Don’t forget the browser

The market split for the use of web browsers is changing more rapidly than ever before after anti-trust laws forced the recent browser selection prompt for millions of users.

According to the BBC, Microsoft IE now only accounts for 59% of the marketplace with Firefox grabbing 25% and Chrome achieving nearly 7%

Safari is the only web browser for iPhones and hence, dominates the handheld market but use of this browser on desk based computers (i.e. Macs) is still marginal at 2%.

It has become increasingly important for researchers and moderators to reflect this growing trend when undertaking an interview.  This is simply done by asking respondents what browser they use before launching an interface for them to work in. 

Of course, many will be agnostic as they may not even know what they normally use, but for those that do it could prove to be an important consideration.  It ensures that findings are driven by the site or prototype being examined not the browser being used to view it.

Another important aspect of this is that use of certain browsers changes wherever you are in the world.  Germany, specifically the federal government, are leaders in using freeware products rather than tying themselves to Microsoft Office so could use any number of browser variants to view data online.

This shift in behaviour sounds important to people in the industry but, if truth be told, it’s not that interesting to the majority of consumers who use the internet and just tend to use what is available on their home or work computer.

Just remember that there is a choice out there which may affect how people respond in testing.

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