Fix Common IE Problems: Update Your docmode for Web Standards
Fix common IE problems: Update your docmode for web standards
Document compatibility defines how a browser renders your website. The more specific you are at telling the browser what to expect, the better the experience for your users. When using web standards like HTML5, start by explicitly declaring the HTML5 document type:
This markup triggers standards mode in Internet Explorer 9 and 10. And it also works well in Chrome and Firefox. Four steps will get your site ready for many browsers and devices:
Step 1: Validate that your site uses standards mode
Check whether or not your site is currently in standards mode:
- Open the website in IE10 platform preview.
- Note: You can also follow the same steps to update the docmode for IE9 only without downloading the preview.
- Press F12 to launch the IE Developer Tools or find it on the Tools menu as shown below:
- Note: If you’re not familiar with using the IE F12 Developer Tools to debug your webpages, please read the following tutorial.
- Check if your site indicates Browser Mode: IE10 and Document Mode: IE10 standards as shown in the toolbar below:
- If your site is in Browser Mode: IE10 and Document Mode: IE10 Standards, you’re done! Note if the Browser Mode and Document Mode of your site are different than above. A common example is Browser Mode = IE8 and Document Mode = Quirks which indicates that your website was designed for older versions of IE and may not be ready for web standards.
Step 2: Implement docmode for web standards
Force IE10 standards mode to test your website:
- Insert <!DOCTYPE html> into your website’s HTML page
- Learn more about how to update your doctypes here.
- Reload your page in the browser and check the Browser Mode and Document Mode again using the F12 Developer Tools. If Browser Mode: IE10 and Document Mode: IE10 standards are not shown, continue below.
Step 3: Determine why your site is not in Standards Mode
Most problems are related to supporting older versions of IE. Start by ensuring your standards-based code is rendered in IE9 and 10. Then keep your non-standards-based code for older versions of IE.
- My page is not in Browser Mode: IE10
- Possible Cause: Your website may flagged in Compatibility View and forced into an older browser mode to ensure the site functions
- My page is not in Document Mode = IE10
-
Possible Cause: Your website’s doctype is invalid or
missing
- Resolution:
Check for a valid,
well-formed doctype like:
<!DOCTYPE html> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
- Resolution:
Check for a valid,
well-formed doctype like:
Learn more about how to update your doctypes here.
-
Possible Cause: Docmode being forced via X-UA-Compatible
meta tag
- Resolution: Check for code similar to this in the <head> of the page.
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7" > <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=8" >
Remove it and reload your page. Continue testing. Learn more about Specifying Document Compatibility Modes here.
Step 4: Resolve common IE problems when updating docmode
Most problems are related to supporting older versions of IE. Start by ensuring your standards-based code is rendered in IE9 and 10. Then keep your non-standards-based code for older versions of IE.
-
Possible Cause: Conditional
comments support browser version-specific features
- Resolution:
Check for conditional
comments that run non-standard code. These are often used on specific features
supported by older versions of IE to allow the page to degrade gracefully.
Check for code similar to this:
<!--[if IE 8]> <p>Welcome to Internet Explorer 8.</p> <![endif]-->
Remove it and reload your page. Continue testing. Learn more about Conditional Comments here.
- Resolution:
Check for conditional
comments that run non-standard code. These are often used on specific features
supported by older versions of IE to allow the page to degrade gracefully.
Check for code similar to this:
-
Possible Cause: User
agent sniffing supports browser version-specific features
- Resolution: Check for user agent sniffing. These are often used to specifically target a browser based on the user agent string presented via the browser mode. Check for code similar to this:
if (version = /MSIE (\d+\.\d+)/.exec(navigator.userAgent)) { isIE = true; browserVersion = parseFloat(version[1]); }
Start by implementing feature detection where possible with web standards. Learn more about User-Agent Strings here. The IE10 User-Agent String is located here.
Other reasons my page does not render correctly
- Possible
Cause: Your website may be using browser specific features that are no
longer supported. Use web standards whenever possible.
- Resolution: Run the Compatibility Inspector tool.
- Possible
Cause: Your website may be using 3rd party plug-ins or like
Flash, Quicktime, and Silverlight that are no longer supported by the IE10
metro. Use web standards whenever possible.
- Resolution: Learn how to create plug-in free experiences. A complete step-by-step guide will be available shortly.
- Possible
Cause: Your website may be loading browser version-specific CSS files:
- Resolution: Ensure layout is avoiding CSS hacks where possible. Learn more about investigating CSS issues here.
A list of common problems is available in the IE Compatibility Cookbook (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff986083(v=VS.85).aspx).
If you’re unable to update your docmode with these resolution steps, tweet us @IE or check the Forums on MSDN.
For further detail, try these articles:
- Defining Document Capability @ MSDN
- Investigating Document Mode Issues @ MSDN
- Interoperable Quirks Mode in IE10 @ IE Blog
- Compatibility Inspector tool @ IETestDrive.com
- Don’t Forget to Add a Doctype @ W3C.org