As a starter or a seasoned web developer, we usually tend to skip out on some great practices that we should be using merely because we have never heard about them. To reduce this gap of missing goodies, we cover several practices no developer should live without.

Doctype Declaration

Many do it, others choose to not. However, it is in your best interest to declare the doctype in your HTML files for better standards compliance. Browsers usually have their own ways to fix errors you accidentally or unknowingly left in to get the HTML better interpreted. However, as with most browsers, they all have different ways to interpret things and thus, when it comes to individual browsers trying to fix or “patch” your errors on the fly, things start to get messy and your website will appear different across these different browsers and platforms.

Therefore, by declaring the doctype, you force these browsers to enter standards compliance mode, which cancels out their correction systems. With this, you can easily locate the errors you have made and be able to fix them to get your website to look and work the same across many browsers and platforms. Think of the doctype as a keycard to open all the doors in a building versus a key that may or may not open a few. You would definitely choose the keycard that opens all the doors rather than a key that may or may not work, the same applies to declaring the doctype so definitely use it, you will be glad you did.

Meta Description Attribute

Many search engine optimization radicals always seem to deter us from using the meta description attribute with the argument that search engines do not use them anymore. Actually, they do, but if they are not available, they will use other means to formulate a description about your website. Therefore, as a good practice, always include a meta description attribute with a great description of the website as this is what search engines use to formulate that description right below your title when you search for your website.

To get back to the search engine optimization radicals, they do have a point, especially for those who misuse the meta description attribute. Search engine bots are getting smarter by the day and can detect whether you deliberately misused the attribute or not. Therefore, use it as intended, as this is a gold mind for HTML as well as the key to improved search engine optimization.

Footer Content

This HTML practice is a bit subjective however very useful and vital to keeping your website running smoothly. We all have landed on a website that takes a good several seconds to a minute to load anything that is viewable due to the cause of external scripts bogging down on the load time. The way HTML is loaded is in sequential form, from top to bottom, line after line. What this means is, it will halt on a line of code until it is fully interpreted or executed, and in this case, it will wait until the external JavaScript file is fully loaded before proceeding on to the next line.

Therefore, stick this JavaScript code in the footer to have the content that is important to load first. For example, if you have your analytics code such as Google analytics, stick it in the footer right before the end of your body tag so that your website can load the content quicker and not bog down until it reaches the end of your content where users do not have to actually wait for it to load.

The reason this idea is subjective is that some may disagree with the idea of taking JavaScript code outside of the head tags, however, in such situations, it is a better practice to take upon as it is what keeps your website running more efficiently in such a case.

Using Unordered Lists for Navigation Bits

Many developers whip up all sorts of concoctions to create a navigation bit. So instead of using the accepted and preferred markup they decide to use a set of divs and all sorts to achieve similar results. This technique is not only inefficient, but it is also very tedious and redundant. Therefore, use unordered lists as a basis for your navigations as the code is simple, the functionality is pretty much completed for you already, and all you need to do is give it some style. Remember, reinventing the wheel is not something you want to do, let alone reinventing it and losing efficiency.

Leaving Your Front Door Open

Whenever you are in your home, out of your home, or on your way home, you always have your doors closed and locked. I mean, who would want to leave their home doors unlocked and open when they are not around? Other than the neighbor I once had who left their front door wide open at night, we all know it is a good practice to keep our windows and doors closed when we are not home. Similarly, always close the tags you open for clean and validated markup.

I have seen countless tutorials out there that are available to teach new developers how to code HTML and they almost always leave their tags open such as image tags or break tags. This not only affects the new generation of developers, but it is a terrible practice. Browsers will always attempt to close them for you causing errors and unwanted results, so save yourself from bad practices, and make closing the HTML tags a habit as you do with closing your doors when you leave your home.

Validate Your Code

Validating your code helps you keep your code clean from nasty errors you may have missed or unintentionally thrown in. While having valid code does not indicate you are a great developer or not, it does help eliminate possible errors you may find in the future within many different browsers and platforms. It additionally throws a good image about your practices for your portfolio for future hires.

Whether you are testing themes submitted to your service or your own work, we always find ourselves searching for quick ways to browser test and or validate our work. Sometimes we may end up using a genre of tools to get what we wanted and most of the time we develop a set of favorite methods and tools to achieve it.

