July 17, 2013

Resolve Blogger Compatibility Issues with Microsoft Internet Explorer




How many of you are using Internet Explorer as your regular web browser? If you are using Microsoft Windows operating system, I wouldn't be surprised though. However it has its own way of doing things. Yeah, quite stubborn. Those who are familiar with design or development of websites, probably know what I'm talking about. For example, a blog theme or template may render very nicely in any web browser except for Internet Explorer because the theme / template has no specific instructions for Internet Explorer. Can you recall such experiences? Well, I've got some!


IE + Blogger


Mmm.... I hadn't been having any critical issues with my blog. But lately, I've got some queries from my readers that Disqus, the comment system implemented on my blog, wasn't fair enough for them. My apologies to everyone who had the issues, but they were kind enough to come back and comment again too. How loyal and supportive they are? :)

I've been testing my blog on different browsers and ran through the source code, as I can't stand when I hear about issues. It took me several hours until I find Internet Explorer seems to play hide and seek with me. The problem was, at times, Disqus wasn't loading at all.

First, my thought was, it has something to do with Disqus alone. Then I've found that Disqus already addressed the issue too. Eventhough all the web browsers compatible with Disqus, Internet Explorer needed a real fix.


Let's Dig It!


Actually, Blogger has no problem displaying content on web browsers. You can refer to browser compatibility chart to find what kind of browsers and operating systems works with Blogger. But issues may come into play when you incorporate third-party tools or services with your blog. Mainly if they require different prerequisites.

Currently, when users view Blogger blogs through Internet Explorer, Blogger templates are instructed to render content in Internet Explorer 7 mode by defining below rendering mode meta tag.

<meta content='IE=EmulateIE7' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible '/>

It doesn't interfere with texts, images or videos in your posts. But if any of your third party tools or services require Internet Explorer 8 or a higher version to unveil its all features, you can count on inconsistencies in Internet Explorer.


Be Alert!


It can be Disqus or any other third party tool for you. Whatever it is, if you are not using Internet Explorer, just take few moments to view your blog or website through it and see if you can find any inconsistencies. Eventhough you don't see them everyday, other users using Internet Explorer may have been experiencing them and they would think your site is not up to par with web standards. Just keep it ready for any kind of reader :)

Even if you don't have any issues with your Blogger blog right now, you can go ahead and apply following fix. If you intend to do so, make sure everything is working properly after applying the fix. You can always revert back by pasting the one line of code. It does the magic.

You have been experiencing issues on your blog too? Let's take a look at the possible workaround :)


Steps:

1. Go to Blogger Dashboard.

2. Click on your Blog Title.

3. Navigate to Template tab.


Note: Before editing your template, you may want to save a copy of it. Read How to Back Up Your Template.

4. Click on Edit Template button.


5. Search following line of code in your template.

<meta content='IE=EmulateIE7' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible'/>

6. Now replace it with following line of code.

<meta content='IE=IE7; IE=IE8; IE=IE9; IE=IE10; IE=edge; chrome=1' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible'/>

7. Now click Save Template button to save changes.


Enjoy :-)




Awesome! Thanks for coming by and taking your time to read this post :) I hope you have learnt something today. Now you can share it with your friends and I'd love to hear from you too.






Related Posts and Categories


Category, , , ,





Comments

* Make sure your comment is genuine and comply with our commenting guidelines.

* Review your email and reply notification settings to receive replies via email.


RobG said...

Hello Mayura, nice post I wanted to comment of this one because I never like IE until I got Windows 8 on my machine. I've notice the improvement in the speed of IE now and have been using it for a few days now.


I'm still a Chrome kinda a guy and won't be leaving Google Chrome for IE no time soon. For the next few weeks I will use IE off and on to see how it goes.


Thanks so much for a great share my friend hope your doing well.

Corina Ramos said...

I really like these tutorials you do for us Mayura. I know those with Blogger are especially thrilled when you come out with stuff like this.

I only use IE for my personal banking. As a matter of fact I'm using IE10 and so far so good. But I use Firefox for my blog.

Thanks for putting this together Mayura! Keep 'em coming!

Sylviane Nuccio said...

Hi Mayura,


Well, I'm not a fan of Internet Explorer. As a matter of fact, I need to call my geek guys for my computer because even on my new computer it's already acting up. I try to avoid this browser by any mean.


Now Disqus doesn't seem to like IE either. As a matter of fact if I open one of your post at work on this browser I can't comment at all. I don't know if it's the version they're using. Not sure.


