So now Google has said no to old browsers when can the rest of us follow suit?

Question

Google recently announced that they will no longer support older browsers on Aug 1st:

For this reason, soon Google Apps will only support modern browsers. Beginning August 1st, we’ll support the current and prior major release of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we’ll begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version.

There is nothing worse than looking at the patching of code that takes place to support older browsers. If we could all move towards a standards only web (I'm looking at you IE9) then surely we could spend more time programming good web apps and less trying to make them run equally on terrible non standards compliant older browsers.

So when can the rest of us expect to be able to tell our clients that we no longer support older browsers? Because it seems that large corporates will continue to run older browsers and even if google chrome frame can be installed without admin privileges (it's coming soon, currently in beta) we can't expect all users to be motivated to do this.

I appreciate any thoughts.

Solution 1

If ( your site does not make money ){
   do what makes you happy
}
else if ( the cost of supporting IE6 > the money you make from IE6 users ) {
   stop supporting IE6
}
else {
   keep making money from IE6 users
}

Solution 2

I agree that your decision obviously should reflect the business realities and audience of your particular website.

That said, large companies officially dropping support for IE6 is still significant. It raises the general perception that it is finally OK to leave a 10 year old browser behind. It also adds ammunition to any case you wish to make to the powers that be that it no longer makes sense to support ancient, creaky old browsers on your websites:

• June 2011: Gmail / Google Apps drops support for IE6
• June 2011: WordPress drops support for IE6
• August 2010: Facebook drops support for IE6, largely because of chat
• August 2009: Digg begins dropping IE6
• June 2009: YouTube drops support for IE6
• June 2008: Apple's MobileMe drops support for IE6

On Stack Exchange we've had a remarkably similar policy to what Google just announced in place for a while: we support the currently released browser version, the version before that, and usually the previous-previous version. (So for IE, this means we support IE9, IE8, and IE7). Beyond that you are on your own.

Solution 3

I think this has to be dictated by metrics. If a significant number / percentage of visitors is using older browsers, you should support your visitors. What is "significant" depends on the client. ;-)

Solution 4

I am a product manager about to spend 40 MD supporting IE6 for a single customer. We sell software into call centers, an unfortunately IE6 is the default platform for many big organizations.

My point is it depends, if I was building consumer web software I would have been off IE6 a long time ago, but as long as we have clients using IE6 we have to support it. Same argument would apply for any browser or environment.

Solution 5

If your site/webapp considers the Asian market as one of it's primary targets, then you definitely must consider continuing IE 6 support for the forseeable future.

According to http://www.theie6countdown.com/default.aspx, China is still sitting at ~33% IE6 usage, South Korea at ~22%, etc.

http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/microsoft-implores-china-please-stop-using-internet-explorer-6-62207426.htm

The decade-old Web browser Internet Explorer 6 (not very affectionately known as IE6) is still used by a staggering 34.5% of Chinese PC users

View more solutions

Comments

[Mark Rogers]

The important message is that Google will drop support of the dreaded IE6 and thus it will become far-less important to support come August 1st. (unless you have a huge set of IE6 users (ouch)). IE6 sux because it doesn't support many of the more useful modern browser standards, like :hover and easy PNG support.

[Alireza Fallah]

@Richard - you mean IE is a browser ??? :)

[Dave]

absolutely! And make the IE6 a variable so that you can change with the wind.

[Francisc]

You should wrap the string parts between quotes and also have an echo function in front of them, edeverett... Damn it!

[Jeremy]

"A bank can't be as scrutinizing, as it's vital their customers can access the service." Which is hilarious, given how frequently banks' sites are the ones that require IE6 or similar.

[Jenn]

@Jeremy Banks: Yeah, I agree it is hilarious. In a sad way. And the same goes for banks in Sweden. I guess I'm speaking from a "ideally" perspective.

[wynemo]

Great idea in theory, but the same logic could have been used to require IE6 only a few years ago.

[Petruza]

It doesn't compile, you capitalized the first If

[daredev]

don't forget the important bit on adding a nag screen to users that uses last decade's browser reminding them to upgrade to this decade's browser.

[James P. Wright]

Should have used the ternary operator

[ThinkingStiff]

MD? (12 more to go)

[Phil Mander]

This is the logical answer. But the 'else if' can be very hard to calculate. 15% of your users use IE6; does that equate to 15% of revenue? What is the cost of an influential IE6 user telling 10 of his friends your company sucks because the website didn't work?

[Phil Mander]

...plus all of this goes out the window when clueless senior exec demo's the website on the only computer running IE6 in the world and wants it fixed!

[joschi]

@Tim: I'd guess that's man-days (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-day).

[Piskvor left the building]

That's a staff of 40 doctors of medicine, on standby in case the developers should get any sudden medical problems. IDK what the size of @Jon's team is, but after all, this is IE6 we're talking about ;)

[Piskvor left the building]

This may be because banks' upgrade policies are ridiculously expensive, which essentially means that their workstations are still using The Browser Version That Shall Not Be Named. That, in turn, leads to 'of course we need to support it, lest we screw our internal users!' (anecdotal evidence)

[Brian R. Bondy]

"We support the currently released browser version, the version before that, and usually the previous-previous version" - So for Chrome you support today's, yesterday's and the day before that's version.

[John Hinnegan]

Possibly worth noting here, China is still largely IE 6.

[Mongus Pong]

Theres no point supporting yesterdays version of Chrome. No one will be running it!

[luckyllama]

Technically, Google's most recent announcement said they were NOT supporting the previous-previous version (e.g. they're dropping support for IE7. I think they dropped support for IE6 around the same time last year as facebook did).

[McDowell]

@lucky ah you're right -- so it's even more strict.

[Tim Büthe]

No, you hurt the whole web! Stop supporting IE if you want to change the world for the better.

[Tim Büthe]

You should add: if(intranet application && cost of upgrade browser <= app development cost) you getting the idea...

[rlemon]

@Tim agreed, I consider IE users Luddites. IE10 promises to be magnitudes more complaint with standards, however they still will come no where close.

[DisgruntledGoat]

I don't know if this is really an answer to the question, or just a rant ;) But just to point out - Microsoft already changed their attitude years ago and they have moved much closer to today's browsers.

[Muad'Dib]

You can very well consider this a rant :P

[Fiasco Labs]

Unless it's a business so entrenched on internal apps that they can't escape, IE6 is in milspeak, a WOMBAT (Waste of Money, Brains and Time). Across the board, surcharge development for IE6. Business to Customer, stick a fork in it, it's done; Business to Business, how much business will I lose from not supporting my lagging business partners?

[user1721135]

dont forget jquery, soon to drop support for anything below IE 10.