Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is the dominant web browser out there. There’s no denying it. However, it would appear that its grip on the top spot is slowly – but surely – loosening.
Reviewing the site stats over the last two months (well, 43 days to be exact), there has been a fairly substantial increase in the number of unique visitors using Mozilla. In the first few weeks of the stats, Mozilla (and Firebird – the stats don’t differentiate) accounted for around about 12% of all site visitors. IE6 had approximately 78%, with the rest mostly going to IE5.x/Win, IE5.x/Mac and various minor versions of Opera 7.x.
However, looking at the stats tonight shows the Mozilla browsers at 18.67% – a 6% increase! IE6 is down to 71.89%. A surprise new entry is Netcaptor, which grabbed 3rd place with 2.36% of visitors using it. The rest of the top ten is still IE5.x and Opera 7.x fighting it out.
Just goes to show that IE isn’t the only browser you should consider, when you design web sites. There’s a significant number of users out there that have started using (the far better) alternatives. After all, if my stats are any indication of the web at large, that would mean that an IE only site cuts out a potential 30% of visitors. How can anyone justify a number like that..?