The better your browser, the more you get- sounds like a basic rule for survival in the world of Web 2.0. It’s not really about the browser itself, but its brand and version: they may tell us a lot about the user. You may be seeking better performance of internet browsing, or your focus is on user-friendliness, or perhaps you just had a browser on your computer when you bought it and you never actually bothered about any other solutions.
The top 3 criteria for most users while choosing a browser is the speed, safety and up-to-datedness. And the prevailing and recurrent question is: “Does your old browser meet your needs? Or should you choose another or upgrade it?” Let’s take a typical everyday situation: you’re convinced that the browser you use is a reliable one. But when you have more pages opened at the same time and they contain animations or flash banners and you want to take a look at some video content as well, you may quickly realize that your app is too slow and fails to come up to scratch. And this is the point when the alarm bell rings: it really matters which browser and which version you use, because modern websites and portals are becoming increasingly interactive, the technologies and content are continuously evolving and one needs a proper browsing tool to enjoy them.
Let’s take a look at how the CEE market shares of particular browser groups have been changing over the past few years, which tools conquered which countries and what the differences between them are. The fact that 2007 was the year of Microsoft Internet Explorer and its associated products’ reign over the CEE region is clearly visible in the numbers. Almost 2/3 of page views generated by internet users who visited websites monitored in the gemiusTraffic study was executed with the use of browsers belonging to this group, being the primary tool for accessing the Worldwide Web. Amongst the four countries analyzed in this article, the Czech internet users were the most “heavy” ones. MSIE’s share of page views – generated by internet users who visited websites monitored in gemiusTraffic – amounted to 71.7% back that year and still takes a significant share of 50.8% in 2010.
Chart: Ranking of web browsers groups used by persons connecting from the Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic & Slovakia with Polish, Hungarian, Czech & Slovakian web sites. The ranking is based on the number of page views concerning sites included in the gemiusTraffic study – rankings.pl, rankings.hu, rankings.cz, rankings.sk Data: Q4 2007, Q4 2008, Q4 2009, Q4 2010.
In the other three countries, the use of MSIE decreased during the past four years from over 60% to approximately 30% of page views – based on gemiusTraffic study – which evidently demonstrates that online surfers remain loyal to the Microsoft product. While in 2007 Mozilla Firefox was a clear number two in the battle of browsers, by 2010 it has become the market leader of the region. This ‘change of guards’ didn’t happen overnight, as Firefox has been gradually gaining fans throughout the years.
In three out of the four analyzed countries, Firefox has become the most popular web browser: in excess of 50% in Poland and Hungary and 42% in Slovakia. Not surprisingly, the lowest rate of usage is noted for the Czech Republic, where MSIE is still king. The question is, for how long?
In late 2008, the browsers market seemed quite saturated. Although Opera and Safari were not spectacularly successful, but were on a steady growth. Suddenly, another famous actor came on the browsing scene. Google decided to strike back with yet another branded product, which is quickly gaining ground, as most of the things Google touches.
Table: Ranking of web browsers groups used by persons connecting from the Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic & Slovakia with Polish, Hungarian, Czech & Slovakian web sites. The ranking is based on the number of page views concerning sites included in the gemiusTraffic study – rankings.pl, rankings.hu, rankings.cz, rankings.sk Data: Q4 2007, Q4 2008, Q4 2009, Q4 2010.
By October 2010, Google Chrome was the third most widely used browser of the world and also of the CEE region. Winning the third ranking position within two years is a monumental achievement. Nevertheless, in the above-mentioned four countries, Chrome’s market share is 8.5%, while in case of MSIE it’s 36.1% and for Firefox 45.6%. It would be hard to predict how long it may take, or if it is at all possible for the competitive browsers to leave the two market leaders behind. For one thing, however, you can be sure: we will be watching their rivalry and keep you updated on the results of this struggle.
