Having different width has been a challenge in web design. This forced many web designers to specify the web browsers that their websites can well be displayed. This is because web pages were designed with fixed measurements. I assume that I am a web designer for a retail store. Wed designers should be able to explain the possible source of inconsistency in the web browser. The following are some of the reasons why there could be inconsistencies in the web pages of a website.
There are many reasons why a webpage will be different for different users. The first issue is the hardware concept; the computer hardware has the graphic card that has different settings such as brightness, contrast and other settings. The web pages will be displayed depending on the settings of the users. The elements such as fonts, images may change. The settings of the monitor affect the display of the web pages. The monitor has its colour settings which can totally change display of the web page. Screen resolutions of the monitor also affect the way images and other elements are displayed on the screen. Most web pages are designed to display best in a 1024 x 768 settings and above. This means that lower settings will give different display of the web pages.
Apart from the hardware settings, software issues also affect the way web pages are displayed in a web browser. The operating systems, installed fonts and the web browsers affect the web page. Pages displayed in Mac appear different to PC users. Elements such as select boxes are very different on the two operating systems. The fonts of each operating system are enhanced with advanced features of the operating system offering a new experience. The installed fonts also shows a different display of the web browsers. If the computer does not have the font that was used to design the WebPages, there is a default font that will be used hence giving a different display of the web pages.
Browsers are the main focus here, since they are the biggest source of web page inconsistency. The layout engine of each browser is different. It is used to interpret the CSS code and display images of web pages. Some of the inconsistencies experienced with different browsers include the effects of shadows and roll over in Internet Explorer IE, sidebars set to bottom level in IE and top level menus repositioned to second level among others.
If designing a web site for a book store, liquid layout is the best because it enables web pages to use the available space. It is suitable for log in pages where the content is dynamic .When creating a web site that will be accessed by users who have iPhone, then hybrid layout is worth selecting. It is a layout that mixes several layouts which ensures that there is consistency.
Works Cited
Dawnson, A. (2010, July 22). A Guide on Layout Types in Web Design. Retrieved January 28, 2014, from Six Revisions: http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/a-guide-on-layout-types-in-web-design/
