Notebook · Jan 1, 2007 · Design · Development
Will older browsers ever stop getting support?
From the 2007 NotebookJan 1, 2007Design / Development
Is there ever going to be a time when people stop supporting older web browsers? I mean seriously, people that are still using any browser older than say IE6, should really consider making some drastic changes.
I don’t understand the purpose of supporting older, legacy browsers, especially with all of the new advanced features that are implemented into websites these days. People that are still using those browsers, in my opinion, deserve to be left out of the loop. Now, that may be harsh, but so be it.
Personally, I no longer see the need to support old, outdated technology for 0.00045% of the people that use it. So what is the solution to the problem? I am really not sure but I have to imagine that if everyone simply stopped supporting these old browsers, it would eventually force people to update to newer stuff. I am sure that there is a logical way to gracefully stop support on older stuff.
Anyone have any suggestions on this? What makes people continue to support old, outdated browsers?
Reading it in 2026
The “logical way to gracefully stop support” already had a name in 2007: progressive enhancement. Build the page so its content works in anything, then add style and script for the browsers that can use them. Nobody has to be locked out, and nobody has to hold the site back. The same reasoning now covers slow phones and assistive technology, which is a better reason to keep doing it than old browsers ever were.