It seems that most people just don't give a lot of thought to their choice of web browser. Many just use whichever is set as default when the computer is taken out of the box. What you may not know is that there are many modern browsers that take advantage of the latest advancements in web design and development, adding extra flair and functionality to websites while increasing personal security.
This article is aimed at educating the average person and beginning developers about some aspects of web browsers. We’ll also give some insight to the web design process and provide some food for thought to our clients and anyone who is considering developing a website of their own.
A web browser is a software program you use to surf the internet. If you're not the technical type you may know it as "The internet" or "Internet Window" or the name of whatever default program that came with your computer (Internet Explorer, Safari ECT). It is basically the interface between you and the web pages you see on the internet.
What some don't know is that you can use a different program for this purpose. There are many options for web browsers, some you may actually prefer better than the one you may be using - or not. If you bought your computer a while back, you may be using an outdated version of your browser, which is not recommended for a number of reasons that we'll talk about next.
Your choice of web browser is not nearly as important as keeping it up to date is. We all know that software updating can be annoying and it’s easy to put it off. What you may not realize is that most minor software updates address security issues. This reason alone should keep you in the updating loop, as it helps to protect your personal information while surfing the web. Older browsers can become targets for hackers, viruses and other malicious software.
Another reason is that most major updates often implement new coding standards into the browsers, allowing you to see more detailed designs and functionalities on modern websites. If you’re using an older browser, you may be missing out and not even know it.
To the average person it might not matter much, other than you may be using a default when there is something else available that might suit your needs better. If you spend any time on the internet, you probably would enjoy it more if your browser worked the way you want and showed you everything there is to see. It's a lot like an HD-TV, you can watch regular TV just fine, but the HD version is way better. It's a bit of an overstatement to say that switching browsers will make that big of a difference, unless you're using a very old browser, but it's the same concept and keeping your technology up to date is very important with computers.
Even if you’re not the technical type, understanding the process that web developers use can help you when you’re putting together a website of your own. It’s important to for you to see what the designer has done without fighting against bugs in an outdated browser. If everyone in the process is using the same browser, it levels the playing field and allows the work to be done much faster and to be seen correctly by both developers and clients.
From a development stand point, new websites must be tested in each browser to ensure that everything works correctly and looks right in each respective browser. Each browser, along with every different version of the browser, has different standards and renders code differently. This can make websites appear slightly different and, in some cases, the designs and functionality may break and be unusable. What works in Firefox may not work in Internet Explorer, for example. Often times, additional code needs to be implemented to ensure a consistent look from browser to browser, version to version. Life for web developers, and probably everyone else, would be much easier if there was only one standard browser, but that is not reality. In fact there are more choices now than ever before.
While this concept is certainly par for the course in web development, the process has become relatively easier with the most current releases of the major web browsers. Because the newer versions of the browsers implement the latest coding standards, many professional web developers will charge extra to test in older browsers, or may not support them at all. When trying to create the latest and greatest website, it’s fairly limiting for developers to use coding practices that are years out of date to accommodate a small percentage of people. At the least you should ask which browsers are supported by your web developer, or if you're a web developer ask your client which browsers they need it to work in.
In layman’s terms, CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) is the coding language that controls the appearance or design of a website. CSS 3 is the latest standard of this coding language and it makes life a whole lot easier for web designers. Designs that used to take days or weeks can now be accomplished in minutes using more efficient techniques. This saves budget and page loading times as well as increasing creative possibilities. Of course, if you’re using an outdated browser, it may not support CSS 3, meaning many of these new design elements may be missing from your screen and you don’t even know it.
It's safe to say that when building a new website, you'll want it to look the same, or as much the same as possible, in every browser on every computer. The reality can be much different when you start considering the number of browsers, the various versions of the browsers, the flaws in the older versions and the fact that every single person will be looking at your site on a different computer with a different monitor size and resolution, with all different browsers. And we're not even talking about mobile devices, which presents its own set of challenges, browsers, devices, ECT. Given these factors, having a website with an exact uniform appearance in every situation is just not possible - not without months or years of testing anyway.
