I thought I would address browsers today, not as a web browser expert, but as a webmaster who is online all of the time. Note here, I have been building sites since 1996, so I think it’s safe to say I’m not a complete novice at deciding. At least for myself.

My Current Favorite, Mozilla Firefox

Over the years I have pretty much used them all, and on three major operating systems, Linux, Microsoft, and Apple. The reason I say Mozilla’s Firefox is the best is not really because of it’s current 3.5 version. It’s what they did right away that got my attention. From day one it’s been open source, and open source often equals add-ons.

Well in the case of Firefox, add-ons appeared to be a given. You can almost do anything with some tools built for Firefox. Firefox has become a plugin machine more than a browser, and I love many of the tools developers have created for it.

Comparing Pears for the Best Browsers

Speed

I don’t now how long you are online, but if are like me, you expect pages to load quickly. Today’s browsers are all going to load pages quickly, if the websites server allows it.

Can you get BestWebImage.com to load quicker on Internet Explorer than Firefox? Maybe. Maybe not tomorrow. The differences are to little to tell or care. Unless your specialty is clocking load times, you are probably wasting more time trying figure out which browser is faster. Just too many factors playing with too little of a time difference to make it worth a real consideration. How is your ISP behaving today?

Function

I admittedly have not used Opera in a couple of months. I am pretty sure they have a place to type in the URL of a website though. Right? What’s in a browsers function?  Forward, back, stop, home, url, bookmark, search. Anyone know a web browser that does not manage all of those functions? My phone manages that. By the way, Opera on a Treo 755 does not work well at all.

So for me, all web browsers pretty much function the same. Have an argument on why Opera’s bookmarking feature is better than Flock’s? Let me know. I’m sure I could argue it the other way or vice versa.

Security

If you don’t keep your browser up to date, you are essentially leaving your doors unlocked. My brother-in-law is one of those hot shot encryption guys, and has even done work for the Feds. He says use Firefox, but he has also said, that this is even becoming less of a determining factor. Browser security can be pretty solid if you want it to be, on most browsers. The user is more likely to blow security than the browser.

Add-ons

Well, like I said…I think Firefox is champ here. I will  have to write a post about the best add-ons for it. Hint, Hint, download my Twitter Toolbar for Firefox that I developed, it’s a Firefox Add-on.

I Didn’t Always

Like many of us that use Firefox, it’s safe to say I didn’t always. Many of us used Internet Explorer, maybe Netscape, or you Apple users with Safari. Many of us have always used Internet Explorer. This goes to show what little difference I think it makes.

Honest truth? I think Internet Explorer is pretty good, second runner up. I just can’t stand how it treats HTML. Until recently (version 8.0), it’s policy has been to guesstimate or automatically fix errors found on a web page. Well, it doesn’t always guess right. This is a shocking experience to webmasters that don’t view their sites on other browsers or bother to validate their code. A “good” browser could massacrer a site with poor code.

Corporate America and Your IT Guy…or Gal!

Because I am often stuck working with the IT guy, mostly because they block half my permissions, I find that they are constantly being bashed for special request to use a different browser. The typical response…No. He’s on your side believe it or not, but he is charge of network security. If it is breached, it’s not just your butt on the line, it’s his as well. They have more to worry about than browser functionality.

If you have to push because your browsers is incapable of keeping up with a certain technology, it’s most likely not what type of browser you are using, but what version of the browser you are using. See if the IT person can update that, it’s an easier argument.

The best web browser according to me? Firefox for now. It’s a add-on kind of thing.

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