Do websites set up to be viewed by Internet Explorer look different on other browsers

[cousinlucky]

So I'm reading the AP snippet news in my my way email today and I see a
small article with Steve Balmer's picture. The article was about Opera's
European claim that the Internet Explorer browser should not be embedded
in Windows operating system. I do not use any windows os on my computer
anymore but what did get my interest was the claim that web pages set up
for the Internet Explorer browser would look askew when viewed through
any other browser.

I believe my website designer used a windows os when he scripted my
website for me. I know that every browser that I use in Linux displays
my website differently.

I have two questions! Is this true and can I do anything about it on my
computer? Thanks!

[oz]

Different browsers will display HTML differently, unfortunately.

Most website designers use (or should use) multiple browsers to make sure that all code displays properly in at least the most popular browsers.

[elija]

The way we approach it is to code to web standards for Firefox, Seamonkey, Opera, Safari et al and then we use conditional CSS to break it for Internet Explorers odd box model.

It can be tricky to get a website looking exactly the same across all browsers but you can get very very close

[oz]

I no longer keep up with what Microsoft is doing with Internet Explorer these days but do remember that they used to be horrible when it came to adhering to any standards, and they were forever trying to set the standards for all surfers of the Internet. Hopefully, they've outgrown that behavior and no longer see themselves as the God of HTML.

The entire web would be a much better place if we can all get on the same page, at least in my own opinion.

[cousinlucky]

This reminds my of my uncle telling me to never buy any S----S products because even the little screws to the panels are not standardized threads. You could not get any part except through their parts department.

Thanks, Gentlemen!! At least now I know why my website looks so strange using Linux browsers in Ubuntu. On my Suse 10 partition an old Seamonley browser is the only one that shows my website correctly.

This information is very good to know. I hope Opera wins its case in the E.U.

[Lakshmipathi]

Most website designers use (or should use) multiple browsers to make sure that all code displays properly in at least the most popular browsers

that's true. I created my site with few html pages in linux with firefox.

After some time,when i viewed the site with windows -- it looks completed different ....menu links are not as visible as in firefox....

even today my site will be different with IE and firefox (see the screenshot taked from IE)

[Roxoff]

Life is very different in Microsoft-land. If I browse the internet using IE7 at work, virtually every web page is plastered with adverts. It's yukky.

Back to the main point though; IE8 is supposed to be significantly more standards-compliant than IE7 - it seems MS is finally waking up to the fact that not only do they not run the only browser in the world, but that people are moving away because they dont display properly.

[ryokimball]

The programmer/web design guy I work for on occasion introduced me to cascading style sheets on the note that if you define everything within CSS, it will make appearances much more universal in terms of different browsers. For instance, I believe that by default Firefox (and others) use a 0-width border for tables, while IE uses a width of 1, which makes a huge difference when viewing.
There are a number of other 'differences' between IE and other browsers, but this is one of those tips I'll never forget.
Btw if you don't know CSS it's real easy to grasp the concept; I learned how to use them in literally minutes and just keep a list of properties available for when I need one I can't remember.