Yes, your web browser is breaking the internet. That is of course, unless you are using a modern web browser. “What do you mean by modern?” you ask. The answer to this question—and many others—are found in the sections to follow.
From blogging and social media, to online sales, the web is a key component to any author’s marketing efforts. Based on this fact, the manner in which we view the web makes a huge difference in how effectively and efficiently we carry out those tasks. In this article, we’ll explore a brief history of the web browser, along with the specific browsers worth your attention.
FinerBrowsing encourages web users to upgrade their browsers to the latest version.
What Is a Web Browser?
Before we dive into the type of browser you use, let’s first make sure we understand the basics. Here’s a nice description according to Wikipedia:
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content. Hyperlinks present in resources enable users easily to navigate their browsers to related resources. A web browser can also be defined as an application software or program designed to enable users to access, retrieve and view documents and other resources on the Internet.
What Web Browser are You Using?
Browser stats vary greatly from month to month. Sometimes weekly, browsers release updates and fixes to keep themselves running smoothly with ever-changing web technologies.
If you’re using an old browser, it may be time to upgrade.
Why Does It Matter What Browser We Use?
This question is more than reasonable, and the answer, equally so. It matters because as we want the pages we visit to consistently work properly—it’s as simple as that.
When a developer builds a website, it’s his job to ensure it works well with all web browsers up to a point. But because supporting old web browsers has become such a burgeoning task, many have begun discontinuing support (large websites like Google included).
Louis Lazaris on Smashing Magazine has more:
Old browsers (especially Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, and 8) are less stable, and much more vulnerable to viruses, spyware, malware, and other security issues. Those are obviously big problems to be concerned about—especially for people who shop online. So security alone is a very good reason to upgrade. But there’s more to it than that.
Browser Recommendations
The good news is, there are three top browsers which continue to uphold the latest web standards and because of this, more consistently show web pages as intended by developers.
Apple Safari
From Apple: What is Safari? It loads web pages faster than ever. It’s the best way to read on the web. It works with iCloud across your Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. It even checks your spelling and grammar. It’s a web browser that’s so innovative, you’ll do much more than just browse.
Google Chrome
From Google: Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way. It’s quick to start up from your desktop, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications lightning fast. In addition, Chrome’s browser window is streamlined, clean and simple. For example, you can search and navigate from the same box and arrange tabs however you wish — quickly and easily.
Mozilla Firefox
From Mozilla: When it comes to browsing, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. That’s why we’ve made sure you can customize Firefox to your exact needs in pretty much any possible way. Enhance functionality with extensions, add style with Themes, or even change the toolbar icons to be just the way you like.
What About Internet Explorer?
Internet Explorer has had a difficult time maintaining a healthy compliance with web standards, so the recommendation from many web developers is to avoid it. If you must use Internet Explorer (IE) for any reason, just be sure you are using the absolute latest version according to Microsoft.
Michael Horowitz from Computerworld has more:
Microsoft fixes bugs in Internet Explorer on a fixed schedule. But, bugs are not discovered on a schedule which means IE users remain vulnerable to know bugs until the next scheduled bug fix roll-out. Neither Firefox nor Chrome, my preferred browsers, are locked into a schedule.
Help Spread the Word!
Upgrading a web lingering with old, out-dated browsers is keeping developers from creating useful, innovative websites for all to enjoy. The sooner we have our browsers upgraded, the quicker web sites and applications can change for the better. Help spread the word!
I’ve run into this problem very recently. According to Google Analytics, 35% of my readers are still using IE. My website and changes therein doesn’t always work with IE. People complain to me, and I try to fix things, but honestly, IE is problematic. At some point, I’m going to have to focus forward and encourage readers to update. Great post.
~elaine
Hi Elaine,
I’ve been running into the same issues for years. The good news is that the use of IE v.6 is down to less than 1% and other, older versions are going down as well. Hopefully, soon, we will be able to have more stable, usable websites.
Thanks for your feedback!
Thomas