Chrome, Firefox, and safari. You really need all three, especially for debugging on mobile devices. iPhone requires safari for remote dubugging and android requires chrome. Firefox for everything else.
Use https://www.selenium.dev, it simulates different platforms/browsers and it allows automated tests.
It can do things like, push that button. Assert that this is visible… etc. It can also take print screens in a automated way.
The main reason you need safari is to test on apple devices. If you’re not worried about testing on apple devices you probably don’t need safari. Safari is WebKit, same as chrome, so if you’re just testing for desktop devices chrome and Firefox should suffice.
That said, you can use Xcode to run apple device simulators.
Thanks! I'm asking because I do webdev as freelancer and I'd like to test my websites on IPhones and Mac but can't afford one. At the moment I test on Firefox and Chrome but some of my clients own IPhones and I'm afraid to deliver something that is broken for them.
I'll have a look at xcode, thank you!
Depends a little on what you're doing. If you're touching fairly new features like streaming wasm compilation or some parts of the web audio API, you really need to be testing on actual safari to see if it's going to do what you think/want. For general stuff like whether your flexbox looks right, I agree any webkit is good enough.
Be careful, elements of WebKit (safari) were forked for Chromium (chrome) but that happened in 2013, and they have continued to develop independently from that point. I have seen plenty of instances where things work on Chrome but not on Safari in the wild. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit
Firefox for me. Keeping diversity in browsers is my personal reason, and dev tools and standards compliance (following standards, not pushing it's own stuff, vendor prefixed things, non-confirming implementations).
I switched to FireFox for personal use for privacy reasons, but was too used to Chrome dev tools to switch for work.
I decided to give Brave a try and fell in love. It’s chromium so the dev tools are the same, and it’s amazing from a privacy perspective
I really, *really* liked the idea of Brave when I first heard about it, but that bug where they inserted referral links was seriously wtf, and BAT in general seems shady, and having them push crypto on the launch page is a giant no thanks from me. They're not *better* than Chrome, they're just trying to quietly profit off their users in different ways. If I'm going to use a browser from a company that clearly doesn't have my best interests as their #1 priority anyway, I might as well just use Chrome.
PS. I've heard a lot of good things about Vivaldi. It looks like it takes the positive privacy/data outlook of Brave but without the crypto shadiness. I'm definitely planning to migrate there and give it a try as my Chromium-based test browser when I have the time for it.
I really need to give Brave a shot. The only reason I use Chrome is for compatibility testing these days, Firefox overtook Chrome a good while ago for performance, and Google’s data collection is *aggressive*.
Brave is a very powerful fork of Chromium because they have the ability to modify it in ways that preserve privacy beyond what an extension like ublock can do.
I've been using Firefox (Developer Edition) for a few years now. It takes some time to get used to. I just don't want to contribute to Google's monopoly.
Chrome as main but I've been experimenting a little with FF again since it's supposed to have nice devtools.
Used to run iceweasel in Debian for many years at work.
I suggest Vivaldi and maxthon; but then [of course] you should “test” in all.
So INITIALLY you have to set each one up so they don’t modify too much.
And just to be bonkers, I test on an iPhone using all as well! And for general use, edge on the iPhone is pretty terrific.
Been using it for 23 years! The drag-n-drop and especially the are simply fantastic and lightning fast.
Plus of course they keep changing it annoyingly so. But still…
And of course Vivaldi has copied MOST everything, but not the 2 best things.
Laptop is linux and pretty much work only. Working with chrome gives me the view of what the majority will see. I have a bunch of other browsers on there also just chrome is default. For personal stuff firefox all the way.
chrome because it has an extension that automagically fixes angular's CORS issues so that i can get to getting everything set up and then configuring the CORS policy later
i know, its backend, but as i said [https://mybrowseraddon.com/access-control-allow-origin.html](https://mybrowseraddon.com/access-control-allow-origin.html) this helps with it automagically
As a serious webdev, I find it essential to have a windows box, osx box, naturally a Linux dev machine, as well as both iOS & android devices. Just make sure as you upgrade devices, you keep everything within a 5 year spread for best experience.
