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Microsoft are stopping support for Internet Explorer 10 and below

As of 12th January 2016 Microsoft ended their technical support for Internet Explorer 10 and below. If you are still resistant to upgrading your browser there are some changes happening that you need to know about.

Microsoft encourages customers to upgrade and “stay up-to-date on the latest browser for a faster, more secure browsing experience”.

Though older browsers will still work for the time being, Microsoft will be dropping support for all versions of internet explorer other than the most recent version for its “still-supported operating systems”. Meaning that if you’re using:

  • Windows Vista SP2: Internet Explorer 9
  • Windows 7 SP1: Internet Explorer 11
  • Windows 8.1: Internet Explorer 11

These operating systems/versions of Internet Explorer will no longer receive Microsoft’s security updates and bug fixes. If you are still using one of the versions of Windows listed above you are living on borrowed time, it will be extremely risky running one of these browsers unsupported.

Information about Windows 10

Microsoft have released a brand new web browser called Windows Edge with the launch of Windows 10. Eventually Internet Explorer will be replaced with Windows Edge, however Windows 10 comes with Edge and Internet Explorer 11 installed as there could be some compatibility issues which need ironing out.

Once Internet Explorer 11 and Windows Edge are fully integrated the price of website building could decrease, as there will be less coding and testing needed to accommodate old browsers. There is also likely to be less bug fixing needed.

What should you do if you’re using Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP 1 or Windows 8.1?

If you’re using one of these operating systems with a version of Internet Explorer not listed above then you should run a windows update and install the latest web browser. You have very little to lose by doing this, the most recent versions of Internet Explorer are more stable, secure and support better web standards than the older versions making browsing the internet more enjoyable.

Though users of older version of Internet Explorer will still be able to use websites, they are likely to have a poor user experience as the site will not be fully optimised on their browser.

Considerations concerning compatibility

Unfortunately updating to the most recent version of Internet Explorer does have some catches. Certain website and online services are only designed to work with specific versions of Internet Explorer. A solution for this is that when you upgrade your browser use a virtual PC application like Virtual Box to install Internet Explorer as an application. This works surprisingly well and retains compatibility with older software, even allowing you to run windows in a window on Mac.

What does this mean for you?

Our current websites will still work on older versions of Windows and Internet Explorer, however user experience could be effected on older browsers. From now on you will find that many agencies  will only quote for websites compatible with Internet Explorer 10 or above unless specifically asked to do otherwise. Be sure to as, this is due to cost and coding; it requires far more coding to make a website compatible with older browsers. Because of this Google Chrome and Firefox don’t allow users to use their older browsers and instead force an update, we hope one day Internet Explorer will follow suit.

If you need with this or any other digital issue please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

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