Pixels Articles

Using Google Analytics, I have discovered some very useful information about what a visitor uses to view the Web. Here are some numbers for you, based on three different websites that have varying visitor demographics.

Site 1: Civil Website - 65,089 Visits from around the world

• Browsers: 84% Internet Explorer, 12% Firefox, 2% Safari
• Operating Systems: 96.5% Windows, 3% Mac
• Screen Resolutions: 52% 1024×768, 13% 800×600, 11% 1280×1024
• Flash Installed: 98% (approx. 1000 didn’t have it installed)
• Java Enabled: 99.5% (approx. 250 didn’t have it enabled)

Site 2: Sporting Event Website - 15,227 Visits mostly from across Canada

• Browsers: 77% Internet Explorer, 16% Firefox, 5% Safari
• Operating Systems: 92% Windows, 7% Mac
• Screen Resolutions: 45% 1024×768, 13% 1280×800, 12% 1280×1024
• Flash Installed: 99% (158 didn’t have it installed)
• Java Enabled: 99.65% (54 didn’t have it enabled)

Site 3: Technical Information Website - 8,054 visits mostly from Southern Manitoba

• Browsers: 56% Internet Explorer, 32% Firefox, 8% Safari
• Operating Systems: 79% Windows, 17% Mac
• Screen Resolutions: 35% 1024×768, 19% 1280×1024, 13% 1280×800
• Flash Installed: 98.55% (124 didn’t have it installed)
• Java Enabled: 99.26% (60 didn’t have it enabled)

In addition to that information, there has been a survey conducted that evaluated the trends of users browser resizing that revealed some surprising information. (Information taken from www.456bereastreet.com)

• Only 50.4% of all users polled maximize their browser windows.
• 20% of Mac users polled maximize their windows.
• 65% of Windows users polled maximize their windows.

This, along with the analytics stats, provide some very useful data. Although the majority of users have screens that are 1024×768 or larger, it doesn’t necessarily mean they all have their browser windows that size.

Personally, on my 20″ iMac at home, which has a resolution of 1680×1050, and on my PowerMac at the office, which has two 17″ monitors at 1280×1024, I almost always have my browser window at around 900×600, just because I don’t like the window taking up my entire screen.

However, this all depends again on your specific visitor demographic. To know for sure what resolution you should optimize your site for, we at Pixels can provide you with a more detailed analyses based on who you are targeting with your website. This is one of the many steps we take to make sure your website is created with your visitors in mind.