Chrome - Google's New 'Next Gen' Browser
Back from my summer vacation (translation: working overtime to wrap up VancouverCondos.com), and the internets all a twitter about Google®’s new browser ‘Chrome’.
What is it? Chrome is Google’s new web browser, which takes a very different approach to how it displays web pages. They placed major emphasis on keeping it’s design very simple, and for making each page you view a separate process. It’s much faster as a result, and it offers singnificantly greater stability. Simply put, it’s a web developers wet dream.
Why should you care? Anytime Google jumps into a new market, that market gets interesting. In my opinion one of the major changes which will affect Search Engine Optimization is the de-emphasis of the page title. Chrome doesn’t have a title bar, and hide the title in a small tab. At first I thought that sucked – the phone number in your title is now hidden. As title’s have been ‘over-utilized’ by some marketing companies (you know, the web sites with 30 keywords in the title), Google has stayed true to its desired to value pages based on relevant copy. The page title has effectively been reduced to a tab title – 17 characters of information.
What else is cool about it? As a developer, designer and marketer – Chrome offers a wide range of coolness that will escape the average user. Remember that this version of Chrome is a beta, meaning it’s been released to find out how ‘we’ can screw it up. As a designer – a Chrome oriented website is more stable, and has more ‘real estate’ for the viewer to see. As a developer it’s incredibly stable, and makes a RealtyFolio® web sites sing. Our DeveloperFolio® projects (vancouvercondos.com) actually runs 65% faster.
As a marketer, it re-emphasizes the necessity of <alt> title linking, relevant content and the need to rethink what you write about on a web site.
Should I download it now? Sure. It’s stable enough to allow you the opportunity to explore and enjoy all of it’s features.
Wait, is there something wrong with it? Plenty. As a beta, it has it’s share of problems. At the core of Chrome is a very stable Java machine (essentially it’s own brain) called V8. Having it’s own ‘operating system’ gives the platform the ability to host applications in a stable, secure environment. The problem is older Java apps don’t work (yet) in Chrome. As an example old text editors, image galleries and custom written javascripts don’t always work. Simply put, if you’re expecting a fully-working browser – prepare to have a few problems.
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On a personal note, Chrome just adds another dimension to my day as a developer. I develop for FireFox as FF has a wide array of tools to help me debug, or to learn about how a site operates. Web Developer is my current personal favourite. I test in IE6 & 7, and always do a final check in Safari (from Apple). I now have to add another environment to test in (*grumble, grumble, explative*).
Other than adding work to my day, do I like it? Heck yes! Stablity, CSS compliance, and oh-so-very-fast.
Chrome will become IMO a significant force in the browser wars over the course of the next year. It’s certainly something to watch very closely.
Filed under: All Things Google®, Simple SEO Techniques, Tools of the Trade | Tagged: Chrome, DeveloperFolio, RealtyFolio
