Once upon a time, nearly everyone – 90% – used Microsoft’s proprietary web browser, Internet Explorer, to access the web.  This was because most people who brought a computer assumed Internet Explorer was the only browser available to them, because it came bundled as part of the ubiquitous Windows operating system. 

However, over the last decade Microsoft’s dominance over the web browser market, has been significantly eaten into, by a range of new comers, who have arguably, offered the end user far better ‘web surfing’ performance and security. 

This is largely due to the emergence of Mozilla’s Firefox browser, which has been consistently praised, over the last 5 years, for its speed and simplicity. Year on year, Firefox’s popularity has grown, and today accounts for some 25% of all browsers.

In addition, this year, the European Union ruled Microsoft could no longer abuse their dominance of the operating system market to also dominant the web browser market.

www.browserChoice.eu is a website that was created as the result of this ruling to allow Windows users who were unaware they had a choice, to try up to 11 alternate browsers.  Indeed, the front page of the site, which shows the top five browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari and Opera) will be made automatically available to Windows users running Explorer as their default browser.

So, now you know you have a choice, how can you tell the difference between one browser and another?  Is there really that much difference? Or does it just come down to a case of a marketing turf war between online rivals like Microsoft, Apple and Mozilla?

Well, yes, there is a lot of hype and bluster to wade through, most of it referring to the bells and whistles which are likely to distract the eye, and yet, when you really look closer at the leading browsers, there are some key differentiators which may not be immediately apparent, and which may help you make the right selection for you. 

Web Browser Rendering Speed

No, this doesn’t refer to what builders do.  It refers to Javascript rendering. 

Javascript is a website programming language which can be combined with HTML to create an interactive document found on a majority of websites today.  How quickly a browser can ‘render’ or generate the images and models represented on such pages will affect the speed at which you can access different sites.

Independent tests suggest that Chrome (created by Google) renders pages fastest, up to 4 times quicker than Opera, and 6 times Internet Explorer.  Chrome is followed closest by Safari (used predominantly by Mac users, but also available to windows users) and Firefox, which also offer fast rendering times.

Web Browser Customisation

How many things your browser can do, and what you can do with it, can also be a determining factor when deciding which default browser you choose, for, you, your business or your employees.

For example, although slower at rendering, a special edition of Opera (10) includes ‘Opera Unite’, that allows a computer to be both ‘client’ and ‘server’ i.e not just browse webpages, but serve them directly to other users across the web.  According to Opera, Unite, ‘dramatically simplifies the complexity of authoring cutting edge web services.’

In terms of customizability, Firefox, and Safari both excel, and in particular, Mozilla’s “Fashion My Firefox” and “Personas” tools mean even beginners can enjoy giving their browser a new ‘skin’ (look and feel) as often as they like.

By contrast Chrome, is more slim line in terms of the number of features it offers, and yet one feature in particular stands out. Chrome allows ‘heavy surfers’ who like to have multiple tabs open, to change their position to anywhere inside the window, simply by left clicking the tab and then dragging and dropping it to a new position.

Web Browser Security

While Internet Explorer has received by far the most press for its security flaws, all the other browsers have from time to time, had their security weaknesses exposed.  Of course the best way to solve this problem is with a good anti virus / firewall program, and yet there is a standard rule of thumb when it comes to ensuring the security of your web browser, which all users should follow. 

Simply, make sure you update your browser every time a new patch is released, to avoid cyber criminals using bugs in outdated versions of your browser, as a back door for installing malware to steal your personal information, or turn your computer into a bot.  Yes, this is the sad reality of the internet today – developers still can’t identify what’s wrong with their software including browsers, until it’s on the mass market.   

And if you don’t fancy any of the leading five browsers there are many others worth looking at.  These include  Lunascape 5, which combines the rendering engines of Firefox, IE, and Safari; Flock that specializes in providing social networking and Web 2.0 facilities built into its user interface; Maxthon which is reported to be the second most popular browser in China and downloaded more than 400 million times worldwide which may tell you something; and Sleipnir which represents about 10% of the Japanese market and includes many rich features including page zooming and advance mouse functions (gesturing).