ptg16476052Web Browsers 171
Firefox became popular in large part because it was free from the security issues that
plagued Internet Explorer. In addition, a large number of Firefox extensions improve the
browser experience, and Firefox has done a good job of keeping up with web standards
as they have evolved. Firefox is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux and is a
free download at http://www.mozilla.com/.
Apple Safari
Safari is the default browser for OS X. There is also a mobile version of this browser
installed on the Apple iPhone and iPad. It is based on open source technology, and its
support for web standards is at a similar level to Firefox. Right now, Safari has around
9% of the browser market share.
Mobile Browsers
No discussion of browsers would be complete without talking about mobile browsers.
The big three are Chrome, Safari, and Android. As of July 2015, Chrome has 31% of
the market share for mobile browsers, with Safari and Android at 24% and 15%, respec-
tively.
Google Chrome came on the market for mobile devices before 2014 and became the
most popular browser on mobile devices in early 2015. It uses the same engine as the
desktop version of the browser and offers the performance and reliability people have
come to expect of Chrome. Safari is the browser Apple includes with iOS devices like
the iPhone and iPad. It offers very strong HTML5 support and, apart from screen size,
provides an experience very similar to a desktop browser. Similarly, Android provides a
browser that also provides a high-quality web experience. All three of them are based on
the WebKit rendering engine, just like Safari and Chrome for the desktop. I’ll discuss the
considerations that go into building sites that are friendly to mobile devices in Lesson 21,
“Designing for the Mobile Web.”
Other Browsers
As of July 2015, Google Chrome has the lion’s share of the market for web browsers on
both desktop and mobile devices. The remaining browsers all share a relatively small
slice of the pie—13% or less. For example, Opera (http://www.operasoftware.com/) has
a niche market with only 5% share. It’s small, fast, free, and available for a number of
platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It’s also standards compliant. For
UNIX users who use KDE, there’s Konqueror. There are various Mozilla offshoots, such
as Camino for Mac OS X. Likewise, command-line browsers such as Lynx and Links are
available to provide an all-text view of web pages. There are also a number of browsers
that provide access to the Web for people with various special needs. It makes sense to
code to common standards to accommodate all these types of browsers.