Why Wait Webs

With this article, I am going to attempt to convince you to stop using Internet Explorer for web browsing on a day-to-day basis. I will start with a brief history of the Internet, just to get you familiarized with the subject if you aren’t already. Then I will move on to the 5 reasons you should switch away from the most popular web browser, Internet Explorer. After that, I will introduce you to my favorite alternatives to Internet Explorer and show you how easy it is to switch (you won’t lose all your favorites!). Well, let’s get going!

A Brief History

I will try to keep this as brief as I know how, since I could easily go into A LOT of detail about it! If you’re interested in reading more in-depth, you should definitely check out this great article: History of the Web Standards Project at WebStandards.org.

The two most popular web browsers at the beginning of the world wide web.

A web browser is what you use to view the world wide web. In the early days of the web, there were two vastly different web browsers duking it out for supremacy: Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator (logos pictured to the right). Each browser was developed completely independently of the other, and as such, the technologies were complex and wildly varying. Pages rarely, if ever, looked the same in both browsers, and as a result the web as a whole was made a less compatible, less accessible, and generally less fun place to be.

But it was about to get worse. If the two companies continued to develop completely independently of each other, then good web design would become harder and harder and more and more expensive to obtain, the web would continue to be less and less accessible, and indeed the World Wide Web as we know it would eventually cease to exist!

Enter WaSP, the Web Standards Project. They came in with clear recommendations for browser-makers to support the same open technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, and a more solidified version of HTML. It took a while, but eventually these standards were adhered to, and I think everyone will agree that the world wide web is a much, much better place because of it! Instead of table-based layouts, the web has been transformed into a free-flowing, much more flexible CSS-based place. Websites look better, developers have less browser compatibility issues to worry about, and most importantly, the web can be accessed from a wide variety of devices.

Today, Internet Explorer usage is dropping consistently. With more and more people realizing the huge benefits other browsers have to offer, what was once a near-monopoly for Internet Explorer is now roughly 71.5% market share. Firefox comes in second with about 19.5%, and Safari gets most of the rest at 6.5%. Just a few months ago, IE was well above 80%, and I think the trend is definitely headed in the right direction! Statistics provided by Net Applications.

So, why are people switching? Well, here are 5 reasons I think might be at the top of the switchers’ lists.

Reason #1: No Support for Standards

Internet Explorer eventually adapted to the standards set forth by WaSP, albeit at a snail’s pace. However, the web is not a still pond, and technologies continue to change and grow. While all the other browsers are quick to adapt to continuous recomendations of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), Internet Explorer continues to mosey along at a molasses pace, waiting to support technologies until they are very old news!

Now, I realize this is not something that benefits the end-user right away. I still think it is very important to you, and here’s why: The more people who use web standards-friendly browsers, the more developers will develop in a web standards-friendly way. Instead of settling on less robust solutions in order to support the most used web browser, web developers will push forward with great new technologies. The Internet will grow to do more and more powerful things at a very fast pace. Its full potential will be realized, and among those who reap the rewards will most certainly be the end user.

Reason #2: Viruses, Spyware, and other Malware

Think McAfee is protecting you from spyware and viruses? Think again. Fact is, if you run Microsot Windows Operating System (around 95% of you do) and are connected to the Internet (if you’re looking at this page, I’m guessing you are!), chances are you have several pieces of malware on your system right now. It’s all you can do to reduce the numbers as much as possible. And it’s a well-documented fact that Internet Explorer is the least secure among the top 5 web browsers.

To demonstrate my point, a while back, I did a test. I installed a fresh copy of Windows XP, and used Internet Explorer to visit the homepage of MySpace.com. I then closed the browser and installed an excellent free anti-spyware tool called Spybot - Search and Destroy. Spybot counted over 500 pieces of spyware, just from one visit in Internet Explorer! Even I wasn’t prepared for a number THAT high! I wiped the hard drive and performed the test again, this time using Mozilla Firefox instead. Spybot only counted 3 pieces of spyware. Nothing is ever completely secure, but as you can tell it was a MASSIVE improvement.

This was about two years ago, but while much of the web has changed since then, the security trends have not. Internet Explorer continues to be the single biggest security hole on most peoples’ computers, and no amount of anti-virus tools can stop that. In fact the most effective anti-virus measure available, in my opinion, is to switch browsers!

Screenshots of text rendering in several of the most popular web browsers.

Reason #3: Poor Text Rendering

This is one area where I can’t claim Internet Explorer is behind the curve; nearly all of the popular browsers, with the exception of Safari, have serious text rendering issues. As shown in the image to the left, text is pixelated, less crisp, and as a result, difficult to read. If you spend time on the web daily, as most of us do in this day and age, then clear, crisp text is a huge benefit to the eyes! I don’t think there’s any room for debate on this topic; Safari is the clear victor. As someone who has used Safari for quite a while now, I am surprised and disappointed that most of the other browsers have not yet caught up in terms of text rendering. To me, this alone is reason enough to make the switch.

