Your Website Might Not Be Usable on 30% of Computers
If you're like most people, you surf the web with one browser. Probably it's a version of Internet Explorer on Windows. I say "probably" because Microsoft's browser is now only used by something less than two-thirds of web users now. That's right, according to our research, it's likely that a full third of all internet users are not using Internet Explorer to view your website.
Some ten percent of users are viewing the web via the Safari browser on Apple computers or iPhones. Another fifteen percent or so are using Firefox. Opera and other alternative browsers account for a portion, and a small but growing percentage of people are viewing the web on smart phones.
What does this mean for you? Well, depending on how carefully your website was tested when it was created, 30% or more of your visitors may see misaligned images and text, or worse, some parts of your web pages may not show at all.
Unfortunately, many web designers are not careful to test websites on all of the common web browsers. Despite improvements in web standards, each browser (such as Firefox and Safari) shows web pages in slightly different ways if pages are not coded properly. In fact, even if web programmers are careful to adhere to the latest HTML standards, not all browsers will display pages the same way. Often the differences are slight, but sometimes, as noted above, some page elements may be hidden altogether or otherwise unusable.
For a while, Microsoft had a monopoly on browser usage. During that time, many web designers became complacent (i.e. lazy) and stopped testing websites any browser but Internet Explorer. Some even added little statements on the bottom of websites like, "Best Viewed on Internet Explorer." It was easier to demand that users cater to the needs of designers than the other way around. With the decline in popularity of Internet Explorer, this is no longer responsible web design practice (assuming it ever was).
So if you haven't looked at your site in a while with another browser, give it a try. (Most alternative browsers are free.) And if you are considering developing a new website, make sure your developer will be testing the site in all major browsers.
Some ten percent of users are viewing the web via the Safari browser on Apple computers or iPhones. Another fifteen percent or so are using Firefox. Opera and other alternative browsers account for a portion, and a small but growing percentage of people are viewing the web on smart phones.
What does this mean for you? Well, depending on how carefully your website was tested when it was created, 30% or more of your visitors may see misaligned images and text, or worse, some parts of your web pages may not show at all.
Unfortunately, many web designers are not careful to test websites on all of the common web browsers. Despite improvements in web standards, each browser (such as Firefox and Safari) shows web pages in slightly different ways if pages are not coded properly. In fact, even if web programmers are careful to adhere to the latest HTML standards, not all browsers will display pages the same way. Often the differences are slight, but sometimes, as noted above, some page elements may be hidden altogether or otherwise unusable.
For a while, Microsoft had a monopoly on browser usage. During that time, many web designers became complacent (i.e. lazy) and stopped testing websites any browser but Internet Explorer. Some even added little statements on the bottom of websites like, "Best Viewed on Internet Explorer." It was easier to demand that users cater to the needs of designers than the other way around. With the decline in popularity of Internet Explorer, this is no longer responsible web design practice (assuming it ever was).
So if you haven't looked at your site in a while with another browser, give it a try. (Most alternative browsers are free.) And if you are considering developing a new website, make sure your developer will be testing the site in all major browsers.
posted by David Board at
3:55 PM
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