Internet Explorer 6: Upgrade Today Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
It’s no secret that among web designers, web geeks, and web enthusiasts of all kinds, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has had a laundry list of problems right from day one…and it’s definitely no better now. The truth is plain and simple. It’s time for everyone to give up on IE6 and quit supporting it, once and for all.
Why?
First of all, the game has changed a whole lot over what has nearly been a decade since IE6 has been in existence. For a good part of the browser’s early life, it simply had no competition…no one else to keep it in check or to ensure that web browsing was being done in the best, most competitive way possible. Of course, now, we have probably about a dozen or so good web browsers to choose from (all free to use). There’s simply no longer an excuse to use such a dated web browser any more.
Facebook, Digg, Google, YouTube, and many other brand name players in the business are throwing in the towel with IE6. Enough is enough when trying to support and build your web platforms to work with an internet browser that seems to have a mind of its own and is loaded with bugs and security flaws just the same.
Supporting IE6 is a lot like having to develop and architect every website and web-based software system twice—once for the majority of mainstream standards-compliant web browsers, and then all over again for Internet Explorer 6. It’s difficult to make modern code work correctly with the black sheep browser, and to be completely honest, it’s just not worth the time, hassle, or money when there are much more recent and cross-compatible browsers in mainstream use these days.
Security is another reason altogether to get rid of IE6 right away. Hackers have long known about exploits that utilize IE6 to seize control of a user’s computer system. These issues have never really been addressed or patched to a successful resolution. IE6 is and remains a significant threat to security.
Unfortunately, there are still a good number of IE6 users out there. It’s estimated that up to 20% still use the ancient browser as their primary means of using the web. If this happens to be you—it’s time to move on. With a modern browser, your web experience will be much quicker, safer, and much closer to how the website designers and developers actually intended it to be.
Alternate Browsers
There are many different directions to go with when choosing a new browser to replace IE6 with. A few of the more popular options include:
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
- Apple Safari
- Opera
- Internet Explorer 8
The best thing to do would probably be to download and try each of them to really see and get a feel for which ones you like best. One thing is certain—they’re all heads and tails above the user experience offered by IE6.
Again, many of the sites you probably use on a daily basis have already stopped supporting or ensuring their sites are backwards compatible with IE6. And as new web design standards like HTML5 continue to evolve, using a modern web browser will enable you to appreciate an up-to-date experience. For designers, archaic browsers have been a huge hurdle that will soon become a thing of the past. When IE6 no longer has a large enough market share of users, then new technologies and design standards can really begin to happen on a major scale.
Please Upgrade ASAP
If you’re still an IE6 user, it’s time to upgrade now or forever hold your peace. And by all means, please encourage everyone you know to give it up as well and finally move in to a new decade and a new era for web design.
Tags: IE6, Internet Explorer 6, web browsers
