BinaryWolf

WebSideStory: Firefox Gains Beginning to Slow

WebSideStory: Firefox Gains Beginning to Slow

Feb. 28, 2005 ? The growth rate of Firefox?s usage share on the web has slowed slightly in recent months, according to the latest U.S. data from WebSideStory (Nasdaq: WSSI), a leading provider of on-demand web analytics. Firefox grew 0.74 percentage points in the last five weeks and 0.89 percentage points in the previous six weeks before that. This compares to a jump of 1.03 percentage points between Nov. 5 and Dec. 3, which coincides with the release of Firefox Version 1.0 on Nov. 9.

Analysis by WebSideStory CEO Jeff Lunsford:

According to a recent report by the Mozilla Foundation, there have been 25 million downloads of the Firefox browser in the last 100 days. The download numbers continue to impress us and, it seems, the media. We track usage rather than downloads, however, and are seeing that the growth in Firefox?s usage has slowed slightly since its big surge in November. This is probably to be expected as we move beyond the early adopter segment. Growing concern over potential security holes in the browser might be another factor to consider. Back in December 2004, it seemed Firefox was a lock to reach 10 percent by mid-2005, ahead of the reported year end goal of the Mozilla Foundation. Given the latest growth rates, the year end target still appears attainable, but a mid-year achievement is unlikely unless we see increased marketing activity from the Mozilla Foundation.

Note: The difference between browser downloads and browser usage share is important. ?Downloads? is the number of times the browser has been downloaded from the web. Usage reflects the number of people who a) downloaded Firefox, b) installed it and c) are using it to view the web sites we track. Usage statistics are what matter to businesses and web designers working to improve their online operation.