Don't Blame It On The Webmaster

I'm going to try here to give you some very valuable information. We
all have a tendency to want to blame someone else when something
isn't right or the way we think it should be. If you take nothing
else from this article take this, before you blame the webmaster of
the site you are viewing look at your system settings.

Yes, there are some horrible web pages on the internet and no matter
what you do you'll never be able to view them properly. But, the
majority of webmasters designing websites make sure that they are
optimized for viewing by the majority of visitors, using the
browsers that are most common.

If you use your computer to travel the vast expanse of the internet
it is a MUST, for you to have your computer optimized for the best
possible viewing experience. The job of designing websites is
getting harder and harder. The variety of browsers and different
versions of those browsers force designers to look closely at the
content they choose to place on their pages. One script that looks
great on Microsoft IE 6.0 will totally scramble the page when viewed
in Netscape Navigator 6.2. There are also a number of scripts that
will destroy a site when the viewer is using AOL's browser.

What the webmasters we communicate with try to do is design their
sites to be viewed by the majority. How do they know what the
majority is, you ask? Well, they can look at their domain files and
see who, what, when, why and where.

I'll share with you an example: This is the traffic breakdown from 1
of our sites over a 21 day period last summer.

Browsers --------
1. MSIE 6.x 5,016 74.88%
2. Netscape 6.x 1102 17.91%
3. MSIE 5.x 144 4.28%
4. Netscape 3.x 35 1.04%
5. MSIE 3.x 27 0.80%
6. WebTV 23 0.68%
7. MSIE 0.x 10 0.29%
8. MSIE 2.x 3 0.08%
Total 6,395 100.00%

Top 10 Screen Resolutions -------------------------
1. 800 by 600 pixels 5,059 81.10%
2. 1024 by 768 pixels 875 11.88%
3. 640 by 480 pixels 167 5.29%
4. 800 by 580 pixels 20 0.63%
5. 800 by 553 pixels 10 0.31%
6. 1152 by 864 pixels 6 0.19%
7. 640 by 461 pixels 4 0.12%
8. 1280 by 1024 pixels 2 0.06%
9. 1152 by 870 pixels 2 0.06%
10. 767 by 553 pixels 1 0.03%
Total 6,395

Operating Systems -----------------
1. Windows 98 5,083 67.24%
2. Windows 95 1,216 29.92%
3. Windows NT 39 1.14%
4. WebTV 23 0.67%
5. Other 18 0.53%
6. Windows 3.x 9 0.26%
7. Macintosh 6 0.17%
8. Sun SunOS 1 0.02%
Total 6,395

Java Status -----------
1. Enabled 6,152 92.84%
2. Unknown 182 5.36%
3. Disabled 61 1.79%
Total 6,395

This information tells me that most of the traffic to this site is:
1. Java Enabled 92% 2. Using either Windows 98 67% or Windows 95 29%
3. Using a screen Resolutions of 800 by 600 pixels 81% or 1024 by
768 pixels 11.88% 4. Browsers being used MSIE 6.x 74.88% and
Netscape 6.x 18% That makes it very easy for me to know under what
environment the majority of my visitors are viewing that site. I
then design the site to be viewed by IE 6.0 or better NS 6.2 or
better at 800 X 600 Resolution and I have no problem using Java
Script.

The majority of websites are designed exactly that way. Now, here
are a few guidelines to follow when you start your journey out into
the vast reaches of cyberspace:

Use either Microsoft IE. 6.0 or better -- get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/

... or Netscape Navigator 6.2 or better -- get it here:
http://help.netscape.com/products/client/communicator/index.html

Set your screen resolution to 800x600 or better. That can be done in
your Control Panel by clicking on display and then settings. I also
use true color (24). With these settings you should be able to view
the majority of sites the way they were designed to be seen.

OH! one more thing ... I don't know of a webmaster that designs
sites to be viewed in anything other than a maximized window. If
you're opening a site from a hyperlink in your e-mail you'll really
need to click on the maximize button at the top right of the browser
window.

I hope this will help to make your journey a bit more pleasant. And
if you see something on a website using the above settings that
isn't right, or find a bad link or just want to tell the webmaster
you loved or hated their site, remember to tell them where you
visited them. We have over 4000 web pages and we're always getting
e-mail that just says "You have a link that gave me an error
message" -- that really doesn't help me fix the problem. Also, keep
in mind, if 5000 people viewed a web site without problems but you
have one, the problem just might be on your end! We welcome all
comments good and bad about our sites, so don't stop sending them.

"Your Success Is Our Success"

jbp