Here we cover 10 different ways to validate and browser test your website to add to your list of methods.

HTML and CSS Validation Tools

W3C HTML and CSS Validation

The W3C set of validation tools happens to be the most popular source to check your code for validation. You can paste code snippets, link to your code, and upload your code to check validation. If you have errors within your code, it returns a nice detailed report for each error highlighting the exact character or set of characters that are invalid. A great tool to use even if you use others that are available out there.

Integrated Development Environment Validation

Many integrated development environments and other editors offer built-in code validators right off the fly. While some of these editors may require you to select a button to view whether your code is valid or not, others usually do it right off the bat as you type out the code. Therefore, it helps you catch the errors as you go along to finish your website completely validated without having to go back and fix validity errors.

Web Developer Toolbar

This is a Firefox only toolbar; however, because it is so feature-filled, it is worth a mention. The Web Developer toolbar is a great in-browser testing tool containing a plethora of tools for testing your website including resolution tests. However, it also includes a great HTML and CSS validators that works on the fly. If you do not select to view details on validations, you will just be shown two icons that represent whether the code is valid or not.

The toolbar additionally tests other elements than HTML and CSS, so if you need to perform testing on other things within your website, it is a great tool to quickly and easily do so.

HTML Validator

HTML Validator is another Firefox add on that runs in the background seamlessly. A simple yet affective tool displays whether the HTML to your website is valid, invalid, or consists of warnings.

When doing so, it displays different icons as well as the number of errors and or warnings, and by clicking on these icons, it opens up a nice pane showing you the code snippets that are invalid or contain warnings, as well as details on the errors as well as about the warnings. A great tool for in-browser testing and editing.

Browser Testing Tools

Installing Older Browser Versions

A really common method to browser testing your website is to install older versions of a plethora of browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and others. The softwares’ websites usually offer older downloads which is a great way to obtain your copies of older versions.

Adobe BrowserLab

If you are not too keen on the idea of installing multiple pieces of the same software but of different versions to browser test your website, you can give Adobe BrowserLab a try. Adobe BrowserLab is a multi-tabbed browser testing software allowing you to test your website in multiple browsers all from one pane or window.

Additionally, if you need to test your website in the same browsers but from different operating systems, Adobe BrowserLab simulates different operating systems for you, so you do not hassle through switching between them to perform the required testing.

Overall, Adobe BrowserLab is a great piece of software for any designer needing to test their work across many platforms and setups.

Integrated Development Environment Browser Testing

Most of our favorite editors have built in tools for browser testing our projects and websites we are creating and or developing. While it may not be too extent with different versions of the same browsers, they do let you connect you installations of different browsers into the single environment for quick, on the fly testing.

Browser Shots

Browser Shots has to be the greatest and easiest way to get around to browser testing your website in a genre of browsers. What it does is you provide a URL to the website you would like to browser test, select the browsers and their versions you would like to test your site in from their long list under different operating systems, and hit submit.

They will then return screenshots of how your website looks like per browser selected per operating system. While it might not be an easy task to perform while you are still modifying your website, it is a great method to obtain a mass visualization of how your website looks across a plethora of browsers quickly.

IETester

If you are always worried about how your website looks like in different versions of Internet Explorer like the rest of us, then IETester is definitely something to consider. IETester is a single interface to test your website from version 5.5 of Internet Explorer to their latest version. It holds a nice Office 2007 design to it as well as a tabbed interface to easily flip through testing panes.

IE Tab 2

IE Tab is a Firefox add on that implements, as its name describes, an Internet Explorer viewing pane designed for cross-browser testing within your Firefox browser. It is a great quick tool to easily test your websites in Internet Explorer on the fly with a click of a button without the hassle of leaving or changing windows between Firefox and Internet Explorer.

To conclude, while there may be a plethora of other tools out there to validate your code and perform browser testing, we covered ten popular methods and tools that will hopefully get you thinking and started on making your own laundry list of browser testing tools as well as HTML and CSS validation tools.

It is always impressive how many useful and free web apps and tools there are for web designers, and today’s fresh selection is just that – very impressive. The Aloha Editor is especially impressive, with its unique live editing features. And there is also CSS3 Pie which will make all CSS3 properties viewable in all versions of IE (it really does!). If you have the time we recommend you take a look at these tools.