What's the answer? Using proper and standardized coding techniques can minimize the differences between the browsers. That is why is important to use the most up to date version of any given browser, preferably a browser that is standards compliant. Most of the current versions of the major browsers are, however many of the older versions of Internet Explorer are not. The debate over how far back to go into any browser’s version history rages on, but there are generally two schools of thought.
The old school way of looking at this is a default of “It should look the same in all versions of every browser to accommodate everyone.” A seemingly simple statement, but the reality of achieving that goal is much more daunting. When working with outdated technology, only so much is possible. Achieving certain visual effects in older browsers can take hours and hours of time and overhead when compared to modern techniques. Double that with testing in multiple versions and browser platforms and you’ve got a recipe for a very large budget and the end result may be a website that looks out of date and has limited functionality.
The new school way is to take full advantage of the technology that is available, but make every effort to have a “graceful degradation” if the website is viewed in an older browser. What this means is that the website will make use of all the latest and greatest techniques and look spiffy in a new browser, but when seen in an old browser it will still look good and work, but may not have the same flair. Along with this, educating clients and people about the benefits of modern web browsers helps to keep things moving forward for everyone and allows the technology to advance.
We subscribe to the new school method, with an emphasis on encouraging keeping the browser of choice updated. The war over which browser to use may never end, but with the most current releases of all of the major browsers, it is not nearly as much of a concern as it used to be. The most important thing is to choose the one that works the best for you and keep it updated.
Today, there are more browsers to choose from than ever before. We’ll go into the 4 major browsers and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The views discussed here are our opinion based on our experience and should be taken as such.
To this day, Internet Explorer, or IE, is the most widely used web browser, accounting for nearly half of the web browser market share, although is use is on the decline. One reason so many people use it is that it is the default browser that comes with every PC right out of the box and it can be used right away with no additional software installations. Given that, it is also consistently the worst browser. It’s most buggy and difficult to work with for web designers and possibly everyone else. Older versions of IE have many documented bugs and security flaws and the way it renders code can be outside of the standards set by the W3C.
With the latest release, IE9, it seems that Microsoft has finally figured it out. This most recent version offers CSS 3 support, as well as offering legacy modes so you can view your pages as IE8 and IE7 - a useful tool for developers who are often required to test in all 3 versions. What it means for the average joe, is that using this version of IE enables you to enjoy all of the new design techniques seen on the web. While this release is relatively new at the time of this writing and there may be bugs, IE has finally reached an acceptable level by adopting more of the modern coding standards, something it's older versions did not do.
Again, if you use IE, you should upgrade immediately to the most current version. Version 8 and before does not offer CSS3 support and versions 7 and 6 have many documented bugs and serious security problems. Of course, IE is only available on PC’s as all Mac versions were discontinued after version 5.
Today, most web developers will go back a version or two of IE when testing - just because it is the most widely used and unfortunately has the most flaws. Support for Internet Explorer 6 has all but disappeared, it's numerous bugs and security issues have been well documented. Being that IE6 was the nemesis of most web developers during the time of it's existence, support for it has been phased out over the past few years. The rejection of IE6 is to the point where most developers will insert a splash page into websites that only appears when a visitor is using IE6 - telling them to upgrade their browser. Good advice.
For the average PC user, IE works just fine. If anything, it tries to do too much and that can cause it to run a bit slower than some of the others. If it's what you are used to and you like it, then there's no reason to switch - just keep it updated. If you're frustrated with your internet experience on your PC, try one of the other browsers on for size.
Download the most recent Internet Explorer for PC
Next on the list is Firefox. Coming in second in market share at about 30%, this browser delivers a solid alternative web browsing experience. If you’re used to IE, you may find this browser to be a bit easier to work with. In our experience, it’s more lightweight and faster than IE and offers everything you need and not a lot that you don't.
The web development add-ons that are available for Firefox are an industry standard, making it the browser of choice for most professionals in the web industry. Meaning that if someone is designing a website for you, they are most likely using Firefox to do initial testing. If you do any work on the internet, be it design, SEO, marketing, ECT, using Firefox with some add-ons can help streamline your workflow.
