Maybe you’ve been there.  Spent hours meticulously tweeking a CSS/XHTML *standards compliant* Web design only to find that upon checking your *perfect* design in Internet Explorer 6, it is…COMPLETELY BROKEN.

Why is IE6 (and IE in general) still causing Web designers and developers so much frustration?  Why do so many Internet users still use IE6?

According to statistics published monthly to the W3School Website, as of November 2008 46.6% of Internet users still use IE, 20% of which are still using IE6. Why!?

It is so sad that developers have to seriously limit their designs to work in IE, write additional “hacks” to get designs to work in IE, or write an entirely separate style sheet (CSS) for those viewing the Website in IE browsers.

Here is a tip for anyone using ANY IE Web browser:

YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE IE AT ALL!

In fact, there are so many wonderful, free browsers (Firefox, Safari, Opera etc.) that there is no reason at all to use a bug infested Web browser (IE5, IE6, IE7, IE-anything) that doesn’t support a such large portion of contemporary design features.

Internet Explorer is holding us back!

Let’s not continue to enable Microsoft to take advantage of us.  Let’s choose not to use IE.  It’s a poorly constructed Web browser that does not support the newest design options, which are supported on every other modern browser.

So please, please! If you’re not using Firefox, Safari, Opera, or any other non-IE browser, follow the links provided to download one immediately, or find another non-IE browser of your choice.  I personally prefer Firefox, but any of the above mentioned browsers are 1000% better than any IE bowser.

Internet technology is evolving rapidly, and until we either move away from IE, or Microsoft steps up to the plate to bring IE up to par, we will continue to deal with the set-backs, and restrictions that developing around IE causes.

Thanks for listening to me rant.  This has clearly been a sore spot for me over the past several weeks as I attempt to design a Website that renders decently in IE6.

Do you use an IE browser?  Would you consider trying a new browser that is more advanced and supports contemporary Web designs?  Why or why not?