Still using Internet Explorer for your web browser? Nothing wrong with that if it happens to be your web browser of choice — but with all of the options out there these days, there really is a choice to make. It’s not a monopoly any longer.
The Popular Web Browsers
According to recent data averages regarding the most used web browsers (available here on Wikipedia), the most frequently used web browsers go something like this:
- Internet Explorer (just under 60% use a version of IE)
- Firefox (about 30% use this open source favorite)
- Safari (about 4% of web users choose the Apple Safari browser)
- Chrome (again, about 4% are using Google’s latest web browser offering)
- Opera (looks like Opera is getting about 2% market share on a good day)
- Netscape Navigator (yes, believe it or not, a tiny fraction of folks still use this one)
Take those rounded and averaged percentages with a grain of salt, but all in all, this list is fairly representative of how the breakdown actually looks. The other thing that’s very important to note here is that IE is losing market share to long time standby Firefox, and even Firefox appears to be losing some ground as increasingly popular browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s new Chrome browser gain ground.
The Bottom Line?
No longer is it okay to design a website for just one common browser. Doing so is very likely to alienate a decent share of your own site’s visitor base. And depending on the case and the site design differences, the problems could be drastic when your site is shown on one browser compared to another. Toss in the fact that some scaled-back mobile browsers can cause even more issues.
To ensure your website is fully cross-browser functional, you have absolutely got to make sure your website designer knows their stuff these days. In the browser department, things are still evolving and changing nearly on a daily basis — this is no time to rely on amateurs if you’re seeking professional results (and who’s not?).
Some Degree Of Relief Looking Forward…
Cross browser functionality and the trouble that’s been observed in the past from one browser to the next — and there’s been a hefty share of issues — well, it’s something that’s definitely at top of mind with web developers, software engineers, and industry standards groups. While the past has been rather rocky at best, there is some degree of good news in the fact that the problems have been brought to light and developers are creating more reliable standards to ensure that compliant sites will work perfectly from one web browser to the next.
So even though the future looks bright, you’ve still got to ensure the site you develop today is fully cross browser functional by using the latest standards and a website expert that’s very diligent.
Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.
