Firefox: Users Try, But Do They Stick With It?

Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:57PM EDT

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I was beyond surprised when I checked out the statistics on one of the websites I publish: More users who visit the site now use Firefox than use Internet Explorer. I'd always thought Firefox was around 20 or 25 percent of the market, but to brush 50 percent? Crazy!

Interestingly, Mozilla (the organization behind Firefox) still struggles to get users to give it a shot: Only half the users who download it actually install and try it, and only half of those users stick with it. That's a huge opportunity for the Firefox to improve growth rates by simply convincing people not to jump ship back to IE (or Safari, or whatever).

The Mozilla group has created a 12-point plan to attempt to improve things, mainly designed to give web novices more help in getting started: Renaming the application to better reflect that it's a web browser, improve add-on management, and create a more sophisticated help system. (Though I have to admit the user-based help system is awfully useful and responsive.)

Tragically, the one thing I don't see on the plan is a goal to make Firefox more stable and bug-resistant. I push browsers pretty hard, admittedly, but over three machines I continue to have frequent crashes whenever I open too many windows, or, particularly, on one website (IMDB.com), which sends a once-daily double-pop-up ad that immediately crashes the whole thing. Arggggh!

Still, I appreciate that the Firefox folks are trying to make things smoother for newcomers to the browser. Despite its bugs, I have made the move completely to Firefox, with no regrets. It's faster, easier to navigate, better organized, and nicer to look at than IE. The spell-checker alone is worth the price of admission. And unlike IE, it keeps getting better, not worse. 

Comments on Firefox: Users Try, But Do They Stick With It?

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  • 46 Posted by tincanpuller on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    I can't remember the last time I used I.E. Oh yeah, it was when I got a new computer and had to get to Mozilla site to DL Firefox. It does tend to crash when I get on Rhapsody. But I'm not going back to the "Dark Side". In fact, now that I have a Mac I'm almost MS-free! Speaking of Apples I tried to like Safari but soon went will Firefox on the Mac as well. It ain't perfect but it's better than the alternatives.

  • 47 Posted by catatonicqualities77 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    I love firefox because it does not have random pop ups with indecipherable messages attached. And it does not ever close without warning. I have downloaded IE7 and it has crashed twice already.. Causing me to restart my computer. I love that when there are any updates with firefox, all you have to do is restart FF.

  • 48 Posted by terryhartusa on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    HAD TO USE IE ON A MACHINE WHILE I WAS A GUEST USER ON HOLIDAY CAN'T TELL YOU HOW RELIEVED I AM TO GET BACK TO THE SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE FIREFOX BROWSER WHICH IS PERFORMING RELIABLY AND IS A JOY TO USE

  • 49 Posted by sfjaye on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    I use Firefox at home, but I am forced to use IE at work. My employer gives us no choice. Maybe Firefox could direct some resources at the business end of the spectrum.

  • 50 Posted by jillz_myers on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm sticking with Firefox. IE had a way of interfering with my Corel programs. I didn't want to pay for MS Office when I bought my computers way back when. I don't want MS deleting my Corel software as it is immediately recognized and labeled as VIRUSES AND IMMEDIATELY REMOVED along with many irreplaceable file documents time and again. WordPerfect, Quicken & ProXI all gone the instant the boss' FRIEND came to visit and upgraded to IE7. Let it be known far and wide that for me, Firefox is here to stay. I have installed it on both office and home computers and the little glitches that popped up before causing interference with my invoicing is no longer present. However green the Firefox program is- I can deal with it. Small price to pay for keeping my work and sanity. Sleeping well at night is a new experience too. I think I can get used to it!

