Is it still a good idea to consider IE6 while designing layouts for websites or is IE6 deprecated already?

Please backup your answers with reasonable explanations that are arguable.

Well, IE6 is not depreciated in Nigeria. As many cyber cafes, and a sizeable number of companies still use it. However, people are rapidly upgrading to vista and co, but still, i prefer to keep it as my minimal standard in developing.

Assuming you had no access to IE6 on your computer and you developed a really big portal based on the appearance of the preview from Google chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox; what happens when you after launch preview it on IE6 and see that the layout was messed up, will you make a redirect to a custom 404 page asking the user to upgrade his browser in other to view the portal or will you start tweaking your CSS file all in the name of trying to get IE6 to become compatible?

Well, most of what will make a site not compatible with ie6 is client-sided stuffs such as javascript and cascading stylesheet - in short client sided dhtml stuffs - which i am supposed to have mastered. So i will just tweak it.
I remember when facebook first came then, you had to upgrade your browser to access it, but they have sorted all that out now.
Saying people should upgrade their browsers will make you look unprofessional.

Nice point. Hoping to hear others point of view on this.

When i initially started developing sites, i usually had issues with Internet Explorer, but was quick to outgrow that with knowledge to how to set Margin and Padding, although have not really checked my sites on all browsers, i use Mozilla in Developing and check with I.E 8, it's an obvious fact that handling cross browser issues may be near impossible, but like DHTML said, experienced developers find a way around things with patterns studied.

Personally i usually have issues in I.E when coding Javascript, cause i am not a Javascript programmer, but with CSS i hardly have issues. It cuts down to trying to solve the problem instead of telling users to get a new browser, the time to download a better browser is considered too long for surfers to spend!

Hello guys

Interesting post. Here are my thoughts on this one. IE6 is Sooo deprecated considering it was released in late 2001. C'mon we r now in 2010.  Surely a lot has changed in the web design and development world over the 9 years or so.

Personally i think you don't need to waste time preparing a different CSS for IE6 unless that client is really going to pay huge bucks for that. So my approach is explain to the client that u aren't developing website 's for IE6 as it is outdated and you can also throw in that security risk that was discovered last year. Always works for me.

However put some sort of a pop up (html and css)  that displays when someone visits the site using IE6 urging him/her to upgrade to one of the latest browsers. Attached is the image of the the pop up that appears on the top of the page. I will upload the code and files if anyone needs them.

@Donpuzo I get your point but I really think if you develop some kind of layouts using IE 8 and FF view, IE 6 might want to tell you that 1px extra added to a width that is not noticed by the later browsers should be removed. Checking them out on FF, Chrome, FF, IE 7 & 8, the layout will be as you wanted. Viewing from IE 6, you'll so hate the browser for ever trying to come into existence considering what you will undergo searching for the 1px. I still see the sense of having IE 6, installed somewhere for local test before upload.

@inf8nity Nice idea man about the alert thing. You can go ahead and drop the code for other users. Looking at your point, it really makes sense with that kind of alert to upgrade browsers but if you were at a cybercafe in Nigeria, what happens? You are still fighting to get steady with the Internet connection not to talk about downloading and installing any thing.

inf8nity:

Interesting post. Here are my thoughts on this one. IE6 is Sooo deprecated considering it was released in late 2001.

Deprecated or not, a fraction of web users (and that could be quite a lot) still use it. . .
The poster sounds like he's already made up his mind about overlooking 1e6 users. . Lazy man!
i use 1e6 ooo

@Ominipotens, Bros, you are right, i will take to that advice, i will download it now and keep whenever i develop a site, i will check up there and make possible adjustments,

I believe in standard and respect those who have respect for standards, Like DHTML implied, if Facebook can make their site highly optimized to suite almost all browsers well, why can't we Nigerian web masters do the same,

@Inf8nity I will love to have that code personally, no time to start coding it, it's already there, Bros abeg drop am, I love it also cause it's fine!

@Infinity. Bros, i went to the link, it did not show me the scripts, the closest i got was an embed link, Is that it? Also, the stuff showed me to upgrade my I.E 8.0 is that meant to be, and the beautiful surrounding background was taking eternity to load!

@Infinity, Thanks, have gotten it, appreciate it!

Donpuzo:

@Infinity, Thanks, have gotten it, appreciate it!

U r welcome! Don