install linux in virtualization) and any browser.
Ior quick tests I iust use Net Renderer.
Emily
I only design the sites for my writing site and my online education program: their layouts are fairly
simple. That being said. as I designed them. I iust downloaded the most recent versions of IE. Iirefox.
and Opera and checked my pages on each browser manually. It worked fine for me. but it would
probably be too time-consuming for a professional designer who has to regularly check compatibility.
11 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Emily
Come to think of it. I think I did use http://browsershots.org/ as well. Neat program.
John Jones
Wow dude. well done!
RT
http://www.be-anonymous.us.tc
cancel bubble
If youre on a Mac and looking at VMWare to run Windows/IETester. I highly recommend you bypass
VMWare and go with Suns Virtual Box (IREE and runs GREAT). Take a look at the following link
which has a screencast to walk you through the entire setup. It rocks!
http://www.10voltmedia.com/blog/2008/12/screencast-install-internet-explorer-on-osx-using-
virtualbox/
Jesse
I work for a large Internet development company where all developers utilize a local development
application platform. As most of our local development environments. integration and testing
environments are locked behind our LAN/WAN. an external tool where one submits an external URL
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isnt feasible. We find that software virtualization helps us achieve the testing we need to complete and
we develop for browsers based on user metrics. Unfortunately for developers. running virtual machines
on top of other heavy development tools like image editors or compilers can be exhaustive. In addition
to software virtualization. we also take advantage of remote desktop and VNC configurations to test on
other operating systems and browsers.
judah
Iebruary 26th. 2009 at 12:43 am
Hey guys.
I iust wrote a blog post entitled. How to test your site across all browsers and all operating systems on
one computer. You dont have to upload your site to a server either. Please leave feedback.
http://www.iudahfrangipane.com/blog/?p241!
Andrew
I develop my sites on a Mac (using Leopard) and have VMware Iusion running Windows XP in full
screen using Spaces. My first space is my development area for coding. uploading. etc. My second
space is testing on native Mac browsers: Safari. Iirefox. etc. Iinally. my third space is for Windows XP
where I use IE Tester to check for consistency between IE 6. 7. and the beta of 8.
Mike
Working on a Mac. I generally use Netrender for IE6 & 7 because its fast and clean and they have a
nice little add-on for Iirefox but I have found Crossover. http://www.codeweavers.com/products/ with
IE6 useful for testing more in depth functionality without booting into Parallels. Ior any serious testing
though Parallels and Multiple IEs does the iob.
13 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Phil
I have an Intel Mac. and use Parallels to have different flavours of Windows running IE6. 7 and 8. plus
I have an Ubuntu install too.
That allows me to test all the maior browsers Ive even had all four VMs running at once. but my old
2GB MacBook Pro creaks a bit when I do that
Davor
Good article. I solved my problem ba installing the following browsers to my pc the usual way: II3.
IE7. Opera. Safari. Chrome.
The problem was I couldnt run II2 and IE6 so heres a solution:
a) for IE6 to run together with IE7 go to http://www.multipleies.en.softonic.com/ and download
multipleIEs.
b) to have an II2 with II3 on the same computer do the following: download II2 portable edition
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2188521/mozilla-firefox-portable. If You have a Mac than
read this: codecontortionist.com/software/mac-osx-software/multifirefox/
Ior all other combos I use browsershots but it is really slow.
insic
wow. this one is useful. nice post.
14 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Jorge Epuan
Im on Mac OSX 10.5. so my testsuite includes Safari 3. II3. Opera 9.6. IE6 and IE7 (using IE4OSX
throught wine) and now Chrome (using Crossover Chromium). No Windows enviroment at all nice.
hah?
Brian G
I use Multiple IEs which allows IE6 and IE7 to be installed side by side. run both IX2 and IX3 using
multiple profiles. then Safari for Windows and Opera. There is a Mac should I need to natively test on
that. but usually dont worry about it because if it works on the PC and all IEs then I RARELY have a
problem on any Mac browser. So. fix the problem children first and then the easy ones are already set.
