Does Chrome Matter?
The Importance of Cross Browser Compatibility
Last week we saw the official announcement and beta rollout of Google's new browser, Chrome. The first thing I wondered was whether or not I should care. After all, we already have two major browsers to deal with and there simply has never been broad support for three browser platforms. Then I reminded myself that this is Google we're talking about. With that in mind, I did a quick download and install to find that the Chrome browser is pretty slick and could very easily catch on.
As an ecommerce site, we cannot afford to ignore Chrome from a browser compatibility perspective. Chrome will take market share from both IE and Firefox in a significant way over time. Doing a quick look at our stats, I found that since the Chrome launch, approximately 3% of our traffic going to PoolDawg.com is using the Chrome browser. 3% is not a huge number unless you consider that the browser has only been widely available for about a week.
Fortunately, our testing thus far has shown that our site does not have any major compatibility issues with Chrome, but I have already seen a number of major sites that are not completely compatible. When your site is not compatible with a browser, you are telling that user (and prospective customer) that you don't want their business. Considering the power of Google and the nightmarish economy, there simply isn't any way that a site can justify turning users away based on their choice of browser.
8 Comments
mjay says:
Well if you test your site in safari (which I can only hope your doing) then you should be fine with Chrome as it uses the same rending engine: Apple's Webkit.
Mike Feiman says:
We do test in Safari as well, however the Safari browser still represents less than 1% of our traffic so it hasn't been a huge focus for us. Good to know about the Apple engine!
Michael A. Cox says:
Chrome has never really mattered.
When they put a lot of chrome on cars, the Hudson Hornet was the fastest production car in the USA and it had little chrome. But the American Motors company went bankrupt.
So maybe Chrome does matter -- to folks who don't really care about performance. Which seems to be a goodly number. Sizzle, no steak is where it's at.
Google is doing a browser, how novel. One more to test our sites against before we deploy. I downloaded and installed, I felt like I had to. Frankly, I yawned. Not impressed. It is aptly named.
I kept thinking, "Why." The other use for chrome is as a rust inhibitor. Maybe Google is feeling its age in this rocket paced world of Internet business.
Eric Anderson says:
Chrome is a new, beta product. Deciding whether it "matters" or not is at this stage is not really the point. It is another tool people may use to view our Web pages - bottom line. Standard rules to testing and rendering apply.
What is interesting about Chrome, to me, is the fact that it takes a fresh look at how an "Internet Browser" should work. One thing I noticed right off the bat, was how fast it renders JavaScript - a language used heavily on today's Web. It's adoption could change the way everyone interacts with Web based tools and resources. We should pay close attention.
If nothing else, you can rest assured that users of Chrome are tech savvy at the very least. Good info for the log viewer and page tracker in all of us.
Brian Getting says:
These comments are interesting. All I can say from a developers standpoint, having tried Chrome for a few hours, is that is certainly doesn't represent a "breakthrough" or significant step forward in the browser world.
However, did anyone else notice how fast it is? Like lightning fast, both starting up and in rendering pages. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer (in my opinion) should be taking note of that one, as they are noticeably slow applications to get going. It was even faster than Safari for me, which was impressive because Safari is pretty quick. If you haven't noticed, take a minute to appreciate how speedy they managed to make this browser.
Apparently each tab in Chrome has its own memory process as well, which explains some of the speed, and particularly why JavaScript works noticeable smoother in Chrome as well.
Also, they are using Apple's webkit engine for rendering pages. While that is nice (and makes me wonder why it is so much quicker than Safari), it still doesn't mean that you don't have to text for incompatibilities with Chrome. Just another browser to worry about when designing a site.
John says:
Hey Folks,
Anybody have an idea about when Google Chrome will be available for Macs?
Ideally a registered and codified version more so than a pirated one with numerous flaws, holes and incompatibilities?
Thank you!
JVM-ShopVisible
John says:
Hey Folks,
Anybody have an idea about when Google Chrome will be available for Macs?
Ideally a registered and codified version more so than a pirated one with numerous flaws, holes and incompatibilities?
Thank you!
JVM-ShopVisible
Dennis says:
For a new browser, it is testing well. Given time I think it'll prove as good as others.
