cross-browser extension development alternatives

Question

I would like to develop a browser extension for all major browsers. From what I've read this can be quite painful, particularly for IE.

Before starting with the project, I would like to know what are my basic alternatives. I can think of two:

1. Develop an extension independently for each browser
2. Hire someone to develop the extension for me

Are there any other options?

Answer 1

Two more alternatives:

• you can use a cross-browser extension development framework, like the ones described here
• minimize the amount of code that necessarily has to run in the extension because it requires extended privileges, for instance access to special browser functionality. Put the rest of the code in a JavaScript file and make the extension inject it in every page. You can write this JS once and reuse it for every browser (if you are careful with JS cross-browser issues, or use GWT). You could even move the UI parts to this JS file and let the toolbar appear inside of the web page instead of on the browser window, just like Browseye and Meebo have done.

Here you can find a list of the pros and cons of the different alternatives.

Hiring somebody should be the last option. Be careful with intellectual property issues and disputes over the ownership of the extension code.