PureDezigner
.cancel bubble & . iudah these are great resources to use. I hope to never have to use my pc again.
Thanks for the links. :)
David Little
15 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Thanks for this article its very useful. I hadnt heard of most of those services so its great to know
about these things.
Ive also been using Multiple IE http://tredosoft.com/MultipleIE to test different IE installations on PC
which is pretty good. At home I work on a Mac but have to test IE on my Windows laptop. Its a pain.
so anything that reduces the need the do things like this is most welcome.
Timothy
Thanks for the list. Im sure these will come in very handy
rehtse
Thanks for that useful list
Rahul
My favs are crossbrowsertesting.com and browsershots.org.
Michael
16 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
I did not know xenocode solution. really.really good stuff. thanks
btw. at least for me IETester IE6 does not render pages the same as the actual IE6!!
MJ
Mac running VMWare. I have a Win 98 VM running IE6. and my XP VM runs IE7. 98 is miniscule and
loads in a blink. and I hardly every build for IE6. Im not bothered about alignment on IE6. I only fix
things that are broken usability-wise. otherwise I dont care to much for IE6.
Content Writing Advice
Great article and a big time saver in testing websites in development. Dugg.
Matt Fetissoff
Great article Mason! Id like to throw in my two cents. Dancing Mammoth has a subscription to
browsercam.com which allows for an absolutely huge range of testing. Weve had occasions when our
testing needs have become incredibly obscure. but browsercam almost always has the right OS/browser
setup for us. Its a great service.
17 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
PureDezigner
.cancel bubble I iust checked out Suns VM and it rocks! Thanks again! Hope to do a redesign of my
current site http://www.puredezigner.com and this will be perfect!
Justin
I am on an intel mac. I use Parallels to run Vista and XP. On each I have all the browsers I need.
I used to use Multiple IE when I was on PC.
Stefan
Useful post: iust tweeted it via .susuh. :)
Beryllium
Does anyone know of a similar test suite that will allow you to test not only the appearance. but also
the programmatic behavior of a site. particularly against various security configurations of the available
browsers?
Such as: Determining under exactly which configurations a browser will fail to redirect. set a cookie.
pass a session id. such things as that?
18 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
George Fragos
Ive experimented with a couple of these but there are some things you need to interact with the
browser to see. I do all my developemnt on Linux. Ior IE6 and the Windows version of Safari I run
them in the wine environment. In the native environment Ive many choices availble Iirefox.
Epiphany (Gecko & Webkit). Midori. elinks and Opera amongst others. My approach to coding is not
to have lots of exceptions for IE. I prefer to use what works on all while adhearing to standards. This
does place some limits on the use of transparent PNG. auto setting of width and height for images. and
a host of other nits. As long as I can achieve the visual rendering I want I accept those limits on code
and image use. Having developed my own set of coding techniques I have little trouble with cross
browser compatibility. I still live test on multiple browsers before site cutover. IE6 is definately the
Albatrose of the bunch.
Karen Vick
I have always use Browser Shots but will definitely check out the others. Thanks for the info!
Lennaert
Nobody has ever used http://www.browsercam.com/?
I have seen them in the market for years. Used them a few times. Good service
19 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Amir
I test on the actual browser. I have IE7 standalone and IE6 full running Along with Safari . Opera.
Chrome and II3. I also have II2 standalone.
Pradeep CD
Useful post!!
Barney
You say Xenocode not being Mac-compatible is definitely a problem. How? Mac users without PCs
are deluding themselves if they believe theyre making any significant effort to ensure compatibility
#IEisaverypopularbrowser
Doru
On my Ubuntu machine. I test with Iirefox3. Opera9 (sometimes Konqueror) and. in a separate
workspace with a dumb xp install (virtualbox). I use IE8beta. MultipleIEs (IE6). and Chrome.