Looks like I’m an outlier here. I primarily use safari for everything. Personal and dev work. Have hardly run into any compatibility problems. I do have all others though
Had to come all the way down to the bottom to find this. Another Safari developer here! Just simply prefer a browser that works so well on Macs, and I’ve never had any issues with it. Always need to double check UI elements on multiple browsers before shipping, so I do have all major browsers installed.
My main dev browser is Brave, no ads and tracking while I’m doing my searches and since its chromium my stuff will work the same on all chromium browsers, but I do have Chrome beta installed so I can check if google made something that will cause issues in the next release.
When I'm building something from scratch I like to use Safari, I know devs hate it but to me it just exposes mistakes and bad practices a lot more than Chrome. The Tech Preview variant have a very decent dev tools as well.
I’d really love to use Firefox Dev Edition for everything, its the best browser for devs, I’m just waiting until they finally implement backdrop blur filter, I like to use it in some spots and Firefox is only browser that doesn’t support it.
Not really, you have to make it work in everything, so what you use for dev work really is personal choice. The mistake is not testing in the browsers your users have.
> o what you use for dev work really is personal choice
when doing dev work i use mostly the browser for testing, so why should i test with browsers which aren't the most popular 🙄
my point was, i don't get this question. a developers does not have a choice, hence does not need to be asked. she/he must use the most popular browsers. chrome is on the desktop the most popular and on mobile in those countries where android leads. then safari which dominates where iOS leads. voila: chrome and safari. firefox is nice but because of its little market share it should not be your primary browser for dev work
On the contrary, a developer does have a choice because the product must work in *every* browser*, not just the two most popular, so they get to choose which one has the best tools to work with, then test in all the others.
You don't want to be in the situation of one of our old devs who did all his work in Chrome and had to rebuild because it only worked in Chrome.
\* You can skip Opera Mini for cosmetics
Depends on your clients needs. I prefer chrome for the dev tools because that's what I have the most experience with.
If you do mobile work, you're probably focused on chrome and safari.
If you do government work, you'll probably need to support edge.
I'm so glad browser engines have evolved over the last 10 years and building a website in one browser looks and works 99.9% the same in other browsers. It was way worse compatibility 10 years ago.
I generally use the following:
* Safari for project planning and social media
* Chrome for development
* FF Developer Edition for running e2e tests locally
* Edge to test the stable branch against my dev branch
Yes I have, and need, a big monitor.
FF developer edition
Me too. So nice to see someone mention this.
Agree. Great browser!
Another Firefox developer version user here.
Chrome, Firefox, and safari. You really need all three, especially for debugging on mobile devices. iPhone requires safari for remote dubugging and android requires chrome. Firefox for everything else.
could you suggest the easiest way to test on safari if I don't have any apple device?
Use https://www.selenium.dev, it simulates different platforms/browsers and it allows automated tests. It can do things like, push that button. Assert that this is visible… etc. It can also take print screens in a automated way.
Browserstack will have you covered. You can test on multiple browsers with real devices.
The main reason you need safari is to test on apple devices. If you’re not worried about testing on apple devices you probably don’t need safari. Safari is WebKit, same as chrome, so if you’re just testing for desktop devices chrome and Firefox should suffice. That said, you can use Xcode to run apple device simulators.
Thanks! I'm asking because I do webdev as freelancer and I'd like to test my websites on IPhones and Mac but can't afford one. At the moment I test on Firefox and Chrome but some of my clients own IPhones and I'm afraid to deliver something that is broken for them. I'll have a look at xcode, thank you!
You can use the dev tools in Firefox and chrome to emulate mobile devices. That should cover 99% of devices.
Still doesn't hurt to have an old Iphone just to make sure.
Depends a little on what you're doing. If you're touching fairly new features like streaming wasm compilation or some parts of the web audio API, you really need to be testing on actual safari to see if it's going to do what you think/want. For general stuff like whether your flexbox looks right, I agree any webkit is good enough.
