Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has gained market share for the third month running. According to Net Applications, the world’s most popular browser’s share rose 0.42% in July to claim 60.7% of the market.
IE’s rivals have also lost out in the last quarter, with Mozilla’s Firefox browser share falling 0.9% to 22.9% and Google’s Chrome losing 0.8%, leaving it with 7.2% of the browser market.
Apple’s Safari browser and Opera both saw modest gains of 0.2% each, giving them a 5.1% and 2.45% share respectively.
This is the second straight month of gains for Internet Explorer worldwide, while Firefox’s share has been declining ever since its peak in April of 24.59%.
Internet Explorer 8 officially overtook Internet Explorer 6 in February, after security flaws were publicly exposed in the earlier version – making IE8 the world’s most popular browser just ten months after its release.
However, these gains remain relatively modest compared to Internet Explorer’s tumble over the last few years. A year ago, Microsoft had 68% of the market, and has lost almost 10% over the last 12 months, with Chrome tripling its market share from 2.59% a year ago.
There’s still plenty to play for in the so-called ‘browser wars’, and it remains clear that whatever browser you’re using, inter-browser compatibility is as important as ever - especially as a vital component of user-centred design and accessibility.
