When you build your spanking new website, it pays to know that it can be viewed readily in most web browsers. It follows therefore that it is good to know what browser your website customers are using. For someone like myself who remembers the dominant days of Netscape Navigator and the Internet Explorer, it is a good time to take stock of the newish kids on the block. For those not too familiar with the history of web browsers (as old as the web itself), a Wikipedia history lesson is just what is needed.
What is the state of play today:
Thankfully, I don’t have to go far. The folks at statcounter GlobalStats have produced the analysis of the Browser market share from August 2019 to August 2020. And yes you guessed it: Google Chrome, the once new kid on the block now has the lion share of the market share at ~66%, followed by Safari and Firefox with ~17% and 4% respectively. I am writing this on a Chrome Browser! To say I am a great fan of the Firefox ethos but haven’t used it in years. I sure will make sure I download Firefox after posting this.
It is clear that the driver of usage of these browsers are mobile devices – Android and iPhone. We are all on our phone these days and we don’t much like deviating from the factory default (remember the Microsoft Antitrust debacle).
I have to say Chrome & Safari are just great browsers but Firefox must be supported. And there is now a new kid on the block: Microsoft Edge! What goes around, comes around.