Should I use Chrome or Firefox ? Chrome vs Firefox

Criteria for browser comparison

Apart from all the features that you can find information on all over the net there are a few key differences that mostly depend on who would be using the browser. Let us try to compare Chrome vs Firefox or answer the question, should I use Chrome or Firefox browser from the perspective of the user.
Browser users can be divided into 3 types – Basic, Intermediate and advanced.

Basic users use Chrome

Basic browser users are those who are happy with basic functionality that comes bundled with any browser. All they really care about is browsing. If you are one of those then I would recommend Chrome for following reasons:

Chrome vs Firefox browser speed and response times

This is an easy choice. Chrome starts up quite quickly when compared to Firefox. Chrome has excellent response times, which means you do not have to wait for the browser to stop, load or restart. Chrome is generally good enough for basic users who are not techie but need something that works well all or most the time.

Intermediate users can use Chrome or Firefox

Intermediate users are those who like to customize their browsers with themes or plugins. These users could actually pick Chrome or Firefox depending on what customization they want and where its available. Lets look at various browser customizations available.

Firefox vs Chrome themes

Firefox has thousands of themes available. If you want a choice theme then you should use Firefox. You can find themes here.

Firefox vs Chrome title bar

If you compare Chrome and Firefox header or menu section you can notice that Chrome does not have a dedicated title bar. Chrome shows titles only in the individual tabs. Therefore if you want more reading space by default then go for Chrome as it does not have a top title panel like Firefox.

Advanced users should use Firefox

These users rely heavily on tools and techniques to meet their complex goals. This group mostly consists of web developers, SEO etc. This group likes to extend the basic functionality offered by the browsers. This extensibility is achieved via third part plugins.

Firefox vs Chrome extensibility

I belong to this group and have found plenty of “working” and aesthetically appealing plugins that greatly enhance the experience and reduce the overall web development time. Off course if you belong to this group you might already have all the browsers installed to test your project but when it comes to bug fixing, testing etc Firefox wins hands down. Therefore for users that would want maximum extensibility I would recommend Firefox.
You can find all the available plugins here.

Summary

If we look at the growth of browsers the chrome has gained a lot of market share recently. In future chrome might be better option for all users. But until all its bugs have been fixed and users have wider collection of plug-ins Firefox would be preferred.