

Ask HN: Is it safe to assume IE users don't care much about design? - gosuri

I'm developing a web app and optimizing for IE has been hell as most of you must have experienced, is it okay to assume that IE users don't really care about the cool CSS3 effects?
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jrallison
I wouldn't assume they don't care. The majority of people still using IE6 do
so because it's the only browser their IT department will allow on their
workstations (<http://about.digg.com/blog/much-ado-about-ie6>).

That said, because of the difficulties, it's generally acceptable to provide
some base functionality/design for all browsers while layering on cool CSS
effects for modern browsers as a form of progressive enhancement (using CSS
border radius for example).

Of course, all of this depends on your specific user base and the importance
of those IE users.

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duck
I think this is dead on and the only thing I would add is if they are
_wanting_ to use your web app, and thus be a user, I would treat them like
every other user you have. It doesn't mean they will get exactly the same
interface, but your _view_ of them should be the same.

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rewind
I think IE6 users don't care about browsers or don't have a choice. I doubt it
has anything to do with not caring about design.

