What are Web Browsers?

Most people use whatever web browser their computer’s Operating system comes packaged with whether it is Internet Explorer or Safari. A large amount people don’t understand what a web browser is either. Simply put, a web browser is a software application that enables users to connect to the Internet. 

Here is a video by Google that can further explain this:

The main web browsers today are:

Internet Explorer one of the most used web browser on the planet. Internet Explorer comes packaged with the popular operating system Windows. The engine that Internet Explorer is trident. The current version of Internet Explorer is IE9. Internet Explorer’s market share is currently decreasing due to competition from other popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Still, IE9 is a good web browser that should be checked out.

 Current Market Share: 32.31%

Google chrome is popular browser developed by Google in 2008. Since it’s release Google chrome has seen an explosive growth in it’s user base. Google Chrome is best known for it’s simple interface, speed, and it’s omnibar in which users can access websites and search VIA search engines. Google Chrome runs on the Webkkit engine. Chrome is also available on the IOS and Android platform.

Current Market Share: 32.76%

 Firefox is a popular web browser developed by Mozilla which is a non-profit organization. Firefox is known for it’s extreme customizable with it’s popular addons and personas. This popular web browser uses the Gecko engine to render web pages. Firefox is also available on the Android mobile platform.

Current Market Share: 24.56%

Safari is a web browser developed by Apple. Safari ships as the default with Macs and IOS devices. Safari like Chrome uses the Webkit engine to render web pages.

Current Market share: 7%

 Opera is a lesser known web browser developed by Opera software which is based in Norway. Opera utilizes the Presto engine. Although the desktop/laptop version of Opera is not widely used, Opera Mini which is the mobile counterpart of Opera is the most widely used mobile phone web browser in the world.

Current Market share: 1.77%