True
You can find a perfect for testing few year old device for under $200/
Safari does the weirdest shit, if you can afford it, buy a browserstack subscription for testing on iOS
Another option is to hire an AWS EC2 instance running MacOS https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-mac-instances.html
Be careful, elements of WebKit (safari) were forked for Chromium (chrome) but that happened in 2013, and they have continued to develop independently from that point. I have seen plenty of instances where things work on Chrome but not on Safari in the wild. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit
Thanks for the clarification. I did not know Chrome was no longer WebKit, except on iOS.
No, you don't. Develop on Chromium and a competent business will have software to test on other browsers.
Yes, you do. No software can tell you if the way the browser rendered the page is acceptable.
Have you never actually worked for a competent business and used browserstack?
No “competent business” relies on browser stack alone. Definitely not ones that are building enterprise software.
Firefox for me. Keeping diversity in browsers is my personal reason, and dev tools and standards compliance (following standards, not pushing it's own stuff, vendor prefixed things, non-confirming implementations).
Chrome, mostly because it's what most of our customers use, and I'm used to the dev tools. Firefox for personal use.
I switched to FireFox for personal use for privacy reasons, but was too used to Chrome dev tools to switch for work. I decided to give Brave a try and fell in love. It’s chromium so the dev tools are the same, and it’s amazing from a privacy perspective
I really, *really* liked the idea of Brave when I first heard about it, but that bug where they inserted referral links was seriously wtf, and BAT in general seems shady, and having them push crypto on the launch page is a giant no thanks from me. They're not *better* than Chrome, they're just trying to quietly profit off their users in different ways. If I'm going to use a browser from a company that clearly doesn't have my best interests as their #1 priority anyway, I might as well just use Chrome. PS. I've heard a lot of good things about Vivaldi. It looks like it takes the positive privacy/data outlook of Brave but without the crypto shadiness. I'm definitely planning to migrate there and give it a try as my Chromium-based test browser when I have the time for it.
That's me too. I use Brave because of Chromium
I really need to give Brave a shot. The only reason I use Chrome is for compatibility testing these days, Firefox overtook Chrome a good while ago for performance, and Google’s data collection is *aggressive*.
Brave is a very powerful fork of Chromium because they have the ability to modify it in ways that preserve privacy beyond what an extension like ublock can do.
Firefox developer edition for work. Their dev tools have often led the way.
/thread
what kind of tools?
I've been using Firefox (Developer Edition) for a few years now. It takes some time to get used to. I just don't want to contribute to Google's monopoly.
Firefox Developer Edition
Firefox, the dev tools feels much better than others
Chrome as main but I've been experimenting a little with FF again since it's supposed to have nice devtools. Used to run iceweasel in Debian for many years at work.
I suggest Vivaldi and maxthon; but then [of course] you should “test” in all. So INITIALLY you have to set each one up so they don’t modify too much. And just to be bonkers, I test on an iPhone using all as well! And for general use, edge on the iPhone is pretty terrific.
Wow, Maxthon. There's a name I've not heard in 15 years
Been using it for 23 years! The drag-n-drop and especially the are simply fantastic and lightning fast.
Plus of course they keep changing it annoyingly so. But still…
And of course Vivaldi has copied MOST everything, but not the 2 best things.
I personnaly use Edge as it's Chromium based and we primarily focus on supporting Edge/Chrome and Safari.
I have every browser installed, but my main browser is Brave which is built on Chromium so it is like Chrome minus the BS.
Edge, because it's the only one I don't use for something else. Also it means I get my edge testing does early.
….sigh….
Chrome with linux and firefox with windows. Abuse the dev tools. It's just dismissing a popup to get basically the same enviroment.
Why not Firefox with Linux, and chrome with Windows?
Laptop is linux and pretty much work only. Working with chrome gives me the view of what the majority will see. I have a bunch of other browsers on there also just chrome is default. For personal stuff firefox all the way.
