Bits and Pixels

Hasta La Vista IE6?

From the time Internet Explorer 7 was released in late 2006, Web designers who understand design have been mulling over the possibility of dropping support for the thorn in every designer’s flesh—Internet Explorer 6. It’s been two long years since Vista started shipping with IE7 as the default browser, which means all new Windows based computers come with IE7. Looks like it’s the right time to drop support for IE6, but should we?

Let’s face it, IE6 has more bugs than a colony of termite mounds. Any designer worth his/her salt will be glad to drop support for IE6, but, at the time of writing, IE6 still has between 25% and 32% of the browser share. Quite a large number. There are two schools of thought cropping up. One group says dropping support for IE6 will make people switch to better browsers or atleast IE7. The other group says that IE6 isn’t dead yet. Before blindly jumping to conclusions, let us weigh the pros and cons.

Why does IE6 still have a large market share? Most IE6 users have no other option. Many large corporations still use IE6. I put this down to laziness, ignorance and company policy. The university where I teach part time still has a very large number of computers using IE6. Several home users aren’t tech savvy enough to know how to update their browsers and use whatever came bundled with their computers several years back.

Does this mean we continue writing hacks to support IE6? No. It is a good point that most people will be forced to update their browser if a site they visit regularly drops support for IE6. As designers, we have some control over when IE6 finally goes off the browser scene.

So, what is the solution? I personally think it’s somewhere in between. Support IE6 when required. This is when initial planning and research becomes essential. Some sites will have a user base where a large number of people are in companies that still haven’t upgraded their browsers, or people who don’t have the skill or drive to upgrade. In such cases, IE6 support is a must. Sounds easier said than done, but it’s the best way for now.

For example, a design that I’m working on right now is for a large printing company. After doing some research I’ve realised that a large number of their clients are small companies that still use computers that are 3-4 years old. They won’t upgrade for a while because they don’t need to. Unfortunately, I must and will keep support for IE6 for that site. If I don’t, my client will probably lose many customers who will be more than happy to use a site that works on their browser. This blog on the other hand, will probably look ridiculous on IE6, but I don’t care. I know my users are tech savvy enough to have atleast IE7 if not something better. If someone with IE6 wants to see my site and upgrades, I’ve done my part in making IE6 fade away.

• css, design, development, ie, web
• What do you think?