Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

POSTED by: PaulH on 08/29/2009

So I have a confession to make… this website has Internet Explorer problems.

For a long time all I used to browse the internet was IE (Internet Explorer) because I thought that was all there was. But when I discovered FF (Firefox), maybe 3 years ago, I made the switch and never looked back.

But as good web developers, designers should keep both browsers in mind when creating online content. Today I’ll be fixing the incompatibility issues, but I thought I’d give you glimpse of the difference between browsers.

Exhibit A: viewing Internet Explorer at 1280 pixels wide

Exhibit A: viewing Internet Explorer at 1280 pixels wide

Exhibit B: viewing Firefox at 1280 pixels wide

Exhibit B: viewing Firefox at 1280 pixels wide

Exhibit C: viewing Internet Explorer at 1024 pixels wide

Exhibit C: viewing Internet Explorer at 1024 pixels wide

Exhibit D: Viewing Firefox at 1024 pixels wide

Exhibit D: viewing Firefox at 1024 pixels wide

Every once in a while I’ll be visiting a friend’s house or at the library and I’ll have to use IE there. Every time that I do I cringe inwardly and wonder how they can stand it. Spread FirefoxHere are just a few of the reasons to prefer FF over IE:

  • More secure
  • Open source
  • Plethora of plugins
  • Better tab management
  • Uses fewer computer resources
  • It’s faster (in my case, my computer runs so slow that the difference is very noticeable)

31% of internet users have seen the light and use FF, 59% remain in darkness and use IE. If you haven’t made the switch to Firefox, then I would strongly encourage you to do so. Click the button on the right to download the latest version.

Comments


  1. Joshua H
    August 29th, 2009

    Fire Fox yup.. the first time Jonathan and I heard of it was 8 years ago! We had a pair of cheap wal-mart radios and discovered that if you key one it somehow creates a radio harmonic and you can hear the Expensive radios. So we were eves-dropping on two guys talking about Firefox and how it was better. :)

    Joshua


  2. Grace
    August 29th, 2009

    I have to agree with you. =) My mom and Anna haven’t made the switch yet, and always open IE. But I’ll convert them eventually. Even though my browser keeps freezing up on me and closing, it’s still better. ;-)


  3. The Billupian
    August 30th, 2009

    FF rules. I was brought up that way. First time I used IE, I didn’t like it. (That is after I used FF for a while)

    And now I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux for a while, not I feel weird using Windows XP. :-D

    So get yourself all decked out, Ubuntu and FF is MUCH better than Windows and IE. :-D (I was not paid by Ubuntu, use it yourself and you’ll see what I mean.) ;-)

    -Ben


  4. Owen
    August 31st, 2009

    I use IE 7 just about all the time. Firefox is fast but mine must be an older version because it doesn’t have tabs. Google Chrome is ok but a lot of links/scroll-down graphics don’t work on it. And like you said, IE distorts web pages—my blog format is all messed up when I view it on Firefox or Chrome. Other than that, IE works pretty good.


  5. Paul Hastings
    September 1st, 2009

    Wow Josh, that sounds crazy (and awesome… and very you).

    If I sounded like I was bashing IE… um… it’s because I was. But that’s not very caring of me, is it?

    Maybe I’m a little too hasty to pass judgment. I still use IE off and on just to make sure that my web pages are rendering correctly or when I’m at a friend’s house. But every time I do I just pity those who don’t know about FF.

    But really, if I could sound emphatic through written words, then I would be. Try FF and you won’t regret it.

    So Owen, view it as a social experiment. Click the download link on the right and get the latest version of FF and use it for 1 week solid. I would make a 80% guess that after 1 week you won’t go back to IE. It’s a challenge.

    Am I wrong or am I right? I guess there’s only one way to find out… ;)


  6. Luke
    October 16th, 2009

    Wow, what a bunch of FF fanboys ya’ll are. Personally, I have 5 browsers on my computer. The one I like best for all around functionality is Opera. The fastest one by far is Chrome. But I have to agree that IE is the worst browser on the face of the planet.


  7. Robert
    October 30th, 2009

    “But I have to agree that IE is the worst browser on the face of the planet.”

    Second the motion.


  8. Firefox vs. Internet Explorer « Imagivation
    March 8th, 2010

    [...] This post originally appeared here. [...]

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