Designing for every audience
Did you know Google’s Chrome browser already has 5 percent of the global browser market? That it’s bigger than Safari?
And are you aware that, despite your (or your designer’s) disinclination toward it, Internet Explorer 6 still commands roughly 12-15% of the space?
These figures–and the specifics of browser traffic on one’s own website–matter, a lot, when new projects get underway. Google’s 5% market share means it’s officially a player in the browser wars and not just a side project. That means adding it to QA plans and considering some of its innovations, like proper use of HTML5.
At the same time, the continued prevalence of IE6, however sad, means that cutting-edge site design still needs to degrade gracefully to support the many corporate web surfers that can’t upgrade their browsers. Certain b2b or enterprise-positioned websites may have an even greater percentage of IE6 traffic, just as sites with a more academic or creative bent often have an outsize share of visits using Safari.
All of which just serves as a reminder that multiple browser testing and compatibility remain crucial in web design in 2010. The same hurdles the industry faced when balancing Netscape and IE in 1999 exist today, perhaps even more so. Expect the cries for standardized code to get louder this year and next as the market shifts and fragments. And in the meantime, don’t forget to give your site a proper run-through.
Or four.