Re: CSS and Netscape

>> We are in the process of redesigning a multiple company extranet and have
>> learned that a huge number of our users have Netscape 4.X as their
> browser.
>> Consequently, some of our team is reluctant to design using standards 
>> (the
> main
>> concern is using CSS) since it will mess up the design we have already
> created.

It is highly unlikely your design cannot be created in a way that complies 
with standards. You can create 99% of all designs using standards *and* 
have them work in NS4 with very, very little to no degradation in 
functionality or visual appearance.

If there is a conflict between your design and standards, you need to make 
a *business* decision as to what is more important: your current design 
*as is*, or designing with standards.

I would suggest that when you add everything up, standards are more 
important.

If this means your current design won't work, then 99% of the time, MINOR 
CHANGES TO THE DESIGN will allow you it to work with standards.

I want to stress that almost *any* design is possible with standards, in 
all the major browsers and versions, all the way back to NS4.

>> The concerns include CSS becoming overhead

CSS placed in external files (as is best practice) actually cuts server 
overhead, both in data transfer and data storage. It also cuts manpower 
time as it is easier to maintain the website as a whole. CSS = less 
overhead.

>>  and that keeping track of how the
>> various workarounds for Netscape 4.x work and don't work, along with the
>> inheritance issues, will take a huge amount of time.

Netscape 4 compliant CSS is well-documented. If you're limiting CSS to 
basic text formatting and background colors (as most of your CSS will be, 
i.e. fonts, colors, size, bold, not bold, link colors, etc.), then you 
will need NO HACKS and NO WORKAROUNDS to work in NS4.

If you used more advanced formatting, or even positioning, all of your CSS 
hacks and workarounds would be placed in a second stylesheet (as is best 
practice), so there would be NO problem tracking the workarounds.

If you or any of your team have any further questions regarding CSS, 
standards, or getting your design to work with both, please feel free to 
contact me off-list by email (austin@desiremedia.com), or to email the web 
design mailing list (list@webdesign-l.com).

--
Austin

Received on Friday, 30 August 2002 06:08:00 UTC