Today, it’s difficult to find a household where the internet is not accessed at least once a day. But what’s so popular about the internet? The list below details the 10 sites we couldn’t live without, allowing you to see just what the heavier internet users are doing with their time online. This list is based on the Alexa popularity rank, which is calculated using a number of the page’s statistics.
The beauty of google.com lies in its simplicity. This search engine has dominated the market since its introduction by two PhD students in January 1996, attracting a whopping 6-7% of global pageviews every day. The speed and reliability of Google‘s fantastically efficient search facility has made it popular across the world.
February 2004 saw the launch of what would become the second most popular site on the internet. Facebook attracts around 7-8% of the daily total pageviews; an unsurprising figure given the enchanting usability and addictive features this site boasts.
YouTube
As of 2010, YouTube was allowing access to more than two billion videos per day, and today attracts around 5% of global daily pageviews. YouTube’s popularity lies in a simple interface coupled with provision of a commodity users actually want; videos. Whether you’re looking for music, instructions on a DIY skill, or even bluegrass banjo lessons, YouTube has it all.
Yahoo!
Yahoo! attracts just over 1% of daily global pageviews, leaving it fourth on the list of most popular sites. The Yahoo! domain (an acronym for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle) as it is today fired up for the first time on 18th January 1995, making it one of the older sites on the list, but the rich interface has allowed it to maintain a huge following almost 20 years after its creation.
Baidu
Around 2% of the daily global pageviews are directed towards baidu.com, through which approximately 56.6% of China’s total search traffic flows. This site was founded in 2000 as a way to access the tremendous resources of the internet in the Chinese language, and today offers a variety of search-engine based services, as well as image search and maps services.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia brands itself as ‘the free encyclopaedia’. The virtually limitless pool of user-provided content it offers attracts around 0.5% of daily global pageviews. Nupedia, the predecessor of Wikipedia, was launched on 9th March 2000, with the Wikipedia site as it is today launched on 15th January 2001.
Windows Live
Windows Live is an email and search engine service operated my Microsoft. It attracts around 0.8% of daily global traffic, with users drawn to the site due to its branding as ‘a way to extend the Windows user experience’. This site has been active since 1st November 2005, but is now being gradually phased out in favour of the integrated style of the Windows 8 platform.
Amazon.com
In 1994, Amazon began life as an online book retailer. Since then, this site has grown massively, and now provides electronics, furniture, and even groceries. The company’s versatility and the site’s slick interface has allowed Amazon.com to grab around 0.7% of daily global page views.
Tecent QQ
Tecent QQ, or QQ.com, was found in 1998, and today sequesters around 0.5% of daily global pageviews. The fresh interface provides users with a way to socialise in the Chinese language, and a platform from which users can web chat or share music and photos.
Taobao
Taobao was launched in 2003 as a Chinese parallel to eBay or Amazon, allowing users access to an e-commerce marketplace. The interface is very similar to eBay, but the provision of services within China and in the Chinese language is a major draw for users within the country. Taobao attracts approximately 0.9% of daily global pageviews.
The list above clearly demonstrates that a simple interface with a clear selling point is the key to achieving internet popularity and standing out among other companies providing similar services. In fact, there are plenty of new sites cropping up at the moment following exactly these guidelines, for instance the UK’s latest taxi booking app site is a user friendly site that’s bound to become an indispensable resource to the UK’s population. Having a site that sticks in the mind of users for its fresh look and user-friendly design is a key way to get your company noticed, and to keep your customers coming back for more.
Sources
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_websites
- http://www.alexa.com/topsites
This post is courtesy of tech blogger Jenny.
This plug-in only blocks advertisements which helps to clean up websites with ads all over them making them easier to read and scan. This one is particularly interesting because it allows you to tweak it. You can white-list sites that you want to be able to display ads. You can also use a malicious ad blocklist for additional security when browsing the web. This one can be used with 
This plug-in helps in securing the connection between the servers you are connecting to and your browser. Even when a website does not offer added security, this will help in encrypting your connection. For example, you know a server is secure when the beginning of the web address has “https” instead of just “http.” This plug-in pretty much adds the “s” even when the website does not offer this itself. This allows you to be further protected from several different hacking tools as well. This one works with Firefox.
This plug-in is a password protector. When this is turned on, your password is stored and encrypted. As an added bonus, you can use this to generate new passwords that are not easy to figure out whenever you feel the need for a new password. Every browser can use this plug-in, so you can always keep your passwords safe.
This one only does a single thing, but it is very helpful. It blocks scripts like Flash, Quicktime and JavaScript from loading in your browser. This is important because “bad” websites will sometimes use scripts to attack vectors. This can result in your browser crashing and the hacker getting into your computer. Blocking these greatly increases your web security. You can choose to only block unsafe domains or third party scripts. Some scripts have to be allowed to use most of the popular internet sites. This one only works with Firefox.
This one is very handy. It will tell you whether or not a website is safe before you click on it. It will provide a warning that is clear so that you can choose to avoid using this website. User ratings determine which sites are safe or not, making it rather useful and accurate. This one works with all browsers.
If your phone doesn’t come with a Google Chrome web browser already installed, make sure to download it as Chrome is the best browser for Android phones. The browser syncs up bookmarks and other preferences from your Google account across your desktop and any other devices you might have. Browsing is quick and easy with Chrome, providing you with helpful internet access wherever you can find Wi-Fi.
Flayvr is a photo gallery replacement app that organises all your photos and videos for you. The app sorts them based on time, and you can create and manage a variety of albums which feature both photos and videos in the same stream. You can also share your albums with others, allowing friends and family to enjoy some of your favourite memories.
An alternative to the Twitter app, Plume allows you to stay up to date with tweets and supports multiple accounts simultaneously. The app can also sync with your Facebook account giving you the ability to monitor multiple social media feeds at once!
1Weather is one of the highest rated weather apps available for android and features a simple interface that provides real-time local weather forecasts wherever you are in the world. Users are provided with hourly forecasts and precipitation information, and the app will always specify your location you in order to give up to date weather information when you’re out and about.
This is a great app for people who have a lot of friends living abroad as it lets you call, text and picture message anyone in the world for free using Wi-Fi or your phone’s data connection. Viber gives you the ability to have conversations with up to 40 people at once and even supports HD sound quality, meaning wherever your friends are in the world you will able to hear them loud and clear.