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Ie8 issue with Twitter Bootstrap 3

html
responsive-design
best-practices
web-development
Anton ShumikhinbyAnton Shumikhin·Sep 18, 2024
TLDR

To address IE8's limited support for Bootstrap 3, ensure the following polyfills reside within the <head> of your HTML:

<!--[if lt IE 9]> <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/html5shiv/3.7.3/html5shiv.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/respond/1.4.2/respond.min.js"></script> <![endif]-->

This snippet activates HTML5 elements and media queries in IE8, aiding the Bootstrap 3 functionality. For full compatibility, serving local copies of Bootstrap's CSS and associated scripts circumvents CDN cross-domain issues.

Detailed solution

Ensuring layout stability in IE8

Initializing these <meta> tags within the <head> promotes layout consistency:

<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">

The first meta tag mandates the latest IE rendering engine, while the second capably scales mobile-friendly pages. Additionally, apply max-width to the .container class for desktop layout regulation, and check element stretching issues via IE's Developer Tools.

Debugging considerations

Debugging in IE8 often requires a keen eye and a good sense of humor. As a tip, use the unminified CSS version to make the process less daunting. Importing CSS files before scripts ensures proper style rendering. From time to time, keep yourself informed about respond.js development via Scott Jehl's GitHub.

Local testing and deployment

For the most part, testing locally should be your primary approach. Ensure all your assets and resources are correctly linked and are served from the right paths. Browser compatibility tools such as BrowserStack can be your ideal testing partner.

Configurations specific to IE8

Delving into IE8-Bootstrap nuances: Consider replacing the <nav> tag with <header> and other meaningful alternatives. Interestingly, respond.js functions more efficiently if placed right before the body tag's closing tag.

Smooth transition during updates

Bootstrap's evolutionary nature mandates attention to element modifications, ensuring a smooth transition during version bumps. Staying in tune with the migration guidelines can safeguard backward compatibility.