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Web Guidelines - Recommended Browsers and Development Guidelines

These recommendations are intended to help the campus community optimize their experience with University web sites and make informed decisions about the many available browsers. Guidelines are provided in two categories:

Recommended Browsers, Versions and Plug-ins for End Users

1. Preferred Secure Browsers

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher for Windows (get latest PC IE browser)

Firefox 1.05 or higher (get latest Firefox browser)

Safari 1.2 (or higher) for Macintosh (get latest Safari browser)

As of June 1, 2009, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) for Windows is no longer listed as a recommended browser. Internet Explorer 7 for Windows has been available since October 2006, and provides improved security and improved support for Web standards over IE 6.

Microsoft Internet Explorer for Macintosh is no longer supported by Microsoft, and it is no longer listed as a recommended browser for University of Texas at Austin Web sites. We recommend either Safari or Firefox for Macintosh users.

In addition, Netscape is no longer listed as one of the preferred browsers. Use of Netscape has decreased and the commitment to continued maintenance of the Netscape browser is uncertain. Netscape is no longer part of the Bevoware software bundle. Given this, and the fact that there are viable alternatives, we recommend using one of the preferred browsers above instead of Netscape.

In rare circumstances, some campus applications may not support all of the recommended browsers due to special application needs and/or possible bugs in the browsers. Applications developers should clearly inform users if that is the case with their application.

The Preferred Secure Browsers support the following standards:

2. Text-Based Browser

lynx 2.8.3 with SSL support - lynx runs on ITS timesharing systems (UTS and CCWF)

A text-based browser is included because it is a lowest common denominator browser which will give publishers an idea of how well their page will be accessible to various alternative browsing environments, including adaptive technologies for disabled users, WebTV, browsers running on older computers, cell phones or personal digital assistants.

If you are unable or do not wish to run one of the preferred browsers, be aware that some campus Web sites may not work with non-preferred browsers or earlier versions of preferred browsers.

Browser Plug-Ins

In addition to the browsers listed above, users should also have the following plug-ins installed in order to use the Web most effectively: 

These plug-ins and players are available on the Bevoware site (EID required) or can be downloaded at no charge from the links specified above.

Recommended HTML and Publishing Standards for Web Developers

Web Standards

Developers are encouraged to create standards-compliant XHTML Web sites and applications. You can determine if your site/application is compliant with W3C standards using their CSS Validator and their HTML Validation Service.

Develop for Multiple Environments

Web publishers and developers are responsible for testing their sites in each of the preferred browsers on the available platforms. We discourage publishers from implementing any browser-specific features which do not break gracefully in Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, Mozilla 1.2 or later, and Safari 1.2 or later.

If you are developing content or applications which have a target audience that is different from the University community (for example K-12 teachers), determine what the browser usage is for that audience and make browser decisions based on that data. Developers should test their content/applications in the browser that their target audience uses.

Developing for the University Web has unique considerations.  For example, approximately 10% of the University community uses a Macintosh OS (as opposed to 3-4% worldwide) and approximately 11% of visitors to Web Central have screen resolutions of 800x600 or less.

Accessibility

The University's accessibility policy requires all Web sites containing official University information meet U.S. Section 508 accessibility standards. Developers can request scans of their Web sites using WebXM and can also use the free WebXACT tool (formerly Bobby) from Watchfire.. Developers are encouraged to test their pages using JAWS to insure that they are accessible using this tool as well. For assistance with accessibility testing, you can make an appointment with an ITS Web consultant or contact the University's Accessibility Institute.

For additional information on Web publishing at the university please see Learning to Publish.


  Updated 2009 June 10
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