Question of the Week: What’s Your Browser of Choice?

October 4, 2010 by Pamela 16 Comments

Internet Explorer. Firefox. Chrome. Safari. Opera…

The list goes on.

For designers and developers, running multiple browsers (and several versions of them) is a must. Web sites needed to be tested across several platforms.

But for surfing the Internet, shopping, playing games, etc., what’s your browser of choice? And what makes the browser you use so appealing?

Musk

Opera! It’s been my first choice for years. They consistently push the envelope of browser UI design. So many features of the modern browser (e.g. tabs, mouse gestures, speed dial) debuted on Opera first. I’m especially fond of the keyboard shortcuts and fit-to-width options.
- Pamela
  
  It’s nice to see Opera mentioned here in the comments. So many aren’t even aware of its existence, but it’s been a decent player for years.
michael r

I used to use Firefox because I didn’t like IE and then I had a go of Google Chrome and never gone back. I like Chrome’s simplicity and I make use of syncing bookmarks across multiple devices. I’ve tried IE 9 beta which looks a big improvement over 8 but it still feels a little cluttered to me!
- Pamela
  
  Michael:
  
  By cluttered, do you mean the toolbars or the speed/UI?
Mike Maddaloni – @thehotiron

Almost a month ago I switched to Chrome from Firefox for one reason – speed. Firefox took forever to load, was chewing up memory and crashing a lot. Where Chrome is good, I like the UX of Firefox better, but I haven’t switched back.

mp/m
- Pamela
  
  Mike:
  
  Same issue here – I love the speed of Chrome, but prefer the UI of FireFox. I toggle between them both for regular browsing.
Kylie

I use safari. I have tried them all, but I always come back to Safari. Also since purchasing my ipad, the display and usability of websites is generally without loss. Google Chrome is still not ready for ‘tablets.’ So until then, I will stick with Safari.
- Pamela
  
  Kylie:
  
  Love that there’s a “tablet-using” responder. When you say “without loss” are you saying that most sites look nearly identical on the iPad as they do on a desktop?
S. Sharp

Chrome and still FF, even though I agree with the above statement – it seems to chew up a lot of memory and crash frequently…but has great developer plugins and a nicer interface…
Michael R

i mean toolbars and space for the webpage within the browser.

I don’t do much with my browser apart from browse the internet so something that lets me do it quickly and easily with a clean UI is a big plus. I have a friend who works in online and contextual advertising and there are plenty more plugins for him on Firefox, so I guess it’s a better browser for people that need those extra features.

I also use an iPad and the browsing experience is generally pretty good but I still find myself browsing more on a desktop. I feel the iPad’s browser could do with a few more choice improvements but I guess that’s for another discussion!
- Pamela Hazelton
  
  Michael:nnThanks for elaborating. For just plain browsing, I prefer Chrome. Unfortunately, Firefox, as you say, has so many extra tools I can use for actual web work.nn
  - Michael Rewaj
    
    Firefox does seem the most flexible browser out there at the moment but Chrome will be on my taskbar/dock for some time to come I think! It will be interesting to see what the next generation of browsers are going to be like!
Bryan Roth

I would say my browser of choice right now is Chrome. I just recently switched back to Chrome from Firefox simply because of how slow and memory intensive Firefox is. I also like the look and feel of Chrome – slick and intuitive.
- Pamela Hazelton
  
  Bryan:nnI know just what you mean. I am in love with the speed of Chrome. Unfortunately, lots of big financial sites and the likes need to get up to speed with Chrome…
RMK

I use Chrome almost exclusively. It took a while for me to shift from Firefox, but once I did I was hooked. Overall, to me Chrome is more elegant in the way tabs are handled, extensions (addons) being in a sandbox, and speed. The switch became easier once addons that are a must have to me (adblock) became available on Chrome.nnOn the mobile front I used Opera Mini when I had a Blackberry. It made sure the Blackberry OS browser was regulated to the bench.nnIf I was a serious web developer I would have all of the major broswers installed on my computer. Compatibility should always be tested.
- Pamela Hazelton
  
  RMK:nnYou’re right. Serious developers should be running many browsers (and several flavors of them), as well as using proven browser testing utilities.