OnYourMark, LLC Blog

This month‘s Pro is John Miller, Web Administrator at OnYourMark, LLC. John offers remedies for common web browsing problems.

What is a browser?
A browser is a program used to view webpages. Firefox and Internet Explorer are common browsers.

I typed in a website… why can’t my browser find it?
We often get calls from clients that cannot locate a webpage when they type in www.SampleNameHere.com. Usually the problem is not the website being broken, it is from the user typing in the website’s address in a search engine, not a browser.

When you open a web browser, often the first page you see is a search engine such as Google or MSN. Many users type the website’s address into the search engine’s search box instead of the Address bar of the browser. Entering the website address into a search engine causes the engine to search for the website’s address, which may or may not be in the search engine’s database.

Type website addresses in the browser’s address bar (highlighted in yellow). Do not type website addresses in the search engine’s search box (shown in red text).

The Address bar is highlighted in the image above. This is the correct place to type in a website address (www.SampleNameHere.com). Entering the website address here takes you directly to the page. If you do not know the website’s address, use a search engine to search with keywords (ex: blue widgets) or the company’s name (ex: ABC Widget Company).

I just had changes made to my site. Why can’t I see them?
To make page loading faster, browsers often cache (pronounced “cash”) copies of webpages. When you view a page, the browser will pull bits of information from the page and store them. With a cache of a page, the browser doesn’t have to pull everything fresh from the web.

Caching can cause problems when a website has new elements and your browser is still looking at the old, cached elements. To force your browser into viewing the most current page online, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard and use your mouse to click the Refresh/Reload button on the browser.

In Internet Explorer (left), use the Refresh button to reload a page. In Firefox (right), use the Reload button.

Why is my browser working so slow?
As discussed above, browsers “cache” information about the pages you visit. Browsers also save a “history” of the pages you have visited. Over time, your browser’s cache and history can become full and cause your browser to run slower. To clear your browser’s cache, do the following:

In Firefox, click Tools > Options > Cache > Clear Cache Now

In Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > General > Delete Files (Under Temporary Internet Files)

To clear your browser’s history, do the following:

In Firefox, click Tools > Options > History > Clear Browsing History Now

In Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > General > Clear History (Under History)

You can set your browser’s history to automatically clear in a given time frame.

Setting your browser’s history with “5″ as shown above will clear the history every five days.

My browser offers to remember passwords. Should I let it?
Unless you are absolutely, 100% certain that nobody else uses your computer, then do not allow browsers to save passwords! The box that pops up offering to remember passwords is often a default on browser installs. When the box pops up, check the Don’t offer to remember any more passwords option. The few seconds it takes to reenter your password on a site is worth the extra security!

For an added measure of security, do not allow your browser to save passwords.

What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!