Cross-platform Testing Tips

One of the great ironies of the web is that most people access web sites predominantly with Windows and Internet Explorer, while a great many people who create these sites do not. In truth, the people who create and manage websites use Macs or Linux-based systems at a much higher rate than non-technical users.

This disparity between the user and technical communities creates a problem which isn’t often discussed but happens with great frequency: sites are being developed and tested on a very different platform than what the the user community is going to be accessing them with. So, for instance, at the conclusion of a development project that was developed and tested on Linux under Firefox, suddenly rendering problems with – most commonly -  Internet Explorer under Windows are unmasked. Sometimes the problems aren’t discovered until after the site is live, which means users are the first to encounter the issues and developers are left to scramble for a fix.

There are several ways to avoid this problem if you’re creating a new site. The first and most important thing is to simply remember that the problem exists. Remember to test your site – during the development process, if possible – to uncover these problems.

But what if you’re not running Windows? What is the best way to test for Windows compatibility on a Mac or under Linux? It turns out there are plenty of options, with most being low-cost and a few being free.

On the Macintosh there are three options. First, for all Intel-based Macs the cheapest option is to simply use your own copy of Windows with Apple’s Boot Camp, which isprovided  free with OSX. Of course, Boot Camp requires rebooting your computer, during which time you lose Mac capabilities. If you’re looking for a more integrated, Mac-like experience, try using Parallels or VMWare’s Fusion. Both products sell for under $80.

On Linux, not surprisingly, there are several low or no-cost options- just supply your own licensed copy of Windows.  VMWare has their product for Linux. If you’re feeling daring, free options include QEMU and Wine.

If desktop-based solutions aren’t satisfactory, whether for cost or philosophical reasons (”I don’t pay for software”) there’s an intriguing option availabe in The Cloud via Amazon EC2. Sign up for an account with Amazon EC2. Then,  launch on-demand Windows instances, connect to them via Remote Desktop, perform your testing, and pay only for the machine time you use, which can be as little as 12 cents per hour. It’s a zero-footprint solution that lets you test anytime, anywhere, and on any machine, so long as you have an active Internet connection.

Ultimately, the tool you use to perform the testing is less important that what it represents: saving yourself from the embarrassment that results from users finding browser incompatibilities before you do.