  • 51 Posted by idlikeyoutostay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    I moved to Firefox about 6 months ago and other than the occasional visit to microsoft.com to make use of their clipart, I use Firefox 100% of the time (the microsoft.com site won't let me access it using Firefox). I initially moved from IE to Firefox because an upgrade (to IE 7 I think) rendered the browser extremely unstable (it would experience a sudden error and close on me at least once a day). Since the change, I have not looked back once and have urged friends and family to make the change. Firefox has integrated perfe ctly with my other programs, is a joy to use, and I have become completely reliant on it, taking it for granted and not noticing it is there (exactly what you want from a program that facilitates your access to the rest of the world on a daily basis). This user tried Firefox, and will definitely stick with it.

  • 52 Posted by takemypicplease on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    Firefox is much easier to navigate with than EI. Since I started using Firefox about 2 years ago, I have not had a spyware or adware hit me. I am able to watch almost any video with it and only have had 2 sites not compatible with it. I recommend it to everyone I know..

  • 53 Posted by sherpapraxis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    Mozilla opened the internet world for me a few years back. Used to have 3 to 4 IE windows open at one time. Now its all on one browser under tabs. Funny that IE7 borrowed the same idea.

  • 54 Posted by davidyang6us on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    after several years of using firefox, i have only found one flaw - it wont load reformatted, uploaded files on a hi-speed usb in a low speed port. thats it.

  • 55 Posted by megchase06 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    I use FireFox mostly.But it has somethings that annnoy me. Like when downloading a file,you can only save it, you can't run it. And video's are slower on FireFox then IE7. And of course, Windows Updates won't work properly on FireFox

  • 56 Posted by bstarr677 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have used Firefox exclusively for three years. I will never go back to IE. It is stable 99% of the time. I particularly like the ability to increase font size on sites that don't realize not all their readers are 20 something and 20/20. The ability to customize with add-ons is a great advantage. I keep IE to use solely on sites that don't play well with FF. Or sites that deny access with Firefox .....like Microsoft!

  • 57 Posted by kc5fwk on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am totally a Firefox user and have been for a couple of versions. I installed the Firefox 2008 and am now kicking it around. I do have one bad observation. Toooo much Google!!!!!!!!!!!! Man ya'll have a great product. Don't mix with AOL and ruin a GREAT thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other than everything is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 58 Posted by final_station on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    I love firefox, and I do feel somewhat more safer than I do w/ IE. Too bad not that many are trying it out.

  • 60 Posted by jmcgrue on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    Firefox vs IE is that a real question? NO! After the one month on the mozilla team there was no possible reason to return back to that other piece of crap that was never completed from the designers.

  • 61 Posted by nlforst on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    I can't use firefox at work and that stinks. I have not had any problems with Firefox, and I can admit that I've opened 60 or 70 tabs at once. IMDB.com is a site i frequent, and I have never had it crash yet.

  • 62 Posted by starclan@rogers.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm a mac user and have been using Firefox for a few years now. The spellchecker is an especially nice feature compared to IE (though it's also in Safari). What I love about FF, is that it's cross-platform, meaning that coding HTML and designing websites for Mac and Windows users is made much easier! I hope less people use IE and take advantage of this free browser.

  • 63 Posted by jearlford on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    Prior to IE 7 Firefox was my default browser and I loved it until V2.0. Since the introduction of V2.0 Firefox its stability has been hit and miss. This is especially true after updates. Each update seems to bring a different issue with it. I find that Firefox hangs one or more times a day on the systems where I still use it. There are some system where I use both Firefox and IE 7 and I very few problems with IE 7. When Firefox hangs and I am stopping the process I often see that Firefox has grown extremely large and this has been true ever since v2.0 was introduced. When IE 7 was introduced I installed it and within a very short time I made it my default browser. I do not push my browser and since the main reason I switched to Firefox was tabbed browsing and now that IE has tabs, has been stable and secure for me there is no reason for me to switch back to Firefox. I also found that all those Firefox add-ins where a luxury not a necessity.

  • 64 Posted by bennetht on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've used firefox for about 3 yrs.....I would never switch back to IE. I've love everything about it and I've never encountered any bugs or had any crashes!

  • 65 Posted by halohunter145 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    im really impressed with firefox! it seems really easy to use and i like it that it works for a mac ^-^

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