20 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
hamza
i usually have problem of cross browser compatibility during slicing a design i find the Adobe
MeerMeer a gud way to check it thanks Mason Hipp
Anthony Blears
Ive used browsercam.com for years. It does the standard screenshots in every browser and platform
stuff but also allows you to configure a machine and remote desktop into it great for testing scripting.
The only downside is the servers are SLOW from the UK.
Hadnt heard of Xenocode before thanks for sharing.
ylZhang
interim period Adobe MeerMeer
Jim
I use IETester plus its suite of IE browsers (5.5 to 8) on a crappy laptop while I work on my Mac. Great
solution. Also helps with iavascript debugging.
21 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Erwin Heiser
I dev on a Mac and use VMWare Iusion to run Ubuntu Linux and a few Windoze machines to test in
IE6/7.
Truth be told I havent bothered with IE8 yet. but Im sure thatll bring its own set of problems with it
as usual.
I do use Litmus for e-mail testing and that works great. although I wish it was a bit cheaper
Brian Johnston
I currently run II. Safari. Opera. Chrome & IETester on a Vista machine.
Ive used MultipleIE previously on an XP machine. however. I had to switch because it lacked support
for Vista. Iurthermore. it appears that MultpleIE will no longer be maintained. according to their
website.
Great list. thank you. I plan to try a few.
abdusfauzi
March 1st. 2009 at 6:41 am
for the time being. im using VMWare with XP. iust to test the site on Windows based browser. It is
useful when im off the net.
22 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Sadiq
March 1st. 2009 at 11:32 am
Hey guyz.
Its all fine.. Am using mac OS and fully depend on virtualization in virtual in which i can test all the
possible browsers environment.
The problem with this is.. I have a Windows XP with native IE6. i run ie7 standalone but if we got http
authentication it mostly returns 404. I tried so many times. some times it works and most of times its
not. I cant use IETester since i have ie6 native. I dont want depend on IETester for IE6 as only IE6 is
capable of giving all the shits it can.
Is there any way to fix this ? ?
By the way its great list after all..
PureDezigner
March 1st. 2009 at 3:53 pm
.Sadiq check out http://www.10voltmedia.com/blog/2008/12/screencast-install-internet-explorer-
on-osx-using-virtualbox/
Best to you.
PureDezigner
Ryan
I run vista with all the latest stable release browsers. along with the hack to run multiple version of
firefox at the same time and I use virtual PC 2007. which is free. to run a version of xp with IE6. I have
another virtual image of XP for all the beta. alpha. nightly browsers like opera 10 and IE8 etc. As for
mac I run a g5 with all the necessary browsers on that. Relying on screenshot services while useful
should never be a replacement for the real thing especially when you can obtain all the resources to
virtualise environments for free.
23 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Marty Thornley
I use crosbrowsertesting.com all the time and could not live without it. Their free five minutes makes
you wait inline. but usually not more than a minute or two. and it is enough to quickly check a simple
problem. They offer a huge selection of browsers and OS combinations.
The browser based version is a little slow but try their Beta VNC option. A VNC Client lives on your
desktop and provides remote access servers. basically. It is much faster really close to an actual
desktop experience. I use the free Chicken of the VNC for MAC and swear by it. Corny name. but
great results.
Browsershots is interesting but takes a while for results. It is not immediate or very useful for testing
yourself. but the good thing is you can send clients. partners. workers. etc. a link to see the screenshots
from your selection of browsers.
Bharat
March 2nd. 2009 at 12:46 am
Thanks a lot!!!!
Ior me is always been a challenge to test the website on different browsers with different platforms. but
this list of links made it all easy.
NIce post
Sajid Iqbal
March 2nd. 2009 at 5:58 am
Thanks mate really helpful article. I wonder if there are any Linux software for this purpose. IE4Lin is
definitely nice one.
24 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Elizabeth K. Barone
March 2nd. 2009 at 12:29 pm
Great article!
