cross-browser compatibility

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer’s market share has now slipped behind Google Chrome after years of decline. For a long time, Internet Explorer (IE) has been beset by problems with security and compatibility leading to other faster, less bloated web browsers gaining ground. This is despite IE being bundled with all versions of Windows and users having to actively choose another default browser. Up until now, IE has always been the biggest single browser, however that is not the case any more as Google Chrome has finally taken that crown.

Trend in Internet Browser usage from Jan 2012 to Jan 2013

In effect IE has been the minority browser for years now, if you combine the market share of “the other three”, Chrome, FireFox and Apple’s Safari, and generally these are superior products combining greater speed with better security and compatibility with W3SC coding. As web developers, IE can cause issues with displaying websites, although the latest version 9 is an improvement on past versions.

So it’s for any website owner it’s important to check their website on all four browsers IE, Chrome, FireFox and Safari as there can be differences in how a website displays.

A national advertising campaign and speedy performance has resulted in FireFox being deposed by Google’s Chrome as the UK’s second most popular browser.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer continues to be the market leader as it is pre-installed on all Windows computers but its market share has been falling steadily and now stands at 45%. The latest version 9 has quickly acquired a poor reputation for speed and reliability despite version 8 being a significant improvement on past efforts.

Apple’s browser Safari remains at around 9%.

The implications for website owners and web designers are more late nights ensuring that websites display and work properly in all the major browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera.

More details here: http://gs.statcounter.com/press/chrome-overtakes-firefox-for-uk-number-two-browser-spot-in-july

The German Government has taken the unprecedented step of warning its citizens to avoid using Microsoft`s Internet Explorer.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=3210429&

This was prompted by the publication on the Internet of what is effectively a hacker`s recipe book for malicious websites to install (more…)