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Even though these percentages may overlap (so straighforward addition isn't a realistic approach) take a look at what I get on one site:
8% Macintosh
2% Unix
3% 8-bit color
5% Verson 4 browsers and earlier
2% 640x480 and smaller
9% No Javascript
Now we're really talking about a significant number of visitors here, and I must admit I don't give them all their "due" because there are just so many hours in a day, you know?
How many of these variables to do you take seriously in your designs?
2% Unix
2% 640x480 and smaller
9% No Javascript
I like small browser windows. My starting page on my local server resizes the browser window to 640, 480 pixel.
Webwasher removes Javascript. I generally donīt see why you would need to use it anyway.
My server runs GNU/Linux so I tend to test my pages with Mozilla/Opera under Linux as well.
Usually I donīt invest any time to make my pages look nice with verson 4 browsers and earlier. I donīt see any valid reason why anyone would want to use those old browsers anymore. If you have a black and white tv you canīt complain that all you see is a black and white image.
Andreas
How many of these variables to do you take seriously in your designs?
8% Macintosh
I've heard many people suggest that it's not worth the trouble to deal with cross-platform issues.
I look at it this way. In my own business design only accounts for about 10% of my invested time, whereas marketing and promotion accounts for more than 70%.
Even if it takes me an extra week to make my offerings Mac friendly, an 8% boost in revenue over a period of 12 months is an absolutely enormous ROI.
It all depends on your market...
Right now I'm dealing with big corp visitors S. California, I don't care about small screens and 16 colors. Last year in the portal biz I would have suggested content delivery for these issues. 3 years ago in eCommerce biz with 20,000 visitors a day and the market required a site which was fast, simple, and had to worked in all situations or I lost sales.
it all depends... Do what YOU need, not what others think you might need. You know your market best!
The products to be used on major projects are specified by the type of professional who uses a Mac and also (important for other sectors) has a high disposable income.
- Tony
By the way, those figures are for a month, and covered about 90,000 uniques. If I just look at v.4 (and not lower) then that site still gets 3,800 uniques a month on those browsers. And that's giving me some pause, I tell you. The minute you start shifting from percent (which is a higher level of abstraction) to numbers, which represent people, then the opportunity becomes clearer.
As with everything, there is a trade-off for time spent. Would getting more serious about the Mac platform be effective in ROI? With a conversion ratio near 4% and an average sale of $180, I'm guessing it would.
Would time spent on v.4 browser delivery be fruitful? Maybe.
Are the features that only modern browsers handle well important to the conversion rates? I'm thinking I should test and find out - as soon as I can make the time :)
Javascript is a must on my sites. Is it a necessity? Probably not, and I have cut it back to what I feel is a minimum, but I do require my active users to have it.
I used fixed tables mostly for 800 x 600, so smaller monitors need to scroll. Spend the $70 on a larger monitor or quit complaining.
I figure that the standards I'm using are at least 1999 compliant, so I ask the users to come at least to that level.
