Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS

Today I’ve read an interesting article by Andy Clarke here.

Here’s the author’s key points:

1. IE6 is hard to support
2. it’s so cool to write CSS for modern browsers only
3. sites shouldn’t look the same in different browsers
4. people come to websites for content

So by throwing these thoughts in he’s making a conclusion that IE6 should be supported in a limited way – i.e. by giving it a special “stripped” CSS. 

So let’s see.

IE6 is hard to support

From technical side it’s not hard, period. The amount of effort depends on the project peculiarities (to a degree).

It’s cool to write CSS for modern browsers only

Doing your work is not always doing cool stuff.

Sites shouldn’t look the same in different browsers

It fully depends on the project peculiarities.

People come to websites for content

It fully depends on the project peculiarities.

I do keep saying that all this depends on the project peculiarities.

And I can’t understand why it’s not obvious to Andy Clarke. When a project is planned, all the issues are taken into consideration. As websites are displayed in different browsers, three key factors matter:

1. nature of the website
2. market share of the browser
3. cost of supporting a browser

Do I need to explain in more detail?

P.S. Yes I think people should upgrade from IE6. But not because it has an outdated support for standards, but just because newer browsers provide much better user experience.

P.P.S. You know, Andy, I really appreciate what you’re doing. I urge you not to stop. I’ll be priced higher for the same skills that I have now just because you (and those whom you manage to convince) deliberately choose not to deliver what clients need :)

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