Who Cares What IE6 Can Do?

Guest post by Michael Martin from Pro Blog Design, where he writes about creating profitable, usable and attractive blogs.

Internet Explorer 6 is the internet’s ball and chain. With each step forward, we’re being held back by those users attached to their out-of-date browser. But why should we be?

Busting a Myth
It is easy to blame Microsoft for holding us back. Or even to blame the browser itself! The truth however is much simpler. The only reason that an old browser can hold us back is if we allow it to; if a misguided notion of cross browser compatibility is allowed to spread.

Why should a website look the same on every browser?
Ask yourself that question and you’ll find a good answer is hard to come by. “Because.” A website should certainly be usable on all browsers, but why should it appear exactly the same?

Working Backwards From The Best
Internet Explorer 6 does not support the same CSS properties as Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, or another modern browser. It has more bugs, less functions, and requires a good deal more patience as a developer.

Does this mean that you should leave advanced CSS out of your website? If a certain module of the CSS spec can only be served to Safari users, should the IE6 users be allowed to take that away? Of course not.

When designing a website, design for the most modern browser first, using all of the most advanced techniques it supports. This allows you to give a good deal of your audience the best experience possible.

When that design is complete, then work backwards. How does the website look in the next best browser? Odds are that something has gone wrong in IE6. This does not affect your other users though. It only affects IE6, so your task is to do the best you can for IE6. If you can hack the feature, fantastic! If you can’t, don’t worry. Just remove it from IE6, and make sure that the page is still usable.

The CSS3 specification is filled with enough goodies to make a designer giggle (Multiple background images alone are enough to get me going!). The sooner we stop being dragged back by the past, the sooner we can step into the future. Show your site’s best side to those who can see it, and an acceptable one to those who can’t. Don’t penalise the modern users, for the sake of those yet to upgrade.