I love to use Chrome :)

Reginald Chan Xin Yon said...

Hey Mayura,

Nice one you got there. I have a blogspot and thus, should work just well. But thinking back, IE? Seriously?

Sometime, I wouldn't bother much about IE but I know it's annoying to encounter that. Especially when readers PM me about incompatibility on their IE.



I tested out and hey, it works. Not bad (yes, I know!) Been years I didn't update and I was too lazy :)


Okay, nuff for now.


Take care Mayura and keep the tips coming!


Reginald

Harleena Singh said...

Hi Mayura,

Nice tutorial yet again :)

Yes, I know it's targeted for mainly the ones on Bloggers and each time it makes me think I shouldn't have given up on my Blogger's blog because I had such a nice friend in you to guide me through, though sadly we met much later :)

Yes, sometimes I have problems seeing my blog properly in IE, while sometimes in Firefox too. I always use Chrome, so all is safe and well on that as we can see it. But sometimes the social buttons that I have on the sides are half hidden, but thankfully because of the theme, they come up on the top, or else the colors become a little different on other browsers.

This does remind me to head over and check the other browsers as it's been a while since I last checked them up. So, thanks for sharing this with us. Have a nice week ahead :)

Donna Merrill said...

Hey Mayura!


I never use Internet Explorer. I'm a Firefox gal and it never lets me down....yet lol.


I don't have a Blogger blog, but some ones I visit have some hiccups when I try to post a comment. I don't know how or why, but I always copy my comment before I press that button.



I save it on a Doc. on my desktop and re-visit later. It has become a habit with me when I'm on a blogger blog. And somehow it goes through at a later time. Now you know me, I'm all about intuition, so that's how I do it.


Now you have explained the "why" and I thank you!



Looking forward to my next lesson on your next post.


-Donna

Bren Lee said...

Hi Mayura! Great post as usual! I didn't know folks were still using IE until I talked to my IT guy at work and since installing the latest Windows package, IE is rather nice. Still not as nice as Chrome imo. ;)

Lisa Buben said...

Hi Mayura, interesting and informative post - I don't tend to us IE so I will check out my sites on it and see how they look. Thanks for the tutorial too if any need help :)

Margarita Slavkova said...

Mayura, here is another golden nuggets of yours. I kind of abandoned IE for some time now. I like chrome. Using Mozllla too. But I am surprised how many of my friends still use IE and refuse to replace it with another browser. Very nice of you to offer a replacement piece of code. Great and valuable tips. As usual... :)

Arleen Harry said...

Mayura,

I don't know if the problem is IE per se or the version that someone is using. We are constantly doing fixes to our site so that it is IE compatible. We were seeing the problem when people would leave a comment and used Captucha and when it would not take they lost their comments. This happened to me other sites. I have taken it down. The browsers can be a pain

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Rob,

I have to agree there with you mate :) IE wasn't in my consideration until I find it in Windows 8 too. I think Microsoft is improving their browser along with the browser war. I kinda like latest version of IE but my favorite is yet Google Chrome.



However we can't ignore the fact that some of our readers using IE :) So we gotta make sure our site is compatible with IE too, or else I think we might lose 'em.

Thanks for coming by and adding your thoughts about IE into the conversation mate ;)

Hope you are doing great over there too!

Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Corina,

Thank you for the kind words dear :)

Well, you can try out your blog in IE and see how it renders in there Corina :) It won't hurt to know how it is performing in IE. Else you might never know how IE users feeling about your blog :) We don't want our visitors to be disappointed, right?

I like IE 10 too as it is a big improvement over the years compared to other popular web browser :) But it's yet kinda pain for web designers and developers though.

Thanks for coming over and sharing your thoughts about IE Corina :)


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Sylviane,



I'm a fan of Google Chrome too dear :) But I think as bloggers, we should be in alert how our blogs being rendered in others browsers too. Not everyone's using Chrome, no? :)


Sorry for the inconvenience Sylviane. You were using IE at work? :) If so, I can assure now it's all fixed by now. But if it's an other browser, plugins and add-ons / extensions may interfere with Disqus too though.

Oops... New computer? It's always better if you regularly do clean up and optimize your computer Sylviane. You can keep it away from issues :)

Thanks for coming over and sharing your browsing experiences and issues dear :) I really appreciate your feedback on Disqus too.