Aloha Editor – The HTML5 Editor

Aloha Editor allows you to edit content you would never imagine you can. It is the world's first full featured Editor that allows you to edit dynamic content live and in place.
Aloha Editor – The HTML5 Editor

1dl.us – Your all-in-one tool site

1dl.us is a useful all-in-one resource, that feature URL shortening, Upload Pics, Pastebin and a Password utility.
1dl.us – Your all-in-one tool site

CSS3 PIE: CSS3 decorations for IE

PIE stands for Progressive Internet Explorer. It is an IE attached behavior which, when applied to an element, allows IE to recognize and display a number of CSS3 properties.
CSS3 PIE: CSS3 decorations for IE

FontFonter

FontFonter uses custom CSS and other techniques to temporarily replace a site’s font styles with Web FontFonts.
FontFonter

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).

Cross-browser compatibility is something that can’t be overlooked in this day and age. The fact that your website could be viewed one way in Firefox and a completely different way in another browser like Safari can be a stressful thing to cope with. Being able to create and build websites that not only look but function the way their supposed to in multiple browsers isn’t a walk in the park.

This is why we’re going to provide you with these useful tools that’ll help you test for cross-browser compatibility. The process for achieving compatibility across a variety of browsers is building, testing and fixing.

Browser Shots

Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different operating systems and browsers. It is a free open-source online web application providing developers a convenient way to test their website’s browser compatibility in one place. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue.

A number of distributed computers will open your website in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the browsershot central dedicated server for your review.

Cross Browser Testing

This tool allows you to pick an operating system and browser and that’s that! You will receive nicely structured screenshots on multiple browsers of your site.

Adobe Browser Lab

Accurately pinpoint compatibility issues and compare web pages at a glance to easily identify differences and potential problems. Preview full screenshots with multiple view options and customizable test settings.

SuperPreview

SuperPreview is to be used in conjuction with Microsoft Expression Web 3 in order to test and preview your web pages in multiple browsers at the same time. You can choose a variety of browsers and specify any page you’d like the application to render for compatability testing.

Spoon Browser Sandbox

The Spoon Browser Sandbox places several browsers with the click of a few buttons at your disposal with very little effort. You’re able to test several pages quickly without any issues.

IETester

IETester is a free WebBrowser that allows you to have the rendering and javascript engines of IE9 preview, IE8, IE7 IE 6 and IE5.5 on Windows 7, Vista and XP, as well as the installed IE in the same process.

NetRenderer

IE NetRenderer allows you to check how a website is rendered by Internet Explorer 7, 6 or 5.5, as seen from a high speed datacenter located in Germany. Just type in a URL and try it out; it’s free.

BrowsrCamp

Browsrcamp lets you take control over a Mac OS X system preconfigured with all the Mac browsers. This is the easiest way to test every aspect of your website on Mac, including Javascript, DHTML, Ajax, Flash and more!

One of the most popular and hotly disputed questions on Answers recently has been “Do you support IE6 in new projects?“. IE6 has certainly been a thorn on every web designers side for a very long time, perhaps too long. Has the time finally arrived to stop supporting it? Should web designers still show a little consideration for this web browsing relic? What do you think?

The questions was originally asked by Maxt3r and so far has received 22 answers, some designers still do support it, others don’t and some even charge extra for supporting it, you can see these answers below.

Another good week on Answers, our member base has grown to over 490 members. Thanks for all your support!

“Have you asked a question yet?“

Do you support ie6 in new projects?

Question originally asked by Maxt3r.

Answer from Hoad:

I work in the Web Development team for the British children’s charity Barnardo’s and can confirm that yes, we do still support IE6 in new projects. Having said that, we will be very happy when the day comes that this ancient web browser is finally obsolete.

Answer from Darren Nickerson:

I think it depends on what kind of site im creating, if it’s a design related site I wouldn’t even think about it. Most people who use those sites, update their browser. But if I was doing a site for a general subject where casual internet users may use the site I would try to support it as much as possible

Answer from Rochelledancel:

It depends on the client. If their analytics data shows that a significant number of their visitors use IE6, it’s a no brainer, but I will also throw up an ‘upgrade to a better browser for free’ message and explain to the client why this is beneficial to everyone. Also, if they’re a charity or government office then yes, I’ll pitch and quote to include IE6 support.
Otherwise, I don’t support it, and I make it very clear to the client at the outset why I don’t; if they still push for it I’ll charge them a premium.

