Just when exactly will IE6 die a death?
We’re coming to the end of 2009 and nearly approaching the 10 year anniversary of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. Nearly 10 years on, the much hated web browser is still being used by a whopping 11% of the world.
Obviously, there will be a point when we stop building websites to work in IE6 - in fact, I know many who have already dropped the browser. For me, I’m waiting for the magic 5%.
According to the latest stats by W3Schools IE6 is currently being used by 11.1% for November 2009. My own analysis of various websites backed this up with an 11.2% share.
So, when will IE6 drop to 5%? If my calculations are correct, July 2010. Maybe even sooner with the release of Windows 7 and the ever increasing share of Safari.
For now, I’ll continue to count down the number of days of having to work with Internet Explorer 6.
Sooner the better, bloody nightmare. More and more people seem to be adopting these javascript popups warning IE6 users that they need to upgrade so hopefully that number will nose dive in 2010.
Anything we can do to help has to be good.
We have officially stopped supporting old browsers like IE6. Some of our clients complain that some parts of their site look odd, we ask “what browser”, they say IE6 and our response is always that they are using a web browser from a decade ago, that all of our sites are designed to work in the latest version of all browsers and they will need to download the latest version of their browser for free. Our customers are never unhappy just surprised, they don’t seem to realise they’re so far behind and love all the new features of the newer browsers.
We also explain that it’s better to support the future than the past!… oh and that line is copyrighted to us =:O)
IE6 is a nightmare to work with! It’s nowhere near as good as the latest firefox and IE8. We too have stopped supporting it - it’s far too old!
I think there is a strong hatred for IE6 in out office. There are always problems with it!
We too have stopped supporting IE6. It is a nightmare. Constant problems. Glad others feel the same about IE6!!!
I hate IE6 - I work as a web designer and so many of my clients still use IE6. Its a nightmare trying to get a website working on so many out dated web browsers. Most of my clients don’t upgrade to latest versions of IE because they think there is a cost involved.
I agree, the sooner IE6 dies a death the better. At least the stats show it is steadily decreasing, a 5% share in 2010 would be a definite improvement!
I think all agree IE6 should be wiped from all computers!
No png tranparency, secure as a chocolate padlock and just plain hard to work with.
I had a school where all browsers were still on IE6. The head knew to upgrade, but the I.T. bobs didn’t want to in the school as it was just another thing to do.
Sometimes, it is just the reluctance of one or two in an organisation, that stops progress.
Just tell clients the internet will explode if you don’t upgrade and it will be all their fault!
Manchester web design
As a web designer i hate IE6 and many people still use it, i try to avoid if possible.
We’d stopped ages ago until we had a big build for a Yell.com tyoe site in Qatar….. Turns out over 50% of the user in Qatar still use IE6! What a nightmare rendering a bang up to date site to fit in that browser….