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hey Reginald,


Ha ha... Yeah IE mate ;) I know that most folks I know trying to keep away IE, but there are IE fans too mate. We can't ignore them. Can we? :)


Well, I've been getting feedback from my readers too and hence I discover this quick fix mate :) I'm considerate about 'em 'cause without readers, blogs won't shine much.


Glad you tested out your blog mate :) Always a wise decision. If nothing is broken, you don't wanna fix then.


Thanks for coming by and sharing your thoughts on IE and this fix Reginald :)


You take care too mate!


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Harleena,

You knew it :) Ha ha... You don't wanna blog on two platforms at the same time, right? I know you enjoy WordPress and you got enough reasons to be there too dear :) Don't worry about it at all.

Aha... So you were having issues with IE too. I'm not wondering though. Well, different browsers have different capabilities Harleena. However there is a huge advantage if we can get our blogs to render well in most popular browses, as readers use different browsers.



I hope you had a look at your blog using IE too Harleena :) That'd be a wise decision after all. Change of colors would be alright, but if core functions not working properly, you will have to think again.


Thanks for coming over and adding your thoughts and browsing experiences to the conversation Harleena :)


You have a wonderful rest of the week dear!


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Donna,


Ha ha... So you are a Fire Fox girly ;) Tough, eh?


I'm sorry to hear you have been having issues commenting on Blogger blogs Donna. That's not a good experience and steals more of your precious time too. Of course, I know your intuition serves more than enough for you dear :) However if you haven't updated your browser in a while, I'd recommend updating though.

Well, I tend to copy comment before hit submit as I've experienced issues when submitting comments too. They just disappear, even on WordPress. So it became a habit of me now :)


Thanks for coming over and contributing your commenting experiences and habits to the discussion Donna :)


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Brenda,


Well, they do and IE leads the way ;)


I agree there, as I like the IE 10 in Windows 8 too. Came along with improvements and surviving in the browser war.


However my choice is Google Chrome too dear :) I think Chrome and Firefox are way better than IE.

Thanks for dropping by and adding your thoughts to the conversion on browsers Brenda :)


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Lisa,


Now that would open up more discussions if you find something is broken when you view your blogs in IE dear :) But I think it's wise to know issues than pretending.

Well, test it out and see how compatible IE with your blogs Lisa :)


Thanks for coming by and adding your thoughts dear :)


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Margarita,


I know what you talking about dear :) I often wonder why someone prefer IE over Chrome or Firefox too. But it's simply their choice and they find it comfortable for 'em as I think.

Even this fix doesn't apply for you, I think having a look at your blog using IE can assure your blog is rendering well or not Margarita :) We don't wanna keep ourselves in dark, right?

Thanks for coming over and contributing your thoughts to the conversation Margarita :)


Cheers...

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Arleen,


Ugh... I'm sorry to hear that you have been through that process dear.


Now that's what I'm talking about :) As I'm familiar with website development process, I know that's a real pain in the neck. We gotta arrange things specifically for IE in some cases. But we have to fix 'em or else lose visitors. Choice is always ours :)


I hope now your sites are compatible enough with IE Arleen :) Even it's a pain to fix issues, assuring compatibility will satisfy your visitors and potential customers.


Thanks for coming by and sharing your experiences and thoughts about using IE Arleen :)


Cheers...

Sue Price said...

Hi Mayura
As others have said - once again an excellent post and tutorial.

I am in the camp that does not like IE. I am still on windows 7 and really do not like it. I use either Mozilla or Chrome. I have different preferences for different sites with them.

Now I do hear what you say about we should see what our website is like on all browsers so I shall take your advice and check it out.

I am thinking I will become a Mac user next time around :-)




Thanks Mayura. Have a good week.

Sue

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Sue,

Thank you dear :) I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

Ha ha... You seem don't like Windows at all. You always have alternatives though :) As you implied that you wanna become a Mac user.

Gladly... I found no issues on Chrome or Firefox so far Sue. But it's always a wise decision to check your site in popular web browsers as you don't wanna disappoint portion of your visitors, no? I hope you will do and ensure your site is compatible with all the browsers :)



Thanks for coming over and contributing your thoughts to the conversaion Sue :)

You have a nice week there! :)


Cheers...

Paula said...

Thank you so much for this. I was going crazy trying to find out the reason why my blog would not work with IE. I would never think the solution was just so simple. Thanks a million.

Mayura De Silva said...

Hi Paula,


You're very welcome and glad this post helped you to resolve your issues with Internet Explorer dear :) It was such a pain for me too.

Thanks for coming by and adding your thoughts to the discussion :)


Cheers...