May 11, 201214 yr Hi All, I have been looking around for a reliable browser usage stats. After a while of searching I found that the usage is around 5%. Now I am wondering if its a reliable count, if it is accurate is it still worth supporting? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
May 11, 201214 yr It depends. If you're building a site from scratch, it's down to you (or the client) if they choose to support older browsers. If it's an existing site, go check the analytics to find out what browsers current visitors are using. If a significant amount of them are using an old browser like IE7 then support it.
May 11, 201214 yr A new site, I definitely wouldn't bother. For an existing site, as Spitfire says, I'd check the stats for that specific site. Anything lower than 5%, personally I wouldn't bother with.
May 11, 201214 yr The guys above has answered it well. As for me personally, for my own sites I'm not worrying too much about IE7 and below any more since microsoft started pushing it's newer versions of IE a lot harder than it ever has before. It's probs best to have some fallbacks in place though but how can you move forward and progress your skills without embracing the opportunities that modern browsers present. For client work I'd check to see what they wanted and the other things already mentioned. I tend to play it a bit safe for client / corporate sites.
May 11, 201214 yr Author Thanks!! Some great advice, I completely forgot to check the analytics to see the browser usage! I really want to build better websites by using the better tech that modern browsers have to offer but its hard when trying to keep it the same and consistent on all browsers. Thanks for your comments!!
May 11, 201214 yr I don't even test in IE7 nowadays unless it's specified. On all the sites we've checked recently IE7 usage is <2% and getting less as each day passes. IE8 is now the new bugbear
May 11, 201214 yr Author I don't even test in IE7 nowadays unless it's specified. On all the sites we've checked recently IE7 usage is <2% and getting less as each day passes. IE8 is now the new bugbear at least ie8 is still easily manageable... well kinda
May 11, 201214 yr at least ie8 is still easily manageable... well kinda i hate ie , its a load of s*i* lol
May 11, 201214 yr The last company I worked for supported browsers based on their analytical reports. My current company supports only the current and previous versions of each major browser. Both seem to be legitimate rules. Depending on the purpose of your website, I would recommend either of the above.
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