Talk:Web browser#Browser start page

It's not clear to me from the article what the differences are between a web browser and a search engine. Would it be possible / relevant to include some information about this for dummies like me? JezGrove (talk) 18:55, 19 January 2018 (UTC)

:Don't feel so bad, I've had to explain the difference a number of times over the years. I rewrote the article lead with an explanation and 2 refs, including a video showing that many other people share your confusion. Hopefully this will help clarify it. -Pmffl (talk) 03:11, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

::What do you think about moving this to the function section? I feel it would make more sense there instead of being in the introduction, where it feels a bit off-topic. MoonlitSpectre (talk) 20:05, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

::Edit/update: I Was Bold and moved this text to the function section. Please let me know if anyone disagrees, I'm happy to discuss further. MoonlitSpectre (talk) 22:03, 23 March 2025 (UTC)

:::It's an appropriate change to move that info to Function. -Pmffl (talk) 04:49, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

::::Great, I'm glad you agree. All the best! MoonlitSpectre (talk) 01:03, 12 April 2025 (UTC)

Browser start page is a feature of a web browser, not of a web site; in fact, a start page doesn't even need to be a web page. Hence, the section at Browser start page ought to be moved into Web browser. fgnievinski (talk) 03:41, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

:Disagree. "Home page" is a synonym of "start page" for this item, as supported by the 2 refs in that section. It belongs there. -Pmffl (talk) 23:51, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

Myself and @MoonlitSpectre are hoping to sharpen this article over the next week or so as part of a school assignment. We have outlined our planned edits below and would love to discuss how this article could be improved! Our plan is to more comprehensively define the modern web browser and its position in context with other existing articles.

Introduction

• Rework the order of information to focus on the web browser as a ubiquitous user interface for navigating websites on the Internet
• Move search engine misconception to Function section

Function

• Make more explicit reference to the browser engine as one important technology powering the web browser
• Expand on modern web browsers' multimedia support and the kinds of web page elements the browser will typically render
• Elaborate on ubiquity of dynamic web pages with functionality enabled by [https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cp-javascript Javascript] that is mentioned in the last paragraph of the History section
• Keep mention of cookies, but otherwise move Privacy subsection to Security section

Features

• Discuss DRM licenses [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-drm for web browsers]
• Download managers built into web browsers
• Mention responsive web design in discussion of mobile browsers
• (In most browsers, the search bar is merged with the address bar.) -> this excerpt makes me wonder if there's more to say about why/when that is somehow?
• Add summary comparison of web browsers subsection that links to main article

Browser market

• Discuss [https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet browser usage across devices]

Security

• Discuss ads and use of ad-blocking browser extensions

Stringwinding (talk) 23:54, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

Hi @Pek, I believe having such specific numbers for the market share (at least in the introduction) is not helpful, especially given how much they change. I propose we go back to rounding to the nearest percent, and get rid of the ranges. The point is not to be hyper-specific, especially given how much it changes. The browser market share article can be visited if people want to get this specific. And comparing multiple sources isn't that helpful in my opinion. StatCounter appears to be the one that is usually used, e.g. on the market share article. But I figured I'd run this by you before I make the change. MoonlitSpectre (talk) 15:11, 22 March 2025 (UTC)

:Hey @MoonlitSpectre. Rounding sounds good. --Pek (talk) 15:46, 22 March 2025 (UTC)

::Perfect, thank you! Looks great. MoonlitSpectre (talk) 21:59, 23 March 2025 (UTC)

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