Reason #4: Internet Explorer is SLOW!

I will not pretend to know anything at all about the intricacies of web rendering, and all that goes into making a decent web browser. What I can tell you however, is that pages come up slower in Internet Explorer. I have used a lot of web browsers, most of which many people have never even heard of. However I have never once encountered a web browser that rendered pages slower than Internet Explorer. Even Firefox, which some consider to be relatively slow in comparison to Chrome and Safari, is significantly faster than Internet Explorer.

In addition to rendering pages faster, most alternative browsers are lighter applications, meaning they will launch faster, handle more data, and be less prone to crashing. IE used to crash on me all the time (it still crashes from time to time when I’m testing websites in it, but by and large I try to stay away from it!). If I have 80 different tabs open, at least 50 of which are important, crashing isn’t something I want!

Reason #5: Plugins, Themes and Add-Ons

This will not apply to everybody. However, if you are the kind of person who likes to customize their experience (or needs more powerful tools than what come stock with your web browser) then you will love Firefox. Plugins, Themes, and Add-Ons make it possible to do many things with Firefox that Internet Explorer users can only dream of. For example, change the color, buttons, and the rest of the look-and-feel of your web browser with a few simple clicks. You can also add functionality, like ad-blockers, time trackers, and more.

Afraid to Switch?

The two biggest reasons people cite for not switching away from Internet Explorer are fear of losing their settings and bookmarks, and fear of having to learn a new way of doing things. I’m here to tell you that neither of these should be a concern.

Every single one of the alternatives I’m about to suggest will ask you the first time you run it if you want to import settings and favorites/bookmarks from Internet Explorer. Just click “Yes” and you will be right at home with all of your favorites (except they’re probably called Bookmarks now — ooh, scary!).

And as far as learning a new way of doing things goes, there’s not much to fear for the average user. Most web browsers are fundamentally the same: a box at the top where the URL (web address) goes, buttons for forward, back, stop, and refresh, and a bar that shows all the tabs you have open. There’s not a whole lot of variation, and while it may take you a few weeks to get used to, the change will be minor and it will be well worth the enormous benefits of not using Internet Explorer!

All of the current major browsers: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 6

The Alternatives

You’ve seen these mentioned throughout the article, but here is a concise list of the most popular choices, along with a description of their benefits.

Apple Safari: My personal favorite, Apple Safari brings a lot to the table. In a nutshell, Safari renders text the clearest of all the browsers. It renders pages incredibly quickly, if not the fastest, then definitely close. It also has perhaps the most robust Javascript engine in any modern browser, and with the coming release of Safari 3, the Javascript engine will be dramatically improved even more. Javascript is used for A LOT these days, such as my portfolio and the tabbed popular/archives box on this blog to the right. Click here to go to the Safari website (link opens a new window).

Google Chrome: The new kid on the block, Chrome uses the same great rendering engine as Safari, “Webkit”, though unfortunately does not render text as well for reasons beyond my knowledge (feel free to share in the comments!). Chrome is still in beta, meaning it is not considered a final release, but has quickly picked up almost 1% market share and is said to be very stable despite being called a beta. It is simple and easy to use, and it renders pages very quickly (arguably even faster than Safari). Click here to go to the Chrome website (link opens a new window).

Mozilla Firefox: Firefox is the most popular choice aside from Internet Explorer, of course. Firefox, while much faster than Internet Explorer, is not quite up to par in terms of rendering speed with Safari and Chrome. However, it makes up for it in features. Reason #5: Plugins, Themes and Add-Ons is exclusively referring to Firefox, which has a great developer community and a lot of cool stuff to choose from. If you’re a power user, you’ll love Firefox. Aside from the cool stuff you can do with it however, Firefox is a solid, standards-compliant, easy to use browser with a decent interface and respectable load times. Click here to go to the Firefox website (link opens a new window).

Opera: I have only used this a few times and for testing websites. I’m not the biggest fan of the interface, as I think it’s a little more complicated than it needs to be. However, Opera is a relatively standards-compliant browser that has a respectable following approaching 1% of the browser market share. It has a number of unique features that some people find enriching. Click here to go to the Opera website (link opens a new window).

Conclusion

What can I say? IE is full of security holes and other bugs, it is slower and less stable than the alternatives, it renders text poorly (although admittedly better than some of the alternatives), it has a confusing interface that makes it difficult to do simple things, and most importantly (to me at least) it is trying to hold the Internet back by supporting OLD standards and ways of doing things! For the sake of a better browsing experience, and a brighter future for the web, I beg you to switch to a more sane browser! Here are your options, one more time: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Opera, in order of my recommendation. But I encourage you to consider them all and find the one that works best for you!

If I forgot to mention anything about Internet Explorer, or if I neglected to mention your favorite alternative web browser, or if you have anything at all to say, please do so in the comments! Thanks for reading, I have a number of great articles in the pipeline, so please remember to check back often. Or, better yet, subscribe to my feed! Thanks again!