It may shock you to learn that a web browser that was developed eight years ago is still the third most-popular browser used today. Behind Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox, Internet Explorer 6 is still in regular usage. However, this third-place browser is causing some first-rate problems for web developers and casual internet surfers alike.
Although the World Wide Consortium has developed a set of “standards” that all browsers must comply with in order to properly display a website, each browser varies in its support of these standards, resulting in a variation of what functionality is and is not supported by a particular browser. Although most modern-day browsers, such as Internet Explorer 8, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome offer similar support of standards, Internet Explorer 6 lacks much of the support that we have come to expect from its successors. This is understandable, considering the browser’s age, but this lack of support has lead to many time-and-money consuming issues within the web development community.
IE6 Issues
One of the main goals of any web developer is to maintain website compatibility across all mainstream browsers in order to ensure that site visitors have the most consistent and enjoyable user experience possible. However, since IE6 does not support many current standards, web developers often find themselves devoting special attention to making websites work within the outdated browser. This process includes implementing “hacks,” or browser-specific workarounds, to allow the website to function as it would in a modern browser. Devoting special attention to IE6 cuts into production time, and often costs the developer, or the organization where the developer is employed, money.
The lack of support for standards also slows the progress and natural evolution of the web. For example, two new standards for HTML and CSS (HTML5 and CSS3) are under development and are already being adopted by most modern browsers. HTML5 and CSS3 will simplify the development process, and will present users with more advanced and visually-pleasing websites. But since IE6 cannot support these standards, web developers are left with the choice of whether to use the latest technology and disregard a portion of their audience, or to spend the time developing for IE6 users, allowing them to access the site but forgoing the opportunity create a more advanced, more user-friendly site.
But even with the issues that IE6 has caused, support for the browser continues.
IE6 Support
The majority of IE6 users are, surprisingly, members of IT departments in larger organizations and universities. Many systems and applications used by these organizations are only compatible with IE6, and most employees are not permitted to download modern browsers without administrative access. Companies fear that the cost of upgrading the systems to work with new browsers are too expensive, especially in this time of economic recession.
A smaller percentage of IE6 faithful are non-tech-savvy browsers who mainly user their computer for basic functions, such as checking email and browsing websites. These users typically do not have a reason to spend the time upgrading their browsers, and may even be skeptical of downloading a new browser onto their computer.
Microsoft has announced that they will continue to support IE6 as long as Windows XP is supported (since the browser was bundled with XP). Therefore, support will officially be continued until 2014. In other words, anyone who currently uses IE6 at home, work, or school can continue to do so until 2014.
Suggested Remedies
Google has been at the forefront of eliminating IE6 once and for all. Recently, Google announced a plugin entitled “Google Frame,” which inserts Chrome’s (Google’s web browser) functionality and support for web standards into the Internet Explorer interface. The idea behind Frame is that by downloading the plugin, users can browse inside the Internet Explorer interface they are accustomed to, but will experience greater compatibility across the web and will be browsing with a faster browser in the process.
In addition to Frame, other web initiatives have been developed, such as IE6 No More and Save the Developers, to eliminate IE6 from the web. These sites promote upgrading IE6 to newer browsers by sharing information on IE6′s flaws, and some (such as IE6 No More) go as far as to provide code snippets for developers to insert into their websites. This code displays a banner across the top of the page to users of IE6, asking them to please upgrade their browser, and provides links to where new browsers can be downloaded.
Although these efforts are a great first step to phasing out the browser, there are criticisms as to why these methods likely will not work. The Frame method does not immediately solve the problem for web developers, since most IE6 users will likely not want or are not permitted to download a plugin, meaning IE6 will still need to be supported. Also, users will most likely not want to download a new browser when prompted, and may not visit a website in the future if their browser is not supported.
Recommendations
Even though it is unlikely that IE6 will be phased out soon, the initiatives presented by Google and website groups are a solid beginning to making users aware of the problem with their outdated browsers. But at this point in time, the decision whether or not to continue to support for IE6 is left to both the developers and the users of the browser. Web developers have the option to continue to spend time to build workarounds into their websites that ensure compatibility, or they can build only for the most recent browsers, potentially excluding a portion of their audience. In return, the user has the choice to continue to use IE6 and potentially experience problems viewing and operating their favorite websites, or they can upgrade to a new browser and continue to enjoy browsing with a slightly different interface.
For the developer, the choice of whether not to offer IE6 support should take the audience into consideration. Websites that attract younger, more tech-oriented visitors can likely skip on IE6 support, since these visitors will most likely keep their browsers up to date . However, websites that attract an older audience might want to take IE6 support into consideration, as these audiences are not as concerned with having the latest and greatest technology. When all is said and done, the website’s audience is of greatest importance and everything on the website must keep the audience in mind, even if it means devoting some extra time to make the website enjoyable for all.
Melissa likes the Web and building things that live there. We ask her to do something, she disappears for a while, comes up with an intelligent design, then builds a Web site around that design that will not only do her bidding, but will do the bidding of their new owners. Over the past few years she has worked on (often single-handedly) the design, production and launch of 100s of websites. She usually does this quietly, efficiently, and with a smirk that makes everyone else wonder what she's up to. And, if you ask her nicely, she might also agree to design a tattoo for you, although that will have to wait until after work.