Can the link be opened on other browsers?

Question

I was assigned the task of creating a simple website that opens links to other websites. However, I ran into challenges on one particular site, which was built in 2012 and followed outdated standards. Ideally I would rewrite it to meet modern standards, but unfortunately I don't have access to the source code at the moment. So this became my plan B.

The problem with this website is that due to its outdated design, it is only compatible with Firefox. My goal is to have my website detect the client's browser and, if it is not Firefox (e.g. Chrome), automatically open Firefox and direct the user to a link to this outdated website.

I did my research and found that accomplishing this task is often considered impossible. However, since the site won't be public and security isn't a major concern, I'm willing to explore other methods.

Answer 1

As you've discovered, often this isn't possible.

If you can install stuff on the user's PC, I'd recommend actually making your own installer wrapper for the latest version of Firefox and having that installer create a shortcut to it using the site as a parameter. This is a big workaround, but probably what you have to do.

If you can install something, another option is to set up your own protocol handler and just open it in Firefox. old-firefox-version://launch?url=...

The third option is to treat the old site as an API. It's ugly, but you might be able to wrap its functionality server-side. In the past, similar technology was used to wrap older end systems for network access. It's full of problems and gotchas...you have to really make sure you've tested it well...but if it's your only option, it can work.