The clients we serve
A great webpage with poor presentation is as good as a bad webpage. To present a webpage to anyone; at anywhere, anytime or any state; is to optimize such webpage for these 4 clients.
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The web browser a user may use to render the webpage.
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The input-output device a user may use to interact with the webpage.
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The Operating System a user may use to power the web browser and the input-output devices
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The user's brain that interprets what's perceived of the webpage.
Truth is, optimizing a webpage for these clients is challenging. More so, the devils await in the details.
Luckily, you can relax and let a better web system help you through it. Afterwards, you'll want to test the webpage presentation.
Testing Strategy
Brace up, you'd want to test each webpage across the following entities.
The 3 browser engines used by over 96% of all web browsers.
A browser engine is the component of a web browser that renders the webpage. Different engine may differ in result.
Browsers like Apple Safari uses the Webkit Engine. Mozilla Firefox uses the Gecko Engine. While Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera Opera and many more uses the Blink Engine.
In summary, you'd want to test how your webpage renders in
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Safari Browser,
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Firefox Browser, and
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Any of Chrome Browser, Edge Browser, Opera Browser, or other blink-based browsers.
The 3 sensory organs that dictates the choice of input-output devices
Of human's 5 sensory organs, only 3 can interact a webpage. They are the sensory organ for touch, sight, and sound. The other two, smell and taste, hasn't caught up yet.
For users using the sense organ of Touch, the output device to test is a Braille Display. While the input device to test is a keyboard; with pointing devices such as a Touch Screen, a Mouse, and a Trackpad.
For users using the sense organ of Sight, the output device to test is of 2 categories. The screens of varying dimensions and the print for a specific dimension. Meanwhile, the input device to test is an Eye tracker.
For users using the sense organ of Sound, the output device to test is a Screen Reader. While the input device to test is a microphone.
In summary:
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The input devices to test include a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, a touch pad, an eye tracker, and a microphone. While,
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The output devices to test include screens, a print, screen readers, and a braille display.
The 4 Operating Systems with 94% market share.
Operating Systems handle some rendering processes for the browser. Hence, the same browser may render a webpage differently on another Operating System.
These Operating Systems include Android OS and iOS for mobile devices. As well as, Windows OS and Mac OS for desktop devices. Include Chrome OS on desktops and you'll bump that coverage up to 96%. Add unix-like OSes on desktops and you get even more coverage.
In summary:
You want to test each Input-Output Device with each Web Browser on each Operating
System.
The Geodemographic factors that influences the User brain
Our environment influence our perceptions. Same webpage may differ to someone else.
You'd want to do usability testing on geodemographic factors. These factors include language, location, weather, culture, gender, and age.
To cap it, the User brain and the Assistive Technologies users use are the clients we serve.
PS: All stats are from statcounter as at August, 2023.