The IE 6.0 Question once again : Does anyone still code for it?

Draeger

Draeger

Draeger

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Just wondering. What are the thoughts on coding for cross browser compatibility for IE 6.0?. Does anyone still rigorously check to see if their WIP sites work as they should in 6.0?.

I'm more concerned with checking things are good to go from IE 7.0 >> Firefox >> Chrome >> Opera >> Safari. I'm inclined to now not bother two hoots if my new sites are borked in IE 6.0. Anyone else feel that way?. I'm a freelancer but to those who work for web design companies, what are the general guidelines to date for making sure sites work in IE 6.0, if any?.

Ta.
 
For personal sites I don't, for commercial ones I feel it's absolutely essential to still make it work properly in IE 6.0. I doubt any clients would be happy missing 10-20% of their potential customers.
 
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I give my clients the choice, after giving them the relevant info that IE6 is cack, only around 10% of users are still using it and these will mostly be users in a corporate environment. They can then make the choice, most of my clients are small local businesses aimed at the general public so they usually don't worry about it.
 
We're down to 15% IE6 usage across all our sites and we no longer aim for 100% compatibility unless the client specifically requests it. We do make sure the site is still functional in IE6 but don't worry about little things like png transparency or :first-child selectors or things like that.
 
Draeger said:
Just wondering. What are the thoughts on coding for cross browser compatibility for IE 6.0?. Does anyone still rigorously check to see if their WIP sites work as they should in 6.0?.

I'm more concerned with checking things are good to go from IE 7.0 >> Firefox >> Chrome >> Opera >> Safari. I'm inclined to now not bother two hoots if my new sites are borked in IE 6.0. Anyone else feel that way?. I'm a freelancer but to those who work for web design companies, what are the general guidelines to date for making sure sites work in IE 6.0, if any?.

Ta.
Click to expand...

When functionality is essential then yes, it has to work properly in IE 6.0 IMO.

16% of all visits to a rather large eCommerce website we're currently running are still IE 6.0 :/

Generally a customer will upgrade if you tell them it's not working because they're using an ancient browser.

Our plan is to implement a notice shown only to IE6 users notifying them that the site may not work properly in the browser they're using, that way we don't have to worry too much about compatibility.
 
Draeger said:
I'm inclined to now not bother two hoots if my new sites are borked in IE 6.0.
Click to expand...

This doesn't seem like the right attitude somehow... I no longer aim for 100% compatibility, but your site should still work (ie. preserve major functions, user journeys and purchase paths) in IE6...
 
I've got a javascript that function I pulled from somewhere that pops up a information bar if their running ie 6 and tells them "Some plugins are missing. To view this site correctly click on me" that then takes them to the ie 8 download page.

sweet no?
 
blastman said:
I've got a javascript that function I pulled from somewhere that pops up a information bar if their running ie 6 and tells them "Some plugins are missing. To view this site correctly click on me" that then takes them to the ie 8 download page.

sweet no?
Click to expand...

Nice. :D

AJK said:
but your site should still work (ie. preserve major functions, user journeys and purchase paths) in IE6...
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I meant. I worded my initial post badly. I still make sure my sites actually work in 6.0. :cool:
 
IE6 has to be fully functional just like all the other pages. Unfortunately it's being used by a fair percentage of people and all our clients don't see why we should reduce the potential visitor count.

If I was working on my own personal site I'm not too fussed for IE6, I'll probably give it a stripped back stylesheet. Guess it really depends on the client and visitor but for now it's a definite yes for anything commercial!
 
Out of 20,000 visitors to my blog there were over 2000 visitors using IE6.

My Blog is not 100% perfect in IE6 but it is viewable so not going to make any changes.
 
I don't code for other people anymore but if it's easy to fix and HTML/CSS valid I'll make the fix, but things like transparent PNGs and invalid HTML hacks are not worth it, IE6 users can suck it for all I care.
 
I usually just write a separate style sheet for IE6 to make a site usable - sometimes leads to taking design elements out though.
 
On the whole no, however it depends on the target market for the site. We do charge extra for catering for IE6 mostly to cover testing and amends.

We do a website for the MOD and have to cater for IE6 and not use javascript or flash in any way, simply because thats how 90% of their computers are configured.
 
We discourage support for IE6 or IE7 by quoting the extra development and support time it would take us to build solutions which work with them. We usually quadruple the front end development time (and no, I'm not joking - it's an effective incentive when clients pay by day!).

If you want your audience to use a modern browser, give them a reduced functionality or poorly laid-out website and they'll soon upgrade. There is never a concrete reason (ignoring weird mobile browser versions etc.).

arty
 
I have started developing a site for my landlord and this issue is plaguing me, i said i will do it on the cheap as I needed a side project anyway for other reasons. But i have just been driven insane with IE6 and 7 issues. I am tempted just to develop it for proper browsers and do as Blastman said.

The only thing is its for a load of old people so maybe they just won't get it :(
 
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