Web Development has become more exciting than ever with the new technologies being crafted every now and then. If you want to enjoy a double dose of modern practices then yes you need to be on familiar terms with the two technologies HTML5 and CSS3.Sorry to say that when making use of these technologies it can actually complicate things because of the quest for cross browser compatibility. You might be questioning yourself on as to what are the techniques that can be used safely and which you should avoid completely? If these are questions then you can get answers to your questions after reading this post.
Cross Browser Compatibility was quite difficult sometime back before the Web dived into the innovative fancy technologies HTML5 and CSS3.Nevertheless these tools are crawling the Web developments methods and creating a downright mess. One cannot deny the advantages that come with using CSS3 and HTML5 Technologies. These technologies are completely a set of goodies and fun that hardly any web developer can resist oneself from using these technologies into their application development. To add on to the excitement and publicity there are a few web developers who are trying to dish out some wow-some novel tutorials which can educate other on the pros and cons of these new technologies so that they can be put into practice as soon as possible.
Since the past few years HTML5 has become a legendary subject to vivid reality and has been regarded as a blockbuster from experts and skeptics because of its viability and readiness. Now in the year 2013 HTML5 is all set to be used with most of modern web browsers along with Internet Explorer 9.Regardless of this fact still few developers might be concerned about the complete backward compatibility as to being unsure of what will work with one web browser and might not work with another web browser.
More often HTML5 was blamed for the problems presented by CSS3 and jQuery the duo standards and technologies which are evolving along with HTML5.Nevertheless to have an understanding of the HTML5 Browser Compatibility with CSS3 you will need to at first be on familiar terms with as to how the Web Browser looks at these languages.With the revision of the HTML Markup Specification HTML5 contains lots many rules and best practices so that all the Web Developers and Web Browser Makers can find a common ground.HTML5 does not have support for presentation attributes and tags but has introduced support for native browser functionality for example providing offline storage and Multi Media Playback whereas CSS3 on the other hand is another specification which is undergoing revisions and updates and for this reason all the web browsers do not completely support the new selector attributes.
Nevertheless both HTML5 and CSS3 focus on making web development easier by setting up standards which would work well with each other in a more meaningful and semantic terms. One good thing is to know that HTML5 is not tied up to CSS3 thus it is possible to make use of HTML5 in wide range of Web Application development devoid of having to conquer compatibility issues which might be caused by a few cutting edge CSS3 selectors.
HTML5 and CSS3 Browser Compatibility –Is it actually important ?
You often seen Web Designers struggling over the fact that there is no point in wasting extra energy for providing support to outdated web browsers. Why you should bother when near about 75 percent of the modern web kit browsers contribute to the entire browser usage ? Regrettably it is hard to convince the clients who aim at targeting the audience who make use of older technology and want to reach maximum viewers. There are still scores of people who do not have required financial resources and technical knowledge to upgrade thus it becomes necessary to take into consideration the users with accessibility needs.HTML5 and CSS3 Browser Compatibility solve a major problem of the compatibility gap by putting in efforts to standardize the way in which web browsers display the web so that the designers and developers do not have to put in extra effort for creating compatibility solutions into the design.
HTML5 and CSS3 Browser Compatibility Now :
As already mentioned the novel HTML5 tags are supported in all the modern web browsers the problem arises when you starts implementing the Canvas Elements and HTML5 native browser features which require complete JavaScript Support. Most of the CSS3 Selectors are not safe for Mobile Web Browsers or are dependent on JavaScript.
Here is a list of Web Browsers which provide Elements Support :
1) Android Version 2.1 and Higher Versions
2) Internet Explorer version 10 and 9
3) Opera Mobile Version 5 and Higher Versions
4) Mozilla Firefox Version 7 and Higher
5) Safari Version 5 and Higher
6) Google Chrome Version 14 and Higher
7) Mobile Safari Version 3.2 and Higher
Here is an image which will give you better idea on where the Web actually stands in terms of HTML5 and CSS3 Web Browser Compatibility so that you save time and frustration when you are working on your next HTML5 project :
You should stop the guess work and do one best thing is to make a decision on whether you can actually start implementing these new Web Technologies and educate yourself on what kind of support you can expect from each of the new elements if implemented in various web browsers which matter most to all the viewers and the audience.