Open but Not Equal

However, while HTML is available to all, that doesn't mean that everyone experiences it the same way. It's something like Central Park in New York City. You and I can both go take a walk there. However, if you live in a penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue and I sleep on a bench, our view of the park will be quite different.

So it is with HTML. While practically any computer can display Web pages, what those pages actually look like depends on the type of computer, the monitor, the speed of the Internet connection, and lastly, the software used to view the page: the browser. The most popular browsers today are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari with handhelds and PDAs gaining momentum every day. Unfortunately, none of these displays a Web page exactly like the next. So it turns out it's not enough to design a beautiful park, you've also got to worry about your visitor's accommodations.

But as you worry, remember that your control is limited. While the New York City Tourist Board would like to ensure that everyone has a good time in their town, they're not handing out free vouchers for rooms at the Park Plaza Hotel, and some people wouldn't accept them even if they did, preferring instead a bed and breakfast or their sister's house. You get the idea. The moral is this: People will be viewing your pages with vastly different setups. Create your pages accordinglyso that the largest number of visitors can view your page as close to the way you want them to as is possible. This book will show you how.