Answer from Lacy :

Definitely. If you’re in a professional environment … You have to support it. Looks at your analytics – and you’ll see that unfortunately there is still a large percentage of people using IE6.

Answer from Cy Klassen:

No. I will occasionally redirect IE6 users to a nice static page that shows the advantages of updating their browser (including simple steps how to upgrade). That seems like enough support to me.

Answer from Lacy:

I don’t. I mention this in my contract to clients. If they request support for IE6 I will add it in.
I would only advise a client to have support if I feel their target market is likely to use IE6.

If I develop a site without support and then find out in the analytics that there is a high percentage of people ‘trying’ to use the site with IE6 I would add support later on.

I would charge more for IE6 support.

What do you think? Do you support IE6 in new projects?

We would love to hear what you think in the comments below or you can leave your answer here: Do you support ie6 in new projects? on Answers.

There has been a tidal wave of buzz recently about all the new CSS3 features and properties. Just what exactly do these new properties mean for web designers, though? Well, CSS3 is pretty cool, no longer will you need to rely as much on graphics or Javascript, and more importantly it allows for better control over HTML elements, allowing you to create more flexible and even more complex web sites. Really, whats not to love about it all?

For today’s news we have collected the best articles that focus on CSS3 tutorials, and give you a little insight to what all the buzz is about.

Understanding The Basics Of CSS3

In this article,the author talks about some of the more popular features of CSS3 that have recently been spotted out in the wild among several popular websites. While most of these are only visible in some of the more modern web browsers (Mozilla, Chrome, Safari) it’s important to go ahead and get a grasp of exactly how they actually work.

Understanding The Basics Of CSS3

50 Excellent Tutorials for Web Development Using CSS3

In this emerging roundup they mphasis on some of the latest techniques: text-shadow, rounded box, box sizing, opacity handlers, multiple backgrounds, border images and also support for multi-column web layouts.

50 Excellent Tutorials for Web Development Using CSS3

Basic CSS3 Techniques That You Should Know

This article, from Six Revisions, takes a look at a few of the essential things you need to know about CSS3. With all of these new features, it’s important to place emphasis on the most important ones to get you up to speed. Even though only the most modern of web browsers (Safari, Mozilla, Opera) currently (partially or fully) support CSS3 specs, it’s an exciting time for those who like to experiment.

Basic CSS3 Techniques That You Should Know

15 CSS3 Navigation and Menu Tutorials and Techniques

Please bare in mind that for the most part all of these menu tutorials have not been written for usage in the wild, they are more experimental, a demonstration of what can be achieved and will be used in the near future.

15 CSS3 Navigation and Menu Tutorials and Techniques

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

There is seemingly no end to the conyer belt that is CSS development. Every day there are new tips and techniques being published with fresh ideas and new solutions to age old problems. keeping up with it all is not easy.

In today’s news round-up we have collected some fresh CSS reources and some good CSS reading to keep you in the loop.

How To Create an IE-Only Stylesheet

Hacks are dangerous, since they are based on non-standard exploits, you can’t predict how they are going to behave in future browsers. The tool of choice for fighting IE problems is the conditional stylesheet.

IE provides comment tags, supported all the way up to the current IE 8 to target specific versions, as well as greater-than/less-than stuff for targeting multiple versions at once.

How To Create an IE-Only Stylesheet

CSS Transitions 101

Transitions have been a part of Webkit for a while and are the basis of a lot of the cool things that the Safari UI can do that other browsers cannot. But the W3C CSS Workgroup resisted adding transitions to its official specs, some members arguing that transitions are not style properties and would be better handled by a scripting language.

But many designers and developers argued that these are in fact styles— only dynamic styles, rather than the traditional static styles that so many of us are used to.

Fortunately, the argument for dynamic styles held the day. Last March, representatives from Apple and Mozilla began adding the CSS Transitions Module to the CSS Level 3 specification, closely modeled on what Apple had already added to Webkit.

