So you like vintage. Your vintage tee, vintage bike, vintage Polaroid—all very cool. But your vintage browser might just be giving you a bit too much trouble.
Most web browsers will work great with your Rocketspark website, but occasionally old browsers will run into problems. (If you already know what a browser and browser compatibility is, you might like to skip down to the section, “What browsers does Rocketspark support?”)
What’s a browser?
A web browser is the software you use on your computer or mobile to view websites. In fact, you’re using a browser right now to view this webpage.
There are a lot of different browsers, but stats from 2019/2020 found:
The most popular browsers in New Zealand were:
- 56% using Chrome
- 28% using Safari
- 4.24% using Firefox
and in the United Kingdom,
- 47% using Chrome
- 36% using Safari
- 4.48% using Firefox
So these are the browsers that we ensure Rocketspark sites are working properly on.
What’s browser compatibility?
Not only are there different types of web browser, but there’s also a lot of different versions of the same browser. Browsers are being continually improved and updated, which is why they issue different versions. A newer version will have new and improved features.
This is where browser compatibility comes in. Old browsers usually lack certain features or use outmoded technology such that web pages don’t work correctly in them. An old version of, say, Chrome may not allow you to play embedded Youtube videos, in which case you’d need to upgrade to a newer version or simply try a different type of browser. In other words, old browser versions may not be compatible with your Rocketspark website.
At Rocketspark, we have greater tolerance (i.e., compatibility) for the browsers your website is viewed in. Users can visit your website with a reasonably old browser and still usually get a trouble-free experience of your website. But from your end, as the site manager, you need to make sure your browsers are kept reasonably up-to-date. Why? We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of your Rocketspark website. It’s in your own best interests to have a fairly recent browser.
What browsers does Rocketspark support?
Rocketspark is continually updating the specific browsers we support as new versions are released and web technologies change. In general we always support the latest versions of the top four browsers. For specific details please check our What browsers does Rocketspark support, support guide.
We regularly browser check Rocketspark websites to make sure that they’re functioning properly across multiple browsers and versions.
What browser do I have?
If you’re not sure what browser and/or version you’re using, finding out is easy. Just visit: https://www.whatsmybrowser.org/
This website automatically detects and tells you what browser you’re using. You can find out more about it and how to upgrade to a new browser here.
