10 Browser Testing Tools: Roundup for Web Designers

An article by Fahadh    3 Comments

Static Screenshot Testing

Adobe Browserlab ( Recommended  )

Seemingly the successor of Meer Meer from Adobe, Browserlabs is a sleek new service for testing your websites across browsers. It tests Firefox 2 and 3 and IE 6 and 7 for XP and test Firefox 2 and 3 and Safari 3 for OS X. Just sign in with your Adobe account, put in a URL and let Browserlab load screenshots for these browsers. Brilliant 2-up and onion-skin views allow you to compare between browsers easily. Unlike some browser testers, the entire page is visible, header to footer with scrolling. I’ve already noticed some particularly slow loading browsers and it would be great if it could build the page so you could navigate a site like a native browser test but it’s a great new product from Adobe.

IE Netrenderer

This is a service I have used for a while just because it’s fairly quick and does what I need for fast bug fixes. It’s a simple web service and all you do is select which browser to render, type in the URL, and hit enter. This service can be slow and you can’t scroll down your page but it’s good for testing a few things above the fold without getting involved in an application.

Browsershots.com

Browsershots is one of the more notoriously slow screen shot redering services which is in part due to it’s popularity. On the other hand it does, by far, have the most options for screenshots with 56 browsers and versions for Windows alone. This is another good service for testing without using an app or paying for anything but the wait-time is a deal breaker for me.

Litmus

Litmus is a new web app that generates screenshots for all modern browsers and is geared towards web professionals. There is nothing to install but inless you want to pay $50 dollars a month you are limited to 50 tests/month and IE7 and FF2 with a free account.

Browsercamp

After a long line of services testing Widows browsers, Browsercamp will test your site for all OS X browsers. Testing with Safari 3 is free but to get 12 other mac browsers you have to fork over at least $3 for a two day subsciption. This service is certainly useful for PC users.

Native Running Browser Testing

Crossover ( Recommended )

This is an application that traditionally is ‘pay’ but I got a working download during a special offer period and have used it ever since for actually running “IE” on my mac. There is a full 30 day trial period of the software if you are interested. It slows your computer a bit but it’s great for testing the actual functionality of your site as well as the look and feel in Windows browsers.

CrossBrowserTesting.com

Edit: Ken emailed me and set me straight on CrossBrowserTesting.com It really belongs here in this section:

CrossBrowserTesting.com provides a live browser experience rather than a screen shot all from their site. Ken, one of the partners in CrossBrowserTesting.com state:

“With our site, you get a VNC connection to a configuration of your choice, be it a Mac, PC, or a Linux box.  From there, you can fully test your site – checking out the look and testing functionality.”

This service has several different pay plans including a monthly access unlimited fee, a pay-per-use fee, and a somewhat limited free plan. To get time to get a live test of your site for free your are put in line behind all the paying customers with a 5 minute timer but for a live web preview of your site in major browsers it might be worth paying a little for full access.

Xenocode.com

This is a solution for PC users to test all browsers by actually downloading them and pulling up a URL in the browser. Again, great for testing functionality of a site which is a big part of browser issues beyond the look. Currently only useful for Windows users but they may come out with ways for Mac users to get in on the action in future. This service is also free for all as it stands.

IETester

Another solution for Windows (XP and Vista) is IETester that runs your site natively in the browser for all versions of IE on a PC. This is somewhat useful for PC users but only tests PC browsers, none for the mac. It also seems a little buggy and obsolete considering other testing solutions, but is is free.

Mutliple_IE

Multiple_IE seems like a handy tool for light Windows browser testing. It’s a piece of software that allows you to install multiple versions of IE on your PC. While it doesn’t exactly cover your bases it does come in handy to actually have the real versions of these PC browsers installed and be able to switch back and forth and navigate your entire site. This software is free but no longer maintained or monitored.

Edit: Someone in the comments brought up SuperPreview so I thought i would add it in…

Expression Web SuperPreview

From what I can tell Expression Web Super Preview seems to be the way to go for PC users. It tests all major browsers in a way similar to Browserlab with some important differences. It’s not quite a screenshot rendering program but it doesn’t render your site in true live browser form either. It does build all the DOM elements of your site and allows you to compare their attributes across browsers. This sounds like a very interesting feature that allows the tester to get very specific and zero in on the issue a little more. I think SuperPriview is a good compromise between a screenshot site and a full browser tester. Click the link for a better explanation from Microsoft.