I usually develop on Iirefox. then I test in IE. Safari. and Opera. I work on Windows. so Safari is a
great way to make sure my sites work on a Mac. It may be time consuming. but its better than finding
out later on that something isnt right!
Im going to download that Xenocode. though. It seems like itll save me a lot of time!
Vincent
March 2nd. 2009 at 8:06 pm
Hopefully the Xenocode Sandbox comes to the mac quickly. I guess I could iust use it in vmware
fusion. for the meantime
shin
March 4th. 2009 at 4:03 am
I dont know how to install Xenocode Browser Sandbox. When I download a file. it is binary code.
How can I use it?
There is no instruction or help on the website.
Anyone help me please?
Thanks.
25 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Paul
March 4th. 2009 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for the options to deal with the bane of a lot of our existance. Too many browsers and too many
variables.
Nick Tulett
This is all backwards
I use the internet to find out what works on the target browser(s) before writing the code. Writing the
code blind and looking for problems afterwards is so 1990s. If your not thinking about compatibility
with every line of code. you shouldnt be building a web app.
Devon Govett
Ive iust written up an article about browser testing on my blog. I think that with all of these new
browsers out there. it is getting too hard to test in all browsers. My post talks about that. and suggests a
new application for someone to build!
http://devongovett.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/browser-testing/
mARK
I test cross browser compatibilty with ACTUAL BROWSERS. Nothing like the real thing baby.
26 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
mark
April 15th. 2009 at 7:39 am
I have bookmarked this and taken shorthand notes and links. thank you.
I ususally iust check sites using IE6. Iirefox and Opera.
Awful I know. I iust never have time because ! spend most of it testing revenue Vs number of visitors.
So I do a lot of tracking and sorting.
Sandi
April 23rd. 2009 at 12:34 am
On an Intel Mac. I use Parallels with XP and the Internet Collection (8. 7. 6 running at the same time)
which I downloaded from http://finalbuilds.edskes.net/iecollection.htm
I also am verifying with http://browsershots.org/ the free version after Ive completed my work locally.
I received Parallels free through my hosting provider.
Matt Heisig
April 23rd. 2009 at 9:57 am
Parallels for Mac OS X install a copy of Windows XP and fire it up to test IE 6. 7. 8. Windows
versions of Iirefox. Opera and Chrome. Then Ive got Safari. Iirefox and Opera on OS X itself.
Between the two I can test iust about every browser currently in use.
27 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
David Ma
May 20th. 2009 at 1:20 pm
I noticed the list is missing Microsofts SuperPreview. which is essentially the same thing as MeerMeer.
They currently have a free version that allows testing of IE6 along with whatever version of IE you
have install under Windows:
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/superpreview/
If I remember correctly. there will be a free version that allows testing of IE6 / 7 / 8 in the future.
Ive tried a few of the services listed and the experience has been lack luster at best. Im looking
forward to trying MeerMeer. but for now the best way seems to simply maintain a VM for every target
platform and test on the actual browsers. Its cheap. effective. and accurate.
Imran Raza
June 8th. 2009 at 11:41 pm
I have corporated the same in my blog http://razaimran.blogspot.com/ with more detail plus i have
included the validators which might help all the webdevelopers to validate their css.htmls. iavascripts.
so get those links guys.
Prashant Wagh
June 30th. 2009 at 3:25 am
Of all the 7 sites. I highly recommend http://ipinfo.info/netrenderer/
Very user test the Ie versions browser compatibility.
Thanks
SilkLink - Your Link to the Web
28 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
July 21st. 2009 at 8:18 am
Great article. I use a few of the services mentioned. along with as many browsers as I can get running
side by side on my PC.
Thanks also for the comments. I think I might have a play on an old PC and try setting up different
accounts to hold different IE versions. Cant remember who posted it. but seems a good idea.
Phil Smith
August 21st. 2009 at 12:20 pm
Cloud Testing http://www.cloudtesting.com/ offer a functional website testing and cross browser
testing service that allows you to test your websites from the cloud.
