With over 10 years under my belt testing apps and websites, I‘ve squashed my fair share of bugs! Especially pesky ones unique to Apple‘s Safari browser.
As you may know, Safari powers over 1 billion iPhones, iPads and Macs worldwide. Making it critical for developers to debug web experiences specifically for Safari.
But what exactly does it mean to "debug" a website? At a basic level, it‘s finding and fixing problems in code that deliver unintended results. We call these problems "bugs".
Left unchecked on Safari, some common examples are:
- Layouts breaking on iOS devices
- Images failing to load properly
- Slow response times and lag
- Forms not submitting properly
- Web pages crashing mid-use
The good news is Safari includes a set of built-in "developer tools" specially designed to help squash these bugs efficiently:
Inspector– Inspect page structure and CSS
Console – Log JavaScript errors and warnings
Debugger – Pause code execution to debug live
Network – Monitor network requests and performance
Resources – Check loading of assets like images
Timeline – Record and audit site speed over time
Let‘s explore some of my proven techniques for leveraging these tools to debug pesky website issues bothering your Safari visitors.
Responsive Design Mode – Debug Mobile Sites without Devices
If your website layout looks perfect on a desktop but breaks on iPhones, the Safari Responsive Design Mode is your new best friend!
It allows you to quickly simulate mobile devices directly from your Mac to view bugs and make fixes. Saving you from needing to connect multiple physical devices.
Let me walk you through debugging a site step-by-step:
Step 1 – From the Safari menu bar, enable the Develop menu under Preferences > Advanced
Step 2 – Next choose Develop > Enter Responsive Design Mode
Step 3 – You‘ll now see device previews along the left sidebar. Select the desired model such as iPhone 12.
Step 4 – Your site will reload, emulating the chosen device‘s viewport! Resize to tweak dimensions.
Step 5 – Now inspect elements and diagnose code issues with Develop > Show Web Inspector
For example, you may spot text overflowing incorrectly on a given iPhone preview. Click into the Inspector and adjust CSS to remedy.
After making a CSS change, reload the responsive preview to validate the fix across screen sizes. Much faster than installing iOS simulators!
And by combining Responsive Mode with other tools like the Timeline recorder, you can progressively enhance the mobile experience based on real-world data and diagnostics.
Let‘s move onto an even more robust method…
Leverage Debug Console to Spot Elusive JavaScript Bugs
I consider the JavaScript Debug Console an ace up my sleeve for tracking down bugs that other tools miss.
JavaScript powers most modern web experiences – but it can also introduce headaches like:
- Null object references
- Infinite loops causing freezes
- UI logic errors
- Auto-playing video issues
These types of problems often only rear their head while code is actually running. Making them hard to replicate and debug.
Luckily, the Debug Console provides real-time visibility by:
Step 1) – Enabling under Safari > Preferences > Advanced > Show Error Console
Step 2) – Opening the console with Develop > Show JavaScript Console
Step 3) – Analyzing error messages as they occur live on your site
Step 4) – Using the Console to test fixes on the fly with instant site reloads
For example, recently while testing a client video portal, videos kept failing to auto-play on iPad Safari.
The Debug Console revealed the root cause – an unsupported play() method in the Safari 12 WebKit runtime.
Armed with this insight, I could swiftly implement a fallback method and push a fix!
So next time you suspect tricky JS quirks, be sure to unleash the consummate bug hunting skills of the Debug Console.
Now let‘s examine how tapping into real devices takes debugging to the next level…
Debug Live Sites on Real iOS Hardware with BrowserStack
While the above tools enable debugging right within Safari, more robust testing requires access to real physical iPhone and iPad hardware.
However, acquiring and managing a large device lab can be extremely costly and labor intensive!
Luckily, BrowserStack Live provides on-demand access to 3000+ actual iOS devices hosted in a real mobile cloud. Enabling you to:
- Debug live on genuine hardware sans hassle
- Shift seamlessly between models and iOS versions
- Leverage developer tools to inspect elements and edit code
- Diagnose issues appearing only on specific device/browser combos
For example, last month a partner reported CSS rendering bugs exclusively on iPhone 11 when using iOS 15.4 and Safari Technology Preview.
Using BrowserStack Live, I quickly reproduced the behavior on real iPhone 11 test hardware using Safari Tech Preview. Debug Console revealed an unsupported Flexbox property in the beta WebKit build.
Without access to BrowserStack‘s cloud infrastructure, replicating and debugging these device/OS specific issues would be infinitely more painful!
Expert-Level Tips for Peak Performance
With Safari‘s solid developer toolkit and services like BrowserStack at your disposal, robust debugging is more achievable than ever!
To complement the above techniques, I wanted to share a few tips I‘ve gathered across my 10+ years of in-the-trenches debugging:
Master WebKit Specialized Tools – Understand nuances between Chromium vs Apple‘s WebKit engine used in Safari to catch platform-specific quirks.
Test Early with Safari Technology Preview – Gain early visibility into changes in Safari betas to get ahead of potential regressions.
Utilize Xcode Developer Library – For native iOS apps with embedded web views, leverage Xcode tools for deeper debugging opportunities.
Build a Comprehensive Test Lab Matrix – Catalog device models, OS versions and Safari channels to guarantee coverage across your user base.
By combining these battle-hardened best practices with Safari‘s own instruments, you‘ll squash more bugs in less time – delighting your loyal base of Apple users!
I hope this guide toprovides valuable skills to help accelerate your next Safari debugging quest. Please drop me any questions in the comments – I‘m always happy to help!
