Great Features Is Just One Reason Why Mozilla Firefox Is Popular
There always have been attempts to tie down the popularity of the Firefox web browser to a particular feature or set of features. Until Internet Explorer introduced the tabbed browsing feature, the popularity of the Firefox web browser was attributed to the presence of this feature. Those defending Internet Explorer explained that tabbed browsing feature was the only reason why Firefox was gaining in popularity. They were very sure that Firefox web browser would quickly meet its demise once Internet Explorer too adopted tabbed browsing.
To attribute the success of Mozilla Firefox to a particular feature or set of features is a big mistake. To understand why Mozilla Firefox is as popular as it is today, one has to go back a few years when there was no Safari, no Chrome and no Mozilla Firefox. Internet Explorer comprehensively occupied the market and had a market share in excess of ninety percent. That is to say, of any ten computers on the World Wide Web, nine used Internet Explorer to surf the web. All major sites were expected to comply with the standards set by Internet Explorer irrespective of whether they could be improved upon or not.
Further, Internet Explorer was clunky, difficult to load and prone to crashes. However, none of this made a difference and the web browser remained the same despite repeated request and pleas for improvements.
The Firefox web browser came along and aggressively marketed itself as a web browser that was completely opposite to the Internet Explorer. It was:
Lightweight The Firefox web browser was the most compact web browser in the market when it was first introduced. It was the first web browser that could be downloaded over the internet without any difficulty. Even those who had a dialup internet connection could download the installation file and install the Firefox web browser in a span of an hour. This was a revolutionary improvement in the world of web browsing.
Word of Mouth Marketing The developers of Mozilla Firefox never made big promises. They simply allowed users to test Firefox and spread the word if they found it to be better than other web browsers. The word quickly spread that the web browser that would overtake IE had arrived. The developers smartly utilized the David vs Goliath analogy and marketed itself as a useful and functional web browser that was taking on a monopolistic and inefficient web browser. Of course, this marketing tactic would never have succeeded had the web browser failed to back its promises with action. However, the Firefox web browser promised and successfully offered practical improvements in the web experience of the surfers of the web.
Surfeit of new features Mozilla Firefox has always been undergoing improvements. That is the reason why there are more than ten sub releases for every new major release. From the time it was first released, updates have been frequently made available for all the surfers of the web. Some updates focused on security while others focused on improving functionality. Even those who wanted to use a good looking web browser to surf the web were offered a better looking Firefox with the help of updates and extensions. The idea of utilizing tags to organize bookmarks was borrowed from social networking web sites. Those who loved visiting social networking websites were stunned with this fantastic improvement. Some of the most popular improvements made by Mozilla Firefox have always seemed very obvious in the hindsight. Tabbed browsing, tags for bookmarks, session restore feature, extensions- these features should have been made available from the very start. That has always been the specialty of the Firefox web browser.
Tags: Firefox Tips
