Now I copped a bit of flack the last time I posted about this, but hey, I’m a sucker for punishment. One year on from my original post, I thought I’d check again to see if my prediction (albeit using less than precise mathematics) was still true—and gasp!
The rate of decline of visitors to sitepoint.com who are using Internet Explorer has not slowed. Using the same linear approach, the latest stats still suggest that IE will have disappeared from sitepoint.com by 2013 …
But wait—let me add to that prediction.
With the current growth in users of Chrome, more people will visit sitepoint.com using Chrome than IE by 2011.
Let me answer some questions that will no doubt arise.
Linear Analysis: Yes, there are better mathematical approaches. Regression analysis would be more accurate; however, it’s more complex and time-consuming. All I want to illustrate is a continuing trend, so a simple, quick analysis should suffice for what I’m trying to show.
For those interested, a linear equation is a straight line using the least squares method. Its weakness is that it only accepts one variable and ignores other factors that may influence the result. Regression analysis on the other hand, can cater for numerous variables, both dependent and independent.
sitepoint.com traffic: We have an early-adopting, technical audience, and that means our browser stats are no true reflection of the general Web. That said, it’s easy to underestimate the influence the tech crowd has over browser usage.
If you’re a site owner, I’d love to hear if you’re experiencing a similar reduction of IE users on your own site.
Shayne Tilley
