Did you hear that?
That’s the sound of millions of web designers/programmers shouting in joy as Google has announced they are pulling support for Internet Explorer 6 from their websites.
Did we need a major Internet company to officially announce this? In some ways yes, Internet Explorer 6 is an outdated browser still used even in corporate environments and that is -according to the latest news- dangerous.
Internet Explorer 6 not only fails to follow IETF Internet Standards for website usage and rendering; IE6 on today’s websites tends not only to render them useless and for the most part horrible but also gives you a terribly bad (if any) user experience.
It’s the security, dummy:
The main problem with IE6 is that it represents a major security hazard as malware can creep deep into your system through it.
Subsequent versions of IE are also prone to vulnerabilities. Remember how some people’s accounts were violated in China and it made world news?
The attackers exploited the fact that their victims were using Internet Explorer. You can read more about how it happened according to PC World here.
In this light the French and German governments have urged the population to avoid using IE altogether and download alternative browsers such as: Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
Computer Weekly though, has another take and says it was security flaws in Adobe software that facilitated the break-ins.
Why it matters to web designers, programmers, marketeers and e-commerce sites
According to Statcounter global use of IE6 has hit the -20% mark which is enough in my book to drop any support.
Modern websites use an array of new technologies based on asynchronous JavaScript and XML otherwise known as Ajax, and libraries such as script.aculo.us.
If you are at the forefront of either: web usability, aesthetics, design or ergonomics you cringe each time you hear the words “Internet Explorer 6“.
Each time a designer -be it web or interface design- has to come up with a new site they have to consider that some users will stick to IE6 and therefore have to conceive a different or alternative set of instructions for that vestigial browser so it can render in a ‘decent’ or understandable manner what they are trying to convey to the end users.
A lot of IE6 users do not have any alternatives, these might be people that are browsing in an office, library or school environment in which they cannot install other browsers (I’m looking at you in disapproval clueless managers).
On the e-commerce side of things there are myriads of forums in which people state that IE6 won’t load HTTPS (secured and encrypted) sites which are crucial for nowadays transactions.
Some online stores make it a clear policy to not accept transactions coming from “non-modern browsers” which is the de facto euphemism for IE6.
I see Google’s move to be the final nail in the coffin for our old frienemy.
Goodbye IE6.
