Cross-browser testing your site

Testing your WooCommerce website across multiple browsers is essential to ensure a seamless shopping experience for your users, regardless of their preferred device, browser, or location. 

By conducting cross-browser testing, you can identify and resolve compatibility issues that may affect the functionality, appearance, or usability of your site.

Note: This document is meant to serve as a helpful guide for advanced troubleshooting; however, the procedures described are beyond the scope of our support policy and we cannot provide direct assistance with implementing them. 

If you would like to seek assistance from a qualified WordPress/WooCommerce developer, we highly recommend Codeable or a Woo Agency Partner. 

Different browsers interpret code in unique ways, which can sometimes lead to inconsistencies in how your site looks and functions. Cross-browser testing ensures that your website works well for all users, no matter which browser or device they use.

By testing across multiple browsers, you can catch and fix issues early, providing a smooth, reliable experience for everyone. This helps build trust with users, reduces technical support needs, and supports your store’s overall performance and success.

Tools are available to help you test your site across browsers:

• BrowserStack
• LambdaTest
• Sauce Labs

These tools allow you to test your site on different browsers and devices, including mobile devices. They also enable you to test from different locations to see what visitors from other countries are experiencing.

Please note that these are third-party resources; our Happiness Engineers are not able to support issues with using these tools. If you have any questions, please reach out to the respective third-party provider directly.

Your hosting provider might also offer or recommend a tool for performing cross-browser testing on your WooCommerce site.

Inspecting individual page elements can help with testing your site and enhance your understanding of how various parts of your website function and interact. 

Here’s how to do it in the most common web browsers:

1. Right-click and inspect: Navigate to the page you want to examine. Right-click on the element you wish to inspect and click Inspect from the context menu. This opens the DevTools pane and highlights the selected element in the HTML structure.
2. Use the Elements tab: The Elements tab displays the HTML structure of the page. Hovering over different parts of the HTML code in DevTools will highlight these sections on the web page, helping you identify exact elements.
3. Modify styles: In the Styles pane to the right or below the Elements tab, you can see and edit the CSS applied to the selected element. Changes are reflected in real-time on the web page. Note that these changes are not saved directly to your CSS site’s stylesheet — they will disappear once you refresh the page in your browser. They are for troubleshooting and previewing potential changes only.

1. Right-click and inspect: Similar to Chrome, right-click on the part of the page you are interested in. Choose Inspect from the context menu.
2. Examine and edit HTML and CSS: The Inspector tool will open, displaying the HTML and CSS of your page. You can edit the HTML or CSS directly in the Inspector to see immediate changes. Note that any changes made via the Inspector are not saved directly to your CSS site’s stylesheet — they will disappear once you refresh the page in your browser. They are for troubleshooting and previewing potential changes only.

1. Right-click to inspect: Right-click on the element, then click Inspect to open the Developer Tools. Note that any changes made via these tools are not saved directly to your CSS site’s stylesheet — they will disappear once you refresh the page in your browser. They are for troubleshooting and previewing potential changes only.
2. Navigate the DOM: Use the Document Object Model (DOM) tree in the Elements tab to view and interact with the structure of your web page. Modifications to CSS can be made in the Styles pane, which will update the page dynamically as you type.

1. Enable Developer Menu: First, enable the Develop menu via Safari > Settings. Under the Advanced tab, check the Show features for web developers box.
2. Inspect elements: Once the Develop menu is enabled, you can right-click on the web page. Click Inspect Element, or use the Develop menu item at the top of the screen and click Show Web Inspector. Note that any changes made via the Web Inspector are not saved directly to your CSS site’s stylesheet — they will disappear once you refresh the page in your browser. They are for troubleshooting and previewing potential changes only.

When you are inspecting individual elements, you can also use another plugin such as String Locator to determine which theme or plugin file provides the element you’re looking at.

Do you still have questions and need assistance? 

• Get in touch with a Happiness Engineer via our Help Desk. We provide support for extensions developed by and/or sold on WooCommerce.com, and Jetpack/WordPress.com customers.
• If you are not a customer, we recommend finding help in the WooCommerce support forum or hiring a Woo Agency Partner. These are trusted agencies with a proven track record of building highly customized, scalable online stores. Learn more about Woo Agency Partners.