COVID-19 has made us all realize that putting your business online is a must to survive, let alone thrive. We have all been witnessing an unprecedented surge of online activities for the past seven months. For example, the US has experienced 10 years of e-commerce growth in just 90 days, according to McKinsey. As of July 2020, 59% of the global population are active Internet users.
At Boxmode, we have decided to look into the trends behind the need to launch websites worldwide, which has turned into a full-fledged study based on our internal data. Long story short, our key findings are mostly in line with the global online usage trends (click here and here).
The report focuses on the US, UK, Canada, and Israel, but covers over 190 countries, including India, South Africa, and UAE. It spans 10 months, from January to September, 2020.
Key findings:
- Globally, male users (68.2%) are twice as likely to look for a means to create a website than female users (31.8%).
- Israel has the highest level of gender equality — male users (50.12%) versus female users (49.88%) — if compared to the US, UK, and Canada.
- Male users prevail across all age groups.
- People aged 18-24 are the most active users of website builders, accounting for 39.4% of all the users. Meanwhile, according to Statista, 18-24 years is the age group with the third-highest number of online users globally.
- People aged 65+ are the least active users of website builders, accounting for 3.5% of all users.
- Google Chrome is by far the most used browser, accounting for 78.7%.
- Desktop accounts for 81.4% of all devices used for creating a website.
- Apple iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand used by users willing to create a website.
Key findings by country
The United States
- California is the number one state by the number of people interested in creating a website. It is followed by Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.
- Male users prevail across all top 10 US states with the highest number of people interested in creating a website.
- California, Texas, and New York are home to the highest number of the youngest website builder users, aged 18-24.
- California, Texas, and New York are home to the highest number of senior website builder users, aged 65+.
Hypothesis 1: The gender ratio of users might be related to the fact that there are more male (59%) than female (40%) freelancers in the US.
Hypothesis 2: the fact that California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois are the top 5 US states by the number of users willing to create a website may be linked to the fact that these five states are top states for new creators in the new creative economy in the US.
The United Kingdom
- England is home to the highest number of people interested in creating a website, accounting for 88.79% of all UK users.
- Male users prevail across all the regions.
Canada
- Ontario has the highest number of people interested in creating a website, accounting for 45.26% of all Canadian users.
- Male users prevail across all the top regions.
- There are no female users from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Israel
- Tel Aviv District is home to the highest number of people interested in creating a website, accounting for 68.7% of all Israeli users.
- Tel Aviv District is the only district where female users prevail.