CSS Transitions 101

CSS Transparency in All The Browsers

There are many many cross-browser issues and transparency is one of those weird issues that crops up more than most. All the browsers do treat transparency in different ways, and to overcome this issue we need to define three different properties to cover all browsers.

CSS Transparency in All The Browsers

12 really useful CSS tools

Working on a website’s CSS can be quite an enjoyable job. However some of the tasks aren’t always fun. This is why there are tons of cool CSS tools and apps, to make your life easier and keep web designers’ work bearable.

12 really useful CSS tools

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

Last month Google, finally, opened up there extension directory for Google Chrome. The bog-standard browser is pretty good as it is – its very fast (beating Firefox with ease) and seems to render most web pages properly (I know, it wouldn't be hard to beat IE). So, thumbs up so far. Now with the added functionality of extensions you can make Chrome just as powerful as Firefox, and as a bonus you don't seem to lose any speed, something FF struggles with.

It all sounds good, doesn't it… There are some down-sides, though – some of the extensions are a little bit buggy (most are still in Beta) and others do lack a fair bit of polish. But if you choose your extensions carefully you will be able to build yourself a great web browsing environment.

Remember, the extensions directory has only just opened, with time Chrome and its extensions may just win the web browser war… Then again Firefox may come back fighting back, it always has done, hasn't it?

In today’s news round-up we have collected the best resources to help you choose best extensions for Chrome.

11 Chrome Extensions, For Starters

Google promised that Chrome would be fast to launch and fast to load web pages, but people predicted it would fail with the arrival of its extensions. Well, the extensions are here (at least for some of us) and surprisingly they do not affect the browser’s performance.

Here are a 11 cool extensions to get you started and ease you into your possible transitions to Chrome. Maybe not yet.

11 Chrome Extensions, For Starters

Creating a Web Development Environment using Google Chrome Extensions

How powerful can Chrome actually be for designers and developers? In just under a month there are dozens upon dozens of new extensions specifically developed for web developers, and in this article they have collected the best and most useful extensions for creating your own personal Google Chrome web development environment.

Creating a Web Development Environment using Google Chrome Extensions

Make the Most of Chrome with These 13 Excellent Extensions

Lifehacker, in this article, have pulled 13 fresh extensions from the extension gallery that were worthy of highlighting. They all have something a bit different from the widely-available bookmarklets, or at least fill a crucial need for those who use the web productively.

Make the Most of Chrome with These 13 Excellent Extensions

How To Create Your Own Google Chrome Extension

Developing your own Google Chrome extension is surprisingly easy. You might think you need all types of development skills and coding knowledge, but it’s really no more difficult than creating or tweaking a web page. If you know HTML/CSS and are somewhat familiar with Javascript, you can have a simple extension up and running in no time.

How To Create Your Own Google Chrome Extension

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

Over 2 billion mobile phone users have access to the web on a global scale. About 700 million of these users have or continue to use their mobile browsers to search the web on a consistent basis. As these numbers increase, the need for crisp, clean, and usable mobile websites are in high demand.

Website owners with a large audience have already seen the benefits of having a mobile platform service their users. Just as many advancements in web development have become the standard, in the near future it’s predicted mobile websites will be at the forefront, and will also become more of a necessity rather than a commodity or luxury.

In order to design a simple, effective, and attractive mobile website, there are a few ingredients that we need to add into the mix. This article should satisfy all of your basic needs for a mobile platform on your site.

Mobile Markup

When designing your mobile site, there are a few different types of markup languages available for you to use. The most widely used markup throughout the infancy of mobile devices was WML or Wireless Markup Language. This was because the only way to surf the web through a wireless device was to browse WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) sites. These where sites that used WML as their only source of markup language.

Since the web is an ever-evolving organism, it is only logical that such an advancement would only be superseded by a new solution. This is where XHTML steps into the picture. A majority of the phones made today fully support XHTML. A mobile phone recognizes two aspects of HTML; XHTML and XHTML-MP. XHTMLP-MP stands for “Mobile Profile”. The difference between the two lies in the ability for you to use fewer elements that give way to tighter restrictions. This makes it easier for a mobile device to parse and render a web document when using XHTML-MP.

