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Don’t use Internet Explorer

By Heshy Friedman

I recently had a client complain that part of his site was not rendering properly. I tested it and retested it and had him clear cache, but it kept on working fine for me. It turns out he was using Internet Explorer (IE.) I told him that he needs to stop using that browser, and he should start using Google Chrome, Firefox, or at least Microsoft Edge instead. He asked why I don’t build sites to render properly in Internet Explorer, so I told him that it’s difficult to cater to the 3.91% of the population still on IE version 11 that refuses to browse properly.

Internet Explorer has been in decline for many years. Google Chrome took the lion’s share of all browsers, accounting for over 50% of browser usage share since 2015. When Microsoft released its new Edge browser in 2015 in conjunction with Windows 10, it was the final nail in the coffin for Internet Explorer. Microsoft created Edge to take over and kill Internet Explorer as a brand new and redesigned browser to kill the stigma attached to Internet Explorer. Even Microsoft considered their own Internet Explorer browser dead once they released Edge. Windows 10 machines no longer shipped with IE 11, and Microsoft started phasing out the old browser.

Microsoft has also stopped supporting IE 7, 8, 9 and 10 on most operating systems. This leaves computers using these browsers susceptible to attack from intrusions and malware. Although Microsoft is still updating IE 11 for now, the updates aren’t as frequent and the stability is still much poorer than newer browsers.

There are several reasons why browsing is not recommended with Internet Explorer. Aside from the speed issues and security flaws it has when compared to other browsers, it just can’t render websites properly, especially newer sites with more advanced features. As a website designer, it drives me crazy when dealing with an outdated client who is still browsing Internet Explorer and therefore doesn’t see things properly.

So, if you are using Internet Explorer, do yourself a favor (and me a favor) by downloading Chrome or Firefox, and browsing from there instead. Both these browsers are free, more secure, faster, and will render your pages properly. Or at least upgrade to Windows 10 and use Microsoft’s Edge.