Enterprise users can download an agent which allows access to your local resources. i.e. inside your
firewall/network.
It is based on Selenium. and allows you to capture scripts in the Selenium IDE plugin for Iirefox. and
then upload onto our servers for running.
We currently support the following browsers:
Iirefox 2. 3 & 3.5
Internet Explorer 6.7 & 8
Safari 3.2 & 4.0
Chrome 2 and 3
Opera 9.6 and 10.0
With all of the above we capture full screenshots (i.e. of the browser window. not iust the OS window).
store the HTML and details of components on each page. along with timings and HTTP request and
response headers. All of this is available to view via the results portal http://portal.cloudtesting.com/
A free 7 day trial is available http://www.cloudtesting.com/freetrial.php
qwertyweb
October 5th. 2009 at 3:02 am
browsershots.org rocks and the best of all of em . we can test upto 300 shots ofwebsites on all browser !
29 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
wow !
MHOOTOE
October 18th. 2009 at 12:41 pm
. .
Sasha
November 5th. 2009 at 2:52 am
If you are on Mac or Linux. than definitely web based service is the way to go.
However. if you are using Windows. you can install all browsers that matter locally and than use
http://www.browserseal.com to automatically capture the screenshot of your site with all these
browsers. Not only this is much faster and cheaper than any of the above services. it has a number of
additional advantages. such as the ability to test a web site on your company intranet or a local hard
disk.
haberler
nice Test Cross-Browser tools thank you.
Adriaan Fenwick
30 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Adobe BrowserLab has recently launched which allows you to do cross browser testing in real time on
multiple browsers at the same time. Read this for more info: http://thedesigner.co.za/cross-browser-
testing-adobe-style
J
November 18th. 2009 at 3:11 pm
I initially do all my developing for the latest Iirefox on Ubuntu. I keep an old XP box nearby that has
some old firefoxes. IE6 and IE7. Chrome. Safari. and Opera. A big monitor is also really useful so you
can test the resolution from 800600 up to 16001200 and beyond.
wie yoga
November 23rd. 2009 at 10:50 pm
Thanks for sharing
Test Cross-Browser tools thank you.
Steve O
January 2nd. 2010 at 1:33 pm
Adobe BrowserLab is here ! http://browserlab.adobe.com/
31 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
smith
January 9th. 2010 at 5:20 am
you definitely missing essentiabct.com and browserpool in your list
artzy
January 31st. 2010 at 5:32 pm
Thanks Davor for the idea re multiples.. im running VPC 7 with winxp pro on my leopard G4
powerbook. using ie6 and it beats hell out of running over to the internet store but going to upgrade
to ie7. then re-install ie6 via multiples (UPDATE: Just did it. it works cool that i can 6 and 7 at the
same time but too bad they dont have ie8 although its a problem i tried ie8 and although it
loads the sites. all i get are blank pages)
.freelance:
i tried to use xenocode-sandbox but got these errors:
XENOCODE VIRTUAL APPLICATION STUDIO ISV EDITION
-Error: Invalid Access to memory location (0800703E6)
-Spoon-Sandbox.exe-.NET Iramework Initialization Error- c:\Windows\Micrsoft.net\Iramework
\v.2.050727\mscorwks.dll could not be loaded
Thanks everybody here for cool info!
rekha
Hi
This is really a very useful article.
I was wasting lot of time in testing on different browsers for a website.Now browsershot helps me in
completing my testing in a very less time.
32 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
Darby
April 5th. 2010 at 6:43 pm
Great article. I recently came across an experimental proiect on Google Appengine
http://cross-browser.appspot.com
It seems reasonably fast (took 7 screenshots in less than 30 seconds) and doesnt bug me with email
address. password etc..
Elijah
Thanks ! good Article..
Angel
April 19th. 2010 at 3:24 pm
The Xenocode Browser Sandboxis my favourite tool but in some cases I used Multiple IEs and
BrowserShots too.
