In this issue:
- Desperately Seeking Statistics: Where to Find Web Metrics
- Reading Roundup: Eolas Revisited & CAN-SPAM Reviewed
- The Lighter Side of the Web: 10 Socks
- About Web Insights
Issue 26original publication: January 31, 2004
last updated: August 18, 2006
Feature Article:
Desperately Seeking Statistics
by Deborah Christie, POP Interactive
"What's the average number of visitors per day for
other sites in my industry? What monitor settings
and browsers should my site support? How many Mac
users are using the new Safari browser?"
If you've been around site development and marketing as long
as I have, you'll probably remember having ready access to a
wealth of valuable statistics--often delivered right to your
inbox for free. Today, reliable, up-to-date web statistics
are harder to come by, especially for managers and designers
who don't have big budgets for market research reports.
It can be quite a challenge when you find yourself in need of
answers to web usage questions like the ones above, especially
when you're already busy trying to figure out how to stay on
top of the statistics from your own site.
Next time you're desperately seeking statistics, the following
information and resources should help.
Internet Usage Stats
Did you know that the Amazon sites had 45,725,000 visitors in
December 2003?
This particular piece of information might not be relevant to
you, but it's likely that many of the other statistics
available from Internet.com's CyberAtlas site are. Their
Stats Toolbox is one of the best sources for Internet usage
statistics. It provides a wide range of US and International
data on user demographics, Internet access, site traffic,
Internet advertising, affiliate programs and email usage.
Here are just a few examples of the information you'll find
on CyberAtlas:
U.S. Web Usage and Traffic on Top Sites, Dec 2003
[Editor's Note: This link is no longer available]
Worldwide Online Populations
, Sep 2003[Editor's Note: This link is no longer available]
Number of Unsolicited E-Mails in an Average Week
, Jan 2004[Editor's Note: This link is no longer available]
For all the available statistics, go to the main Stats
Toolbox page:
Another resource with a wealth of information for those in
the e-commerce world is Shop.org:
Browser, Display, OS and Connection Speed Stats and More
What minimum user requirements are new websites usually
designed to meet?
Knowing the answer to this question is important if you're
about to design a new site. It can also be beneficial if
you're working with an older site, because this information
may help you uncover ways to give an aging site a quick
facelift.
So what's the answer? There are some generally accepted
guidelines. Of course, the actual standards used for any
particular site should be based on who it's targeting. Use
your website's stats along with the resources below to gain
insight into what your standards should be:
Display Support: Monitor and Color Settings
Most sites stopped supporting the 640 x 480 monitor setting--
along with the limiting Web Safe color palette--some time ago.
Based on the latest user trends, typically sites are designed
to support monitor settings of at least 800 x 600 and 16-bit
color-depth (65,000 colors). It's also important to know that
about half the visitors on most sites will have their monitor
resolution set to 1024 x 768 or higher. For more detailed
monitor resolution and color-depth statistics, refer to the
Browser, Display, OS and Related Stats resources listed below.
Browser Support
Many web marketers are abandoning support for older browsers.
Instead, they are favoring those in widespread use or that
are web standards compliant (or at least as close to it as
the latest browsers are coming):
- PC: IE 5.x, Mozilla 1.x, Netscape 7.x and Opera 7 (and above)
- Mac: IE 5.x, Safari and Netscape 7.x (and above)
This trend is the result of the dwindling percentages of
users that have older browsers-and because web marketers are
recognizing that they can reduce development and maintenance
costs by embracing CSS and other web standards that older
browsers don't support. (Note that if your site is web
standards compliant those with older browsers will still have
access to your content but not necessarily your formatting.)
Below are several resources that provide information about
browser and other user environment trends:
Browser, Display, OS and Related Stats
- W3Schools[http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp]
- Browser News[http://www.upsdell.com/BrowserNews/stat_trends.htm]
- OneStat[http://www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressbox26.html]
- The Counter[http://www.thecounter.com/stats/]
Flash Player Statistics from Macromedia
If you find you need more information, there are firms that
can provide more specific data. Here's a list of statistics
available from one such firm:
- StatsMarket (Subscription Based)[http://statmarket.com/cgi-bin/sm.cgi?sm&serv_info&features]
Connection Speed
Sites targeting US audiences usually support either 56k and up
or DSL/cable and up, based on whether their visitors typically
use a modem or broadband connection to access the Internet.
However, some sites still find that they need to support users
with slower connections, especially if targeting audiences
outside the US.
Access Speed Trends:
Of course, setting connection speed requirements is all about
making sure your site performs well for your visitors. The
following site provides benchmark data for select industries:
Web Design Practices
What resources are available to help understand the
practices other web professionals use?
The best resources really depend on the specific information
you're after. Here're a few places (in addition to Google)
that I usually use to start my online research:
Resources
Talking to people in person or online is another great way to
keep up-to-date. Here are some of the organizations that put
on worthwhile events and host great discussion lists:
Events
Discussion Lists & Newsletters
Search Engine Related
This topic will be covered in the detail it deserves in a
later newsletter. In the meantime, here're just a few of the
many resources that are helpful to have at your fingertips:
The next set of stats might be viewed as more noteworthy than
useful depending on your needs:
- 2003 Year-End Google Search Patterns, Trends and Surprises
Market Research
Firms like those listed below can offer all the research you
require, for a fee. But, they often also provide press
releases and free sample reports containing valuable data.
If you aren't already familiar with these firms, take a few
minutes to learn about the types of information and research
they can provide:
Reading Roundup: Eolas & CAN-SPAM
You've likely read quite a bit on one or both of the below
topics. It also looks like this won't be the last you hear
about them. At least the following articles provide helpful
rundowns on what you need to know and do related to each issue:
IE and the Eolas Ruling Revisited
CAN-SPAM Reviewed
The Lighter Side of the Web
After dealing with too many stats and spam messages, you might
like this site that offers some numbers to help simplify
things for you:
Copyright © 2004 POP Interactive, Inc.
Reprint and Linking Permission Information.