For web designers, web statistics are a very important element to be aware of as you develop websites for your clients. At Evolve, we take our web stats very seriously and we always do an end of year review to see what the latest trends are. These trends may dictate changes we implement in our development for the upcoming year. We look at a variety of online national trends as well as our own client statistics to summarize our year end analysis. Before you make any changes to your website or clients website, it’s always best to review your own Google Analytics or similar trends data. This data will give you insight about your web visitors. Depending on your user demographics, age, race and web savviness, the data could fluctuate considerably.
As a whole, the data we complied is pretty conclusive. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned and take ways per item. Enjoy!
National stats we used for comparison
http://www.thecounter.com/stats/
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=17
http://www.registrarstats.com/
Browser Statistics
Yes, the browser saga goes on! This category saw the most fluctuation compared to national stats. I believe our own client data depicts a more accurate story. This year we saw the introduction of Google Chrome and IE 8.0 enter the browser conundrum. We’ve also noticed the uprising of some mobile devices like, blackberry and the iphone/ipod. I suspect these mobile browsers will only increase over time. But for most of us (local business and B-B) these numbers are still very low.
Data summary
Overall Internet Explorer still dominates at about 75% of all total browsers used.
IE 8 (20%)
IE 7 (50-60%)
IE 6 (5-10%) It’s unfortunate for us web developers, but web users/companies are still using this antiquated browser.
Firefox (15-20%) Depending on your web users savviness this stat could be higher. For the most part this browser has leveled off over the past couple years.
Chrome (1.5-2%) Gaining traction, but I suspect it will not grow in popularity to the general public.
Safari (5-15%) This browser has the largest fluctuation. Based on your user audience, if you’re mainly targeting MAC users, this will be their main browser. But still very low for the overall general public, as is the MAC OS.
Display Resolution
1024x768 (20-30%) This display still rules the screen.
Higher than 1024 (50-60%)
800x600 (2-5%) Say bye-bye to this display. Thank goodness!
In summary, the best viewed websites are designed for 1024x768. I don’t see this changing for quite some time. This is the perfect display size for all monitors. Even with 50% of the general population using larger display sizes and monitors, 1024 keeps the content compact, usable and intimate. Our client stats were very much aligned with national trends.
Java Supported
YES (93-98%) NO (2-6%)
Most everyone supports Java. No worries here.
However there is some fluctuation based on user web savviness.
Flash Version
10.0 (or some version of 10) 70-80%
9.0 (or some version of 9) 25-30%
This is good to see as flash becomes more and more widely used. A little flash goes a long way. Just don’t overdo it! And now that Google is starting to index flash, I suspect we’ll see much more flash being integrated.
Domain Registrar Stats
Godaddy.com 33%
Enom 19%
Tucows 7%
Network Solutions 6%
As much as Network Solutions tries to re-brand itself, they are still trending downward. They days of ruling the domain game are over. Hurray!
Search Engines
Google 85%
Yahoo! 6%
Bing 3%
This year we were introduced to Microsoft’s new search engine “Bing”. But no surprises here. Google still owns search. And Yahoo! is losing traction each year as it re-brands itself to more of a web portal for news and entertainment.
Summary
Overall, there are no real show stoppers here. But some good data to keep in mind as web designers start the process for developing a successful and usable website for their clients. The biggest item to note, is that you need to make sure you are testing your website for compatibility on all of the main web browsers. This continues to be the biggest challenge for the past 14 years. In the end, the best advice, is to review your current web analytics. If you’re re-designing a website, see if you’re client has access to current web data/trends. The proof is there. Use it!
These web development details are just a few of the many nuances that go along with GREAT web design and development. Who will you trust with your website? Give us a call, we’d love to help you out. 330-620-6572, Say Hello! Or visit our website for more information: www.EvolveCreativeGroup.com
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