JH
May 14th. 2010 at 11:27 am
I use and highly recommend browsercam.com they have screenshot service as well as remote access
33 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
on iust about every browser configuration and iust about every OS configuration (including iavascript
enabled/disabled: flash enabled/disabled) and a bunch of screen resolution options too.
Ali Nasir
May 19th. 2010 at 8:09 am
cool! but I would recommend to press I12 and check in all mostly used browsers if you want to avoid
any installations. Thanks
Aji Prabowo
June 22nd. 2010 at 3:29 am
very useful information. many thanks Mason :bd
Andy, SEO Company
July 12th. 2010 at 2:45 am
Hi.
thanks for the summary. wasnt aware that there are infact so many cross browser checks. personally
ive been using browsershots and it works great. yup you do need to wait a little. but ill iust let it run in
the background.
Lucas Miami Web Design
34 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
July 17th. 2010 at 5:17 pm
I never knew all these existed. I use IE tester for the moment by I am changing to Mac because we had
it with Windows and I really need a program that will work on mac.
Inspirations Unlimited
August 17th. 2010 at 1:37 am
I have been using Litmus for email newsletter. Its good.
Vertinix
September 1st. 2010 at 2:06 pm
I always tried to create a cross browser websites and in this article. Author mentioned very good
resources which I can now use to test on my websites on BSD and Linux platform browsers.
Thanks for the valuable sharing.
Nikki May | Web Content Writer
September 5th. 2010 at 4:20 am
Thank you for compiling this. I need to be able to test my websites and see how they look when the
users are coming from different browsers/platforms and this is exactly what I need. Thank You!
35 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
louis
September 29th. 2010 at 2:31 am
Thank you for providing the perspective. I iust read a part of the article. so I dont know much what to
say. Good luck for the new member!
Todd Starbuckle
November 9th. 2010 at 9:22 pm
Do you guys actually research your articles? Gomezs service Browsercam is a maior player in this
space.
Roshan, SEO consultant
December 15th. 2010 at 5:10 am
cross browsers testing is very essential utilities for webmasters. the best option is to make sure that your
content displays as expected in at least top 3 maior browsers. Iirefox. internet explorer and Google
Chrome.
Accountants
December 17th. 2010 at 8:41 am
Great article we developed our site in firefox and then had a number of issues with Macs using Safari
wish Id seen this article a year ago!
36 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
phonecards
January 3rd. 2011 at 3:13 am
Ive tried a few of the services listed and the experience has been lack luster at best. Im looking
forward to trying MeerMeer. but for now the best way seems to simply maintain a VM for every target
platform and test on the actual browsers. Its cheap. effective. and accurate.
Globinch
January 9th. 2011 at 11:52 am
IETester is one of the best tool if you are testing in different versions of Internet explorer browser
Kevin Leary
January 17th. 2011 at 8:26 pm
Thanks for this! One option you hadnt mentioned. that I think is superior is a Windows package called
Utilu IE Collection. It allows you to run stand-alone. independent installations of various IE versions.
Ior more info Id suggest checking out the review Ive written on it:
http://www.kevinleary.net/testing-websites-multiple-versions-internet-explorer-ie6-ie7-ie8/
Best.
Kevin Leary
Sheron Devincenzi
I view something genuinely interesting about your website so I saved to favorites .
37 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
cheap cards
Thank you for providing the perspective. I iust read a part of the article. so I dont know much what to
say. Good luck for the new member!
adidasi
It is a wery nice tool and is easy to use and make the difference.There are many other posibilitys now
that in the past.Things are changing!
Denim Geek
Good post. a big time saver in testing websites in development. Thanks
Aphrodite
March 30th. 2011 at 10:13 am
Im iust using the Browsershots service. It takes a while at times but there are all configurations you
need.
38 of 45 6/10/2011 5:28 PM
admec multimedia
hi masters.
I love ie tester for internet explore testing as it gives a vast testing scope for all the versions.
and Browsershots.
Thanks
Ravi Bhadauria
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