Should we still support IE6 as developers?
So, here we go with with a debate that has lasted almost 4 years... Should we still support IE6
There's no Quick, Defenate answer, sadly. However, Microsoft has a policy that supports all software for 10 years. Which means their support for this end this year. And I'm willing to bet that when they give the word. There will be rejoicing all over the world by web developers And as some samples that IE6 has fallen off the rack is found everywhere. for example look at this
As you can see IE6 users has been decreasing over the years and we at rikoshay have a simple but effiecent policy. We will support all major browsers untill it falls bellow the 5% point. Even Microsoft will stop supporting this Ancient browser this year.
How to handle IE6 visits
Alright so many developers would like to stop supporting IE6 but how does one handle a visit to a website from IE6 if you do not support it? I have a straight forward answer to this. If you do nothing, then you cannot call yourself a developer worth contacting. And no this is not ment insulting, however as a developer myself, I know that we have to think of everything that noone else would like to be confronted with. I bet you know what this feels like. So, How do we handle this? Lets dive straight into it.
Javascript is a handy clientside sollution:
Javascript Code Blockfunction IsIE6()
{
var ObjectDetect = document.all && !window.opera && !window.XMLHttpRequest
&& (typeof document.addEventListener != "function")
&& (typeof document.body.style.maxHeight == "undef...ined");
var AgentDetect = (navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("msie 6") != -1)
&& (navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("msie 7") == -1)
return ObjectDetect && AgentDetect;
}
This function will determine if it is IE6, Alright lets move on to notifying the user
If you are using JQuery, a Dialog would do just perfectly as this works in internet explorer 6, Or if you are using your own dialog/warning system, then that should work aswell.
For the message displayed I use something simple such as:
Easy. Simple. Efficient.
Yes, there are Exceptions
Yep, you might have guessed it, as with everything in life there are exceptions. Study shows that around 95% of IE6 users are either under the age of 12 (Too young to care about updates) or above the age of 60 (Generaly not tech-savvy). So depending on which type of website your making and whether its aimed at certain age groups you might still have to support IE6. It's true sadly, lets say for example you have a webshop which sells clothes which does not support IE6, If you get 100 visitors per day and a few of them include IE6 visits it would simply mean you are denying your client sales. So, as the saying goes - It's the exception that proves the rule!
(Thanks to Silktide for pointing this out)
