Some of the biggest headaches in the Web Design & Development world are caused by the program we rely on everyday for both work and play, the humble web browser. For many professionals, it’s a valuable tool that we must wield with precision on a daily basis. For others, it’s simply a way to check their bank account or find a goofy YouTube video to share with the family. Most have no idea just how much they might be missing, or even that they can be at risk of losing sensitive data like bank and credit card information. This post is intended mostly for the average Joe who might use his computer a few hours a week. I make a living with my web browser (as do many other millions), but this isn’t the case for many out there. This is meant to help them understand just how complex the web browser world is and why it’s important to stay current.

Their are two major issues that comprise most of the browser woes. First, there are plenty of different browsers out there to choose from (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, Safari, Ice Weasel, etc.). And while having multiple choices is always a nice thing, the problem is that everyone of these browsers was created by different companies, with different programmers, so each browser has it’s own way of interpreting each web page it displays. Sadly, because of this, it’s not uncommon for bugs and glitches to occur. When they do pop up, they can most often be squashed by a simple software update or patch. In a perfect world, every web browser would be updated regularly and we would all be up to date and bug free. Sadly, this is not the case, and this leads us to our second biggest browser headache. There are far too many folks out there who are still using outdated browsers, some almost a decade old. For instance, one of the worst offenders in the Web world is the (still) popular Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. It was released in 2001 yet still holds a decent size market share in the browser world. The average American might not realize that his outdated browser is leaving him wide open for major security issues, or that upgrading will help to speed up his entire web surfing experience. Upgrading will also insure that the web pages he visits look their best. As I mentioned previously, some older browsers either get things wrong or can’t handle them at all, so keeping up to date will make sure you’re not missing anything.

So, what can you do? Well, first off, no matter what particular flavor of browser you choose (FireFox, Chrome, IE), just make sure it’s up to date. Then when installing, make sure you choose to keep automatic updates turned on (or at least manually update it often). This will make sure that you are always up to date and that your browser is kept as fast and secure as possible. It will also insure that every website you visit will look and function just as the designers and developers intended.

Here’s a few download links for some popular browsers: FireFox Internet Explorer 8 Google Chrome