Three of the biggest browser makers are working to improve compatibility and reduce cross-browser issues.

One of the biggest challenges since the early days of the web is making sure websites work with a variety of browsers. In the early days, websites would proudly display “Made for Internet Explorer” or “Made for Netscape Navigator” badges. Unfortunately, consumers were the ones who suffered.

As the web matured, open standards became the norm and helped usher in a new era of compatibility. With multiple different rendering engines, however, incompatibilities still remain.

Microsoft, Mozilla and Google, along with other companies, are working to address those issues. The initiative is called #Compat2021.

Google outlined how important the initiative is in a blog post:

Compatibility on the web has always been a big challenge for developers. In the last couple of years, Google and other partners, including Mozilla and Microsoft, have set out to learn more about the top pain points for web developers, to drive our work and prioritization to make the situation better. This project is connected to Google’s Developer Satisfaction (DevSAT) work, and it started on a larger scale with the creation of the MDN DNA (Developer Needs Assessment) surveys in 2019 and 2020, and a deep-dive research effort presented in the MDN Browser Compatibility Report 2020. Additional research has been done in various channels, such as the State of CSS and State of JS surveys.

The goal in 2021 is to eliminate browser compatibility problems in five key focus areas so developers can confidently build on them as reliable foundations. This effort is called #Compat2021.

Individuals can track the progress of the group using the Compat 2021 Dashboard.