DEALING WITH BROWSER QUIRKS
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4. Internet Explorer 6 for Windows: Previously the most popular browser, this release
is still in heavy use. Fairly compliant, it nonetheless has a raft of bugs, and complex
CSS layouts will almost certainly need a little tweaking to work properly, again via
the use of conditional comments. Note that because only Windows XP users can
upgrade from Internet Explorer 6 to 7 (7 being the native browser for Windows
Vista), a fair number of users??”those with an earlier version of Windows??”will likely
use 6 for some time to come.
5. Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows: How far you go back, in terms of versions of
Internet Explorer, depends on your target market, the client??™s budget, and general
expectations. Typically, I test the most recent three major versions of Microsoft??™s
browser, due to their heavy usage. Internet Explorer 5.0 can be considered almost
extinct, however. Overall, Internet Explorer 5.5 has more problems than Internet
Explorer 6, although most of them are easy enough to work around. Generally, I
don??™t aim to get sites working perfectly in this browser??”a few cosmetic oddities
are acceptable, in my opinion, because there??™s no point in compromising a totally
compliant site to make it more compatible for an aging browser whose market
share is in rapid decline. Ensuring content is accessible in the browser is essential,
however, and the primary concern when dealing with obsolete browsers.
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