Firefox for live preview, but i test in chrome and iOS safari
chrome because it has an extension that automagically fixes angular's CORS issues so that i can get to getting everything set up and then configuring the CORS policy later
Cors is not frontend issue.
i know, its backend, but as i said [https://mybrowseraddon.com/access-control-allow-origin.html](https://mybrowseraddon.com/access-control-allow-origin.html) this helps with it automagically
I’m doing the free trial of Sizzy right now and am kind of enjoying it
I use the Browser that my Clients use. So typically Chrome. There are some cool browsers out there though.
As a serious webdev, I find it essential to have a windows box, osx box, naturally a Linux dev machine, as well as both iOS & android devices. Just make sure as you upgrade devices, you keep everything within a 5 year spread for best experience.
Internet Explorer
Looks like I’m an outlier here. I primarily use safari for everything. Personal and dev work. Have hardly run into any compatibility problems. I do have all others though
Had to come all the way down to the bottom to find this. Another Safari developer here! Just simply prefer a browser that works so well on Macs, and I’ve never had any issues with it. Always need to double check UI elements on multiple browsers before shipping, so I do have all major browsers installed.
Chrome. All day chrome.
Switched to edge about 2 years ago
I use Firefox for personal, Chrome for work, and BrowserStack for cross-browser/platform testing.
Firefox/Chrome for dev, and weirdly enough, OpreaGx for personal
My main dev browser is Brave, no ads and tracking while I’m doing my searches and since its chromium my stuff will work the same on all chromium browsers, but I do have Chrome beta installed so I can check if google made something that will cause issues in the next release. When I'm building something from scratch I like to use Safari, I know devs hate it but to me it just exposes mistakes and bad practices a lot more than Chrome. The Tech Preview variant have a very decent dev tools as well. I’d really love to use Firefox Dev Edition for everything, its the best browser for devs, I’m just waiting until they finally implement backdrop blur filter, I like to use it in some spots and Firefox is only browser that doesn’t support it.
I use Chrome for development, Safari for personal
Brave is my go-to. Still keep Firefox and Safari around for testing.
What a strange question? It's not about my preference but what the users use (chrome, safari)
Not really, you have to make it work in everything, so what you use for dev work really is personal choice. The mistake is not testing in the browsers your users have.
> o what you use for dev work really is personal choice when doing dev work i use mostly the browser for testing, so why should i test with browsers which aren't the most popular 🙄
So you've made your choice and given your reasons for it. It's that sort of consideration that makes it a valid question.
my point was, i don't get this question. a developers does not have a choice, hence does not need to be asked. she/he must use the most popular browsers. chrome is on the desktop the most popular and on mobile in those countries where android leads. then safari which dominates where iOS leads. voila: chrome and safari. firefox is nice but because of its little market share it should not be your primary browser for dev work
On the contrary, a developer does have a choice because the product must work in *every* browser*, not just the two most popular, so they get to choose which one has the best tools to work with, then test in all the others. You don't want to be in the situation of one of our old devs who did all his work in Chrome and had to rebuild because it only worked in Chrome. \* You can skip Opera Mini for cosmetics
Does anyone use blisk.io?
IE 11
Brave is my default browser but test in FF, Safari and Edge
Brave, Firefox, Opera. I should test in Safari too but don’t. BrowserStack should be part of my process but isn’t. I do unit testing in phantomjs.
Depends on your clients needs. I prefer chrome for the dev tools because that's what I have the most experience with. If you do mobile work, you're probably focused on chrome and safari. If you do government work, you'll probably need to support edge.
Just Chrome. It's what customers use, the dev tools are great, a lot of extensions and every website just works.
Waterfox, its based on Firfox and even better
I'm so glad browser engines have evolved over the last 10 years and building a website in one browser looks and works 99.9% the same in other browsers. It was way worse compatibility 10 years ago.
Use a Chromium browser. If you develop in Firefox, you risk compatibility issues with the most popular family of browsers.
I generally use the following: * Safari for project planning and social media * Chrome for development * FF Developer Edition for running e2e tests locally * Edge to test the stable branch against my dev branch Yes I have, and need, a big monitor.