: Why don't people upgrade their browsers? Any web designer/developer will know that we have to make our code backwards-compatible with a number of (much) older browsers, just to cater for those

@Cooney921

A majority of computer savvy people still don't have any idea about upgrading the browser. They are afraid of the installation screens and a terrified they might crash the system.

Others stick to the old saying 'OLD IS GOLD'.

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@Ann8826881

As mentioned in Nick's answer, the average internet user doesn't even know what a browser is.

Let's focus on users who actually have the ability to update their browser. Corporate ie6 users simply can't. And we already know that Windows XP users will be stuck on IE8 until they decide to buy a new computer or go through the painstaking process of upgraded their OS.


Google Chrome users don't even have to think about it. It happens in the background without them even knowing.
Firefox users are usually a little bit more savy but many probably installed Firefox on the advice of a friend who is "in the know". These users might notice an update message but most likely dismiss it because they are not sure about it.
Microsoft should take some of the blame for IE users not updating. When IE 8 was released it was not part of the regular "important update" packages users are accustomed to. When it was added it was not marked as "an important update" until much later.

IE 9 is just now starting to be marked as a "recommended update" and users are not notified or educated that they should update.


Bottom Line:

The average user is just not aware and if they are they don't really care.

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@Angela700

I have one older computer (a P4) on which I cannot upgrade anymore, but at least I have a newer version of FireFox (never use IE6 for browsing more than getting FF!)

One other phenomenon not mentioned: hackers use older hacking software that tell you they use Win98 with IE6 (for example.) Although you can ignore those hits, it's not always easy to know whether that's a hacker's bot or a real person...

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@Hamaas447

FEAR. That just repeats what others have said, but I think we need
that specific word.

I rarely have an upgrade (of anything: browsers, programs, operating
systems) go completely smoothly. It breaks things that used to work,
and does things you don't want it to do. And, of course, it takes time
to upgrade.

I recently upgraded to Firefox 5 (after delaying it as long as
possible). Just as I got it figured out and working the way I wanted,
they came out with Firefox 6. So, I'm now trying to make Firefox 6 do
what I want.

Ultimately, I hate being on the "constant upgrade" cycle. With the
exception of the "Host:" directive (allowing multiples sites on one
IP), I think pretty much every upgrade has been pointless: writing
interactive computer programs in browsers is just wrong.

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@Bryan171

Having worked for a company that served government and public sectors, there is a huge number of folks who have computers locked down to the point that they can't even get out of kiosk mode.

You'd be surprised how long it takes for a software upgrade to get through all the layers of governmental red-tape to get approval for use. (Or maybe you wouldn't be surprised.)

Either way, I'd suggest that your target audience aren't likely the ones using a locked down IE6-based browsers on XP. They probably are the ones with the cutting-edge versions of standards-compliant browsers, so just keep designing for the best browsers.

Unfortunately, there is usually a single reason (money) why some people have to design for those outdated browsers.

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@Eichhorn148

Well, I don't know if I count as a "people", but I've upgraded my IE6 to IE8 multiple times, and


a) the Help/About says it's IE8, and
b) whenever I go to a site that needs IE8 it says it can't display because I need to upgrade my browser to IE8.


So needless to say, it reinforces my jaundiced view of upgrades in general.

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@YK1175434

I think the main reason is that most computer users don't have a clue how to fix their system if it breaks. They've had that experience where installing a new application or performing an update has caused their system to become unusable. Thus, they would prefer not to change anything, as long as it is currently working. Personally, I can't blame them. I've spent countless hours helping friends and family get their systems running again after something caused it to break that shouldn't have. You have to remember that the overwhelming majority of computer users only use it for email, facebook and web browsing. If what they have works, then they have no desire to change anything.

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@Bethany197

My favorite is that [any site] only works in IE6 ... that might have been the case when IE6 was new but most of the time I assume these people are afraid of change so they hold tight to what they are used to regardless of how much rich cont

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@Karen161

I've not seen this answer, so what about piracy?

I'd guess that a lot of people use IE6 or older versions of IE because they have pirated systems and they can't do software updates on them.

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@Mendez628

There are actually a number of reasons. Most of them are related to corporations and I think looking at the difference in visitor browsers for corp websites vs personal sites (e.g. amazon.com, zappos.com, etc)


Large and Medium size Corporations use software that requires a specific browser, usually IE6. Because of this, they create a software constraint on all of their systems and do not allow others to upgrade.
Large and Medium size Corps refuse to upgrade a browser until they have fully tested the browser with all software that is required in their company. For huge companies it can takes years to get approval for a new browser. This also has a side effect in that browsers than constantly update, like Chrome will never be chosen as the defacto browser for these companies. Firefox is also now choosing to go down this path which means they will most likely be shunned by many large companies
Some people and corps use horribly old computers. For instance, what is the newest browser that runs on Windows NT and Windows 2000? Not many people continue to use those OS's but they are still out there in the wild. For instance, the company I work for has over 25 PCs still running Windows 2000.
Some poorer regions and countries are behind the technology curve and their citizens still get online. For instance, according to gs.statcounter.com Asia has an IE6 usage rate of almost 8% which is double the global average. Africa's is around 6%.
Another piece that ties into #4 is what Nikko suggested as another culprit, Piracy. I have heard that China's high IE6 usage numbers comes from many people in the country purchasing cracked versions of Windows. Microsoft has done a good job making it tougher to do this with their new OS versions but older versions are obviously still out there for sale. The large drop in usage may just be a sign that all of the new useful features are finally catching on and nudging people to spend the money.


With all of this in mind I think it is changing. IE6 is almost dead at under 4% usage globally (gs.statcounter) and a much lower usage rate in English speaking countries (I bring that up only because many of us build websites only in English). Of note is that with the introduction of HTML5, all browser developers are pushing out a number of new versions to push people into using HTML5 capable browser or not be supported.

Also, one interesting side note is that with the focus of Google and Mozilla on quickly and continuously upgrading browser versions, Microsoft has been given a marketing segment they are already taking advantage of, selling to people and corps who don't want to or can't change quickly. The GE's of the world don't want to test a new browser every 3 months so they will most likely drop Firefox support and move back to IE where they know a new version will only come out every 2-3 years and they will only be forced to upgrade every 2-3 versions.

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@Harper822

Common reasons people avoid browser upgrades:


They can't, either because doing so requires admin access (e.g. university networks), or because their hardware and operating system prevents it (or both).
They don't know how. Firefox is famous for prompting people to upgrade. Chrome does it in the background. Safari does it through system updates. But earlier versions of IE don't educate users how to upgrade like modern browsers do.
They've no reason to. I know a head of marketing who uses IE6 because he feels no compulsion to upgrade to a modern browser.
They don't know what a browser is. As Google has shown [YouTube], a great deal of people don't know what a browser is.


As web developers, the best thing we can do is to accept that people have a wide range of reasons for avoiding browser upgrades, and that these reasons are often perfectly valid ones, even when it's frustrating to us as Web professionals.

It's our job to make content accessible to all by building sites that use concepts such as progressive enhancement. It's worth supporting older browsers for as long as it makes financial sense to, even if it makes our jobs a little harder.

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