Quick version:
- Write HTML that is as 'valid' as possible (use the strict validation browser profile from the Macromedia Dreamweaver Exchange, "W3C HTML 4.01 Strict DTD Browser Profile" and validate against that.)
- Test early, test often, test widely.
Long version:
There really is no quick and easy solution that can be applied that will make your pages look the same/similar in all browsers, but the more closely that your HTML conforms the to the standards of HTML, the more likely it is to be rendered correctly by a browser (apart from the various bugs, features and annoyances of browsers such as early Netscape 4.X versions).
Sticking closely to valid HTML will also mean - in theory - that browsers other than the major ones, and other than the ones which you are readily able to test with, are catered for.
The other vital part of the process is testing, testing, testing. Keep testing in as many browsers as you can lay your hands on and install concurrently.
(I currently have IE5.5, Netscape 6, Netscape 4.5, Opera and Mozilla as my test set.)
Inevitably there's a balancing act of compromise and acceptance involved - you will very rarely get your wonderful, innovative, beautifully constructed page to look similarly beautiful in every browser, but it becomes a matter of diminishing returns. Fixing 10% of the problems will get you 90% of the way towards getting the display you want.
Regards,
Jon Wilson
Threespot Limited
