There’s some noise about Internet Explorer 6 right now, originating from the fact that the browser turned 7 (!) on August 27th, 2008. That’s some lifespan, and something to mock if you’re running a site called IE Death March. The list of stuff that came out after IE6 is hilarious, older than the first iPod indeed, do you remember when that one came out?
IE6 is evil, developing for it is evil, and it sucks.
Most designers agree: IE6 is evil, developing for it is evil, and it sucks. I’d reckon most IE6 users would agree too, problem is, they’re stuck with it for some reason. It could be the fact that they don’t know how to upgrade, but more likely it is an OS issue.
And that’s why I think decision to pull support for IE6 is silly. Sure, you could follow Adii’s suit and charge extra if your client wants IE6 support, but to me it sounds like you should up your prices a bit in the first place.
Let me put it this way. If you’re not support IE6, then you’re telling Windows 2000 users to piss off, along with a considerable chunk of the surfers. IE6 isn’t a 5% share browser, like Safari, it’s got 25% of the market! That’s right, 1/4 of the people surfing the web are using Internet Explorer 6, a web browser more than 7 years old.
Safari’s got 5%, and Opera even less. I’m not hearing anyone bitching about not supporting these browsers. Sure, they might be easier to develop for, but does that really matter? Isn’t that just developers being lazy?
Stats from here, almost similar numbers here. I’m sure there are other ways to measure them, and some target audiences will render completely different ones.
IE6 isn’t a 5% share browser, like Safari, it’s got 25% of the market!
Do I think IE6 should be retired? Of course, it is a bad browser, for both user and developer. However, I make websites, and both me and my clients prefer if people can use them.
When Internet Explorer 6 is truly dead, I’ll stop supporting it. Until then, I’ll clench my teeth and make sure that the sites I do work for the 25% stuck with IE6. That’s my problem, not theirs. They have it hard enough at it is, being stuck with such a crappy browser in the first place.
More reading: Wisdump, Elliot Jay Stocks, Webmaster-Source
So what do you think? Should designers stop supporting IE6, and forget about the 25% statistics? Share your view in the comments.