Introducing Web3DSurvey
Web3DSurvey is a tool for 3D web developers that tracks and aggregates WebGL, WebGL2, and WebGPU capabilities providing valuable insights into real-world support for these features.
Ben Houston • September 1, 2024 • 2 min read
Developing for 3D web graphics means constantly guessing which WebGL and WebGPU features are safe to rely on. The device and browser combinations are wide, and the wrong assumption means a broken experience for a chunk of your users.
WebGLStats.com used to be the go-to reference for this. It went offline and nothing replaced it. A couple of years ago I built Web3DSurvey.com to fill that gap.
What is Web3DSurvey?#
Web3DSurvey is a tool for developers to track which WebGL, WebGL2, and WebGPU features are supported across real-world devices and browsers. It collects data about the capabilities and extensions your users' hardware supports, aggregates it, and lets you make informed decisions about which technologies are safe to use.
How Web3DSurvey Works#
The architecture is lightweight, but it handles a fair amount of traffic:
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Data Collection: A 3K JavaScript file you embed via an iframe collects WebGL, WebGL2, and WebGPU capability data. Data is already flowing in from several prominent 3D community websites, including Three.js, Model-Viewer, and the Khronos Group.
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Data Storage: Collected data goes into Google BigQuery for later analysis.
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Aggregation and Caching: Every 24 hours, the site aggregates the past two weeks of BigQuery data and caches the result in Google Data Store, keeping front-end load times fast.
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Website: Built with Remix, fully server-side rendered from the cached aggregated data.
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Running Costs: Hosted on Google Cloud Run, averaging 1 request per second. Total monthly cost: $5.
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Written in TypeScript: The entire project runs on Node.js.
How to Use Web3DSurvey#
Embed the provided JavaScript snippet on your 3D web app and you start contributing to the survey. In return, you get access to the aggregated stats everyone else has contributed. Head over to Web3DSurvey.com to check the current numbers or add your site.
Is the Data Representative?#
Web3DSurvey's data comes primarily from visitors to tech-focused sites like Three.js and Khronos, which means it likely overestimates support for some 3D web features compared to the general web population. That bias is worth keeping in mind, but it still beats guessing, and it reflects what your 3D-savvy users actually have.
Release Announcements#
Initial announcements: