Testing In Ie6?

[lastlifelost 0]

I'm just curious how many people are still testing in IE6. I know that there aren't a lot of people out there still using it, but according to the counter here at w3schools, it's still significant enough for me wonder. Is this really a critical step? If so, how can I do this. I can't seem to find an IE6 download out there, or any good emulators. I found http://tredosoft.com/Multiple_IE, but I don't know if it's any good. Insights?

[Synook 47]

All websites have different browser demographics - it's best to check your analytics logs and make a decision from that.

[lastlifelost 0]

OK, now lets assume that my client never had any analytics added to his site before, and that he has previously done his own hosting / page management. Is there a way for me to look up this old data anyway? Or should I just keep moving forward with what I have, activate GA when the page goes live, and watch the browser trends after the launch?

[Synook 47]

No, if you haven't been consciously logging, you may have some server logs (hard to get hold of on shared hosts), but otherwise there won't be anything. I suppose you can consider the type of people that visit his website, too - for example, corporations are more likely to use old versions of IE.

[Guest FirefoxRocks]

I wouldn't recommend Multiple IE6 as it is not very stable. Instead I recommend Xenocode/Spoon: http://spoon.net/ . They have IE6/7/8, Chrome and Firefox there as well as some other software.

[Mourad 0]

Of all windows users, I have less than 3% of users on a version that does not support IE8, yet more than 80% of IE users (virtually all on windows) have not upgraded to IE8 yet.I'm ready to ignore 3% of the windows users (2% of all visitors) not to have to deal with ie6 and IE7.I can't however ignore 80% of IE users (54% of all visitors) ...So if those who can would upgrade ...

[Chris92 0]

useful renderer for checking in ie6 (and 5.5 if you want ) and no download needed http://ipinfo.info/netrenderer/

[DanH42 0]

If you want to test in as many browsers and on as many operating systems as possible, check out http://browsershots.org/. I use it to test my site all the time, and it works great.

[sempervirent 0]

Many of my recent clients have been OK with leaving out IE6 support. YouTube's example led the way and recent campaigns to get rid of IE6 have been convincing as well. Spelling out the extra design and development costs involved in supporting a browser that Microsoft doesn't even want people to use anymore has sealed the deal.I know there are a small number of Intranet users who are stuck on IE6, but they're probably not supposed to be looking at your site anyway, since they're at work. Everyone else should upgrade to IE8 (or Firefox!).

Edited October 20, 2009 by sempervirent

[lastlifelost 0]

Many of my recent clients have been OK with leaving out IE6 support. YouTube's example led the way and recent campaigns to get rid of IE6 have been convincing as well. Spelling out the extra design and development costs involved in supporting a browser that Microsoft doesn't even want people to use anymore has sealed the deal.I know there are a small number of Intranet users who are stuck on IE6, but they're probably not supposed to be looking at your site anyway, since they're at work. Everyone else should upgrade to IE8 (or Firefox!).

Thanks so much for that response! It really cleared things up for me. I had run into this issue with a client and had mentioned the extra costs and time involved with making the site IE6 compatible, and he made the decision to drop it. Your comments really validated that approach. On the topic of browsers, I'm throwing my hat in the ring for Opera. I find it to run smoother than FF

[ProblemHelpPlease 6]

On the point of old data regarding logs, depending on the host you may find that installing software that makes use of server logs (like AWStats) you may be able to retrieve some existing data. Many hosts will compact the data from the server logs on a monthly basis meaning that you may get the last months stats.