: So now Google has said no to old browsers when can the rest of us follow suit? Google recently announced that they will no longer support older browsers on Aug 1st: For this reason, soon

@Goswami781

In an ideal world, I would drop the support of Internet Explorer altogether. Clearly Microsoft is trying to leverage their user base to force developers to aim at Windows/IE compatibility at the expense of other, multi-platform, browsers/OSes.

If all the users would start to drop IE for other, more modern and secure browsers, then surely Microsoft would start to change their attitude. Simply put a static splash page where you invite your user to download a more modern/secure browser.

Otherwise if you are within an enterprise environment where you can't easily install new software and budget is abundant, think about implementing a rendering server which would translate world standard web to the IE dialect (it's easier than what you would think).

The bad news is that we're not in an idealistic world, so you need to support IE. But the good news is that IE (no matter what version) is INDEED bleeding users.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Nimeshi995

The decision largely depends on your client base. My company makes websites, and our framework which has been in development for nearly 5 years has very good support for IE6. However, approximately 1 year ago we stopped supporting IE6 for new projects. That's not to say we broke IE6 support, but rather we no longer specially test that browser. Only 1 client ever complained, and the complaint was "our IT department will not let us upgrade, so therefore our website cannot be used properly in-house." We fixed the issues for that client and they were very happy having a website they could actually use.

We now only support IE6 (read: "old browsers") if the client really needs it, but we first explain why upgrading is better (many people still don't know!) and look for reasons they should upgrade (your website cannot have feature X if you require us to support browser Y). Our official policy is to support major browsers at current versions, previous versions, previous previous versions upon request, and deny everything else that makes the job unreasonable.

Now that Google is joining in, the argument just got a lot easier. It is still your choice about when to drop support for older browsers, but I would suggest you use Google's position to your advantage.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Vandalay111

My perspective as a user who up until recently was forced to use ie6 at work (firefox has since been installed as an "optional" extra - ie6 is still the default)

"even if google chrome frame can be installed without admin privileges"

I wouldn't rely on this. When this is released I'd expect most large corporations using ie6 will somehow find a way to block this from happening, either by blocking the website or locking down the browser even further.

We are stuck with ie6 for the forseeable future, the cost of upgrading involves upgrading a number of business critical apps, with budgets being slashed there is little appetite to fix something which isn't perceived to be broken.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Vandalay111

If your site/webapp considers the Asian market as one of it's primary targets, then you definitely must consider continuing IE 6 support for the forseeable future.

According to www.theie6countdown.com/default.aspx, China is still sitting at ~33% IE6 usage, South Korea at ~22%, etc.
asia.cnet.com/blogs/microsoft-implores-china-please-stop-using-internet-explorer-6-62207426.htm

The decade-old Web browser Internet Explorer 6 (not very affectionately
known as IE6) is still used by a staggering 34.5% of Chinese PC users

Vote Up Vote Down

@Voss4911412

I agree that your decision obviously should reflect the business realities and audience of your particular website.

That said, large companies officially dropping support for IE6 is still significant. It raises the general perception that it is finally OK to leave a 10 year old browser behind. It also adds ammunition to any case you wish to make to the powers that be that it no longer makes sense to support ancient, creaky old browsers on your websites:


June 2011: Gmail / Google Apps drops support for IE6
June 2011: WordPress drops support for IE6
August 2010: Facebook drops support for IE6, largely because of chat
August 2009: Digg begins dropping IE6
June 2009: YouTube drops support for IE6
June 2008: Apple's MobileMe drops support for IE6


On Stack Exchange we've had a remarkably similar policy to what Google just announced in place for a while: we support the currently released browser version, the version before that, and usually the previous-previous version. (So for IE, this means we support IE9, IE8, and IE7). Beyond that you are on your own.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Nickens628

I am a product manager about to spend 40 MD supporting IE6 for a single customer. We sell software into call centers, an unfortunately IE6 is the default platform for many big organizations.

My point is it depends, if I was building consumer web software I would have been off IE6 a long time ago, but as long as we have clients using IE6 we have to support it. Same argument would apply for any browser or environment.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Bryan171

Depends entirely on your site and what it does.

A site where you play games or have fun can demand a lot more from its users, just like a game on a computer can demand cutting edge hardware.

A bank can't be as scrutinizing, as it's vital their customers can access the service.

A site made for people with disabilities can't be as scrutinizing either, because people with disabilities may require specialized software which may not be compatible with newer browsers for a long time.

Etc.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Murphy175

If ( your site does not make money ){
do what makes you happy
}
else if ( the cost of supporting IE6 > the money you make from IE6 users ) {
stop supporting IE6
}
else {
keep making money from IE6 users
}

Vote Up Vote Down

@Samaraweera270

I think this has to be dictated by metrics. If a significant number / percentage of visitors is using older browsers, you should support your visitors. What is "significant" depends on the client. ;-)

Vote Up Vote Down