Many developers know that technically, you can create CSS-only buttons with rounded corners and nice gradients. Since it’s often such a hassle, though, they may not bother with it. Button Maker is a tool that takes all of the hassle out of creating buttons for the Web.

Button Maker lets you play with three sliders and some color pickers, and you end up with comprehensive CSS for your button.

While this tool lets you create the buttons, it cannot solve the biggest problem with CSS-only buttons which is that they don’t work on all browsers. I tested the site using Firefox and Chrome and it displayed just fine. Safari worked too, but it lost the gradient on the button (the same thing happened with Firefox 3.0 as well). Internet Explorer choked completely, showing the button as a simple link and lacking even a background color.

I think they should put a visible alert for this kind of behavior or change the CSS so that it degrades more gracefully. Still, if you have the will and energy to fix your buttons for IE, this tool can provide you with a nice starting point.

Posted on Pixojo | Button Maker lets you make CSS-only buttons for the Web | http://www.pixojo.com