Minimalist Designs

A huge misconception a great deal of web developers make when designing for the mobile web is thinking that they can cram all of the usual sites content and overall design effectively into the screen of a mobile user’s device. Simply said, there are features on your site that just won’t work on a mobile platform. Once you take this into account, then you will be able to respectively design a much more usable site for mobile users.

You have to learn to make good use of simple features and minimalist standards. A good example would be Best Buy’s mobile version of their site. The only two functions found on their site is to search for a product or find a store. This mobile site can’t even be compared to the original site, however it gets that job done.

You’re looking to design a mobile site that satisfies the basic needs of your visitors, rather than one made for comfort.

Knowing Your Target Audience

When you’re designing a website, you have in mind the likely users. And being able to design for your specific audience will make all the difference in the success of your site. Developing a mobile site shouldn’t be any different. As the designer you need to take into account the type of visitor that is more likely to be attracted to the content on your site. Apart from that, you will need to know what sort of functions they would like your site to shelf out.

Try not to force visitors to have to log-in or have to click items several times before reaching any vital content. This can easily discourage a visitor and turn them away from your site. This is simply because data entry on a mobile device is much more difficult then on a desktop or laptop. Overall, you need to take all aspects of your design into consideration.

Mobile Usability

By now, you’ve probably figured out that designing for mobile is hard. And although many times difficult, not impossible. More recent then anything a manufacturer that produces the average mobile device seldom worries about usability when it comes to the web. They leave it up to the consumer and their search dominant devices. In times when WAP was mainly used for mobile browsing you could reach different applications and sites a bit quicker. This was of course due to a mobile devices restriction to using the web for whatever the manufacturer chose, in example, games, downloading apps, weather services, and more.

In today’s market we find mobile phones that are capable of virtually scaling through every “inch” of the web. This means that it will more than likely take a you a longer time to reach your destination if your always have to type in where you need to go. This is excluding mobile phones heavily reliant on apps, such as the iPhone or Blackberries.

With this being said, simplicity is the best way to go when considering your mobile sites level of usability. Here you will find a great article on mobile usability.

Choosing a Good Domain Name

One of the most important steps is choosing a good URL for the mobile version of your site. Several options include creating a sub-folder (mobile) in the root of your site allowing you to publish your site using the following URL: “http://www.yoursite.com/mobile”. You can also use a completely separate domain altogether such as “www.domain-mobile.com” or a .mobi domain: “www.yoursite.mobi”.

Whichever way you choose, when identifying your mobile sites domain, you should note that users are likely to mistake your domain name with others and this should motivate you to use a few different names as mentioned above to be sure.

Validating Your Code

Whether you choose to code your mobile site in XHTML or XHTML-MP you must check, validate, and revise your markup, over and over again. Most of the time you can use a normal desktop browser in order to check your markup, that’s if you’re mostly developing in XHTML. Here are a few links and tools that will help you validate your code:

• W3C Validator: Mobile Specific
• Ready.mobi site: Specific Mobile Checks

Please note that after your code has been validated and everything seems to be fine, then you will need to access your mobile site through several different phones in order to properly test your actual site. This will allow you to experience your mobile sites strengths and vulnerabilities first hand.

Todays news features a new web service, called card.ly. The idea behind it is very simple, much a-like Twitter, in simplicty terms, you’ll love it. We also have the most outrageous geek furniture that your wife would never allow you to buy and, finally, the “The Battle of the Browsers” results are in, no surprises to be honest.

Card.ly

card.ly is a new online service that has potential to be big. Basically you create a tiny a portfolio (all the themes are styled like a business card) by integrating all your social networks, it could be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, Delicious… then you add a little bio and your contact details, and you are good to go. Cool.

Sigup for your own Card.ly

The 10 Geekiest Pieces of Furniture in the Universe

This post, from cracked.com, is for all the geeks out there (99% of us, then), with too much money and who take there obsessions a little too far. The giant rubiks cube looks cools, as does the Han Solo table, some of them though…I just know the wife would say no.

The 10 Geekiest Pieces of Furniture in the Universe

How to Choose the Best Web Browser

This post could also have be called “The Battle of the Browsers: The Results”. Each of the biggest browsers (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, IE8 and Opera) have been evaluated by the following tests: Rendering speed, web standards, features and customizability. I won’t tell you the results, all I will tell you is that I am sticking with Firefox.

How to Choose the Best Web Browser