Web User Stats in Ireland For March 2008

Recently on the Irish web master forums there was a question regarding web browser usage in Ireland. After having looked for data and not being able to find much, (except for this article, which is a few years old) I decided to share some data provided by some major Irish websites. You could assume that other markets will provide this information, however as we will see different markets can vary greatly.

This can be due to the demographic market, technology in the region and technology adaptation rates. As an example the W3C Schools Browser Statistics shows a high market share for Firefox, however as mentioned in the foot notes of the page, this is more than likely due to the demographic visiting the W3C pages. It is relatively safe to assume that Internet Explorer has a large stake of browser share for users on most websites.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of web design is screen resolution. Currently this is only been tracked on one of the websites I got these results from, however its a relatively simple metric that shouldn’t vary too much across websites.

Screen resolution

1. 1024×768 41.60%
2. 1280×800 25.40%
3. 1280×1024 13.40%
4. 1440×900 5.40%
5. 800×600 3.30%
6. Rest 10.50%

So lets take a look at some of the user stats in Ireland, first we will look at a Dublin event guide website which receives a decent amount of traffic on a daily basis.

www.indublin.ie - Accepts Cookies

• Accepts Cookies - 93%
• Not Accepting Cookies - 7%

www.menupages.ie - Accepts Cookies

• Accepts Cookies - 90.8%
• Not Accepting Cookies - 9.2%

www.cbg.ie - Accepts Cookies

• Accepts Cookies - 94.7%
• Not Accepting Cookies - 5.3%

www.modifiedmotors.ie - Accepts Cookies

• Accepts Cookies - 97%
• Not Accepting Cookies - 3%

www.indublin.ie - Javascript On / Off

• Javascript On - 96.8%
• Javascript Off - 3.2%

www.menupages.ie - Javascript On / Off

• Javascript On - 95.1%
• Javascript Off - 4.9%

www.cbg.ie - Javascript On / Off

• Javascript On - 91.8%
• Javascript Off - 8.2%

www.modifiedmotors.ie - Javascript On / Off

• Javascript On - 99.3%
• Javascript Off - 0.7%

www.indublin.ie - Browser By Version

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 38.30%
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 33.70%
3. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12 14.50%
4. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.13 2.70%
5. Mozilla 1.8.1.11 1.40%
6. Rest 9.40%

www.menupages.ie - Browser By Version

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 42.30%
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 36.40%
3. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12 10.80%
4. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.13 2.10%
5. Safari 5.23.12.2 1.20%
6. Rest 7.10%

www.cbg.ie - Browser By Version

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 48.60%
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 33.40%
3. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12 9.90%
4. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.13 1.70%
5. Netscape 4.0 0.70%
6. Rest 5.70%

www.modifiedmotors.ie - Browser By Version

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 54.00%
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 29.10%
3. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12 9.20%
4. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.13 2.00%
5. Opera 8.01 0.90%
6. Rest 4.80%

Summary

What’s interesting here is that Netscape 4.0 still appeared in the top 5 of browsers used on Car Buyers Guide. I thought this browser was well and truly dead, but it seems like that’s not the case. So perhaps hiding styles from Netscape 4 is still a good idea if you are targeting the largest audience possible.

In terms of demographics I believe the websites above cover a majority of them. Modified Motors for example covers the younger age group. Generally 16-30 year old males, however the site also attracts young females interested in modelling work. MenuPages appeals to everyone interested in Dining out, however it does have a strong 50/50 male / female userbase. Generally I’d say it wouldn’t appeal too much among younger users, as fast food is generally part of their diet :). (Hey I was young and naive once too).

Car Buyers Guide appeals to anyone looking to buy or sell a car, which would generally be anyone over the legal age to acquire a license. Not being from Ireland I’m not sure of the legal age?

What’s also slightly varied across the sites is the use of Javascript and Cookies. If you plan to implement AJAX based user functionality. You should plan to implement a fall back mechanism to handle those users who don’t have javascript enabled. Its a pain (I know), but it should be done as part of any web development project.

Cookie adoptation rates can also affect your tracking or web analytics package. Generally a cookie is used to track a user throughout your website. This can have an affect on your order tracking and conversion tracking. Generally 3rd party cookies are rejected more frequently and many web stats packages use these. Just something to keep in mind.

Finally although the data above indicates a major share of browser market by Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0, its important to keep in mind that many visitors originated from other standards compliant devices and in some cases blackberry devices and other portable browsers. Standards based design is the best way to ensure your message reaches all users, regardless of browser or operating system. Many designers who comply to these standards will display a W3C logo.

I hope you enjoyed the article and as always feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try and respond as soon as possible.

Filed under: Website Marketing by Gavin Doolan