GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - Browser Concerns: Web Doesn't Belong to IE Anymore

We all know that politics and religion are two topics of conversation guaranteed to polarize any random sampling of Americans. Yet there?s a third topic that is often just as divisive: Microsoft. An original Mac owner, I migrated to Microsoft-based machines back in the mid 1990?s because of my growing interest in electronic bulletin board systems. Operating a BBS from a Macintosh wasn?t much of an option. At that time, Windows was nowhere near the Macintosh operating system in terms of sophistication ? and some will argue that not much has changed. But for every person who hates Microsoft it seems there are two people who will step forward and defend the software giant. Microsoft critics are generally more passionate, but they are outnumbered by Microsoft software users by something like 10 to 1. Yet despite all the controversy and disagreement, one fact remains indisputable: Ever since it took its place as the most popular Web browser, Microsoft?s Internet Explorer has been nothing less than dominating.

Netscape never saw it coming. One second they were on top of the world, with a market share upwards of 96%; the next second they were looking up at Microsoft?s unstoppable new software product, Internet Explorer, and wondering what might have been. It took IE less than a year to move from obscurity to dominance. Today hardly anyone utters the word ?Netscape? anymore. Have the newer Internet arrivals of the past few years even heard of the once King of Browsers?

Adult Webmasters from the late 1990?s used to give special consideration to both Netscape and IE when they designed new Web sites. Good marketing tactics dictated that any Web site be checked for proper functionality with both browsers. Yet as the years went on and Microsoft increased its dominance, many Webmasters simply gave up bothering with Netscape. The percentage of Netscape users was so low, the rewards just didn?t seem to justify the effort required.

Welcome to 2004.

This is a big year for a lot of reasons. We have a major election happening in the United States, and the Acacia battle is fighting itself out in Court. Obscenity raids, 2257 changes? there?s a lot on the minds of Webmasters. Yet one development that might not be receiving the attention it deserves is the gradual decline of Internet Explorer?s dominance due to security concerns.

Remember those passionate Microsoft critics? Some of them are pretty good when it comes to making mischief for the rest of us Internet users. For a variety of reasons, Microsoft is a favorite target of hackers and authors of nasty computer viruses. And let?s face it ? Microsoft doesn?t have the best record when it comes to security. Although the company has promised to do better and make security a top priority, news recently broke of a widespread security hole with Internet Explorer that was allowing hackers to gain access to the computers of said browser users. The security hole was so bad that the United States government made a controversial recommendation: that Web surfers should use a different browser.

Microsoft is quick to point out that any browser could be at risk of an attack; they also promised a fix, which they delivered just a few days ago. Already, computer experts have exposed additional security holes with IE that weren?t plugged by the latest fix. Just how many holes are there in this browser?

Microsoft?s woes should cause any adult Webmaster to consider two very important thoughts: First, do you need to start using a different browser, and second, do you need to start checking your Web sites for compatibility with non-Microsoft browsers like Netscape, Opera and Mozilla?

Whether or not you decide to start using a different browser is a decision that you will have to make yourself. If you want my advice, I?ll tell you: switch to Mozilla?s Firefox browser. Whatever you decide, understand that security is an important issue for all Internet users, especially Webmasters. Whatever software you use, make absolutely certain that you keep your software up to date. Download all of the latest security patches. When news of a major security hole hits, stop and read the article. Stay informed, stay up to date, and reduce your risks.

As far as site design goes, if you?re serious about this business then you shouldn?t reach any other conclusion: check your Web sites with IE, but also check them with Mozilla or Netscape, and perhaps even Opera. Even if you decide not to switch away from IE that doesn?t mean your site?s visitors have made that same decision. Over the last month, concerned surfers have been abandoning IE in droves. A recent check of stats for TheAdultWebmaster.com showed that only 69% of visitors to that site are using IE, although that number is slightly inaccurate due to hits from search engine bots affecting percentages. Still, for Microsoft that should be seen as an alarmingly small percentage of visitors compared with just a few months back. Of course Webmasters are perhaps a more technically savvy group of Web users, but the point is that IE?s dominance isn?t what it once was no matter how you slice it.

One goal that should always be on your mind as an adult Webmaster is reaching the broadest possible market in an ethical manner. Optimizing your Web sites for both IE and its competitors is a no-brainer. What browser you use, however, is still open to debate.