Of course it’s not perfect. In our experience, many of the add-ons for Firefox can affect its performance, causing it to run slow at times. Some of the newer versions seem to have bugs and don’t perform as well as previous versions. Firefox has frequent updates to address these issues, but you’ll also need to make sure any add-ons you are using are updated as well. It can be a high maintenance browser if you’re using any of it’s extended features. For the casual user it provides an excellent alternative to IE.
Download Firefox for Mac or PC
The newest player on the modern browser scene has jumped up to third in market share in a relatively short period of time. It’s more comparable to Safari than IE and Firefox in terms of use, but it’s most noted for its speed and lightweight functioning. It also offers some interesting security features and performance handling functions. Since it is relatively new, we haven’t had a whole lot of time to play with it, but what we've seen is impressive. All indications point to it being a serious competitor to IE or Safari for the casual user.
Chrome does have some interesting web development tools, but oddly enough it doesn’t support the Google Toolbar - an industry standard for SEO. Why Google makes this for other browsers but not for Chrome is a bit of a mystery. I would suspect we’ll see it before too long and there are a number of ways to accomplish something similar in Chrome. Given its new-ness, the jury is still out on where this one will end up. With the market share growing, it has passed Safari and it seems that it's catching on more and more. Given this, testing in this platform is a necessity for web developers. As time goes on, more add-ons and useful features will most likely be added.
If you’re in the market for a new browser, definitely give this one a look. It is available for Mac and PC
Last, but definitely not least is Apple Safari. Coming in forth in market share, Safari is the default browser for every Mac, iPod and iPhone. PC users have not been left out, as it is available on both platforms. This browser is ideal for Mac users or anyone who uses Mac devices such as an iPhone, as all settings from computer to device can be synched easily - bookmarks, settings ECT. Being a Mac user, I am partial to this browser due to its ease of use, and visual bookmarking and organizational features. It also has some web development tools built in - a few settings in the preferences can turn them on. In all, it’s a great well-rounded browser that is easy enough for anyone to use.
In our experience, some web applications and websites do not always run well in Safari. This isn’t as much of a problem as it used to be, but none the less, some web applications and websites that were developed for IE or PC platforms and they just don’t run as well in Safari as they might in IE or Firefox. Occasionally we'll come across a site that completely crashes Safari, but will load fine in Firefox. Again, it's getting better all the time, but it's something we've seen.
If ease of use is important, loading up Safari can be a welcome alternative to IE or Firefox.
Switching browsers is easy and free. Simply download one, or all of them, and install on your computer. You'll still have your old one to go back to if you want. Most of them will import your bookmarks and other settings from your old browser if you choose to do so, making the transition as seamless as possible. You might be surprised by the difference it makes, or you may want to go back to what you're familiar with, but it's good to know what your options are.
At the end of the day, choosing a browser that works for you is the most important thing. Since all of them can run together and they are all free and easy to install, it’s easy to try them out and compare. If you’ve never given much thought to your choice of web browser, you might be pleasantly surprised to find an alternative works better than what you have been using. Above all, no matter which you choose, keep it updated.
If you have or are planning to have a website, or are working with web developers, be sure to ask which platforms they use for development and testing. Be sure to let them know what you use so you can all be on the same page while reviewing work and testing.
Lastly, you should do your part to educate your friends, family and clients about the benefits of modern browsers and the dangers of using outdated browsers. This helps the technology move forward and keeps everyone’s personal information as secure as possible. Web technology moves fast, staying updated is the key.
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Web Browser Icons by:
Market share reference: Wikipedia
Netsense Media was a tremendous help to me in creating my website. I had several ideas about the look and feel I wanted, but no idea where to start. They took my vision and implemented it and designed it better than I could have imagined. They are quick, reliable and diligent; I was on a fast timeline and they met it without any complications or complaints. I will recommend Netsense Media to anyone and everyone looking for talented web designers.
Dana Harris, Owner. DMarie & Company
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