coding extras for IE7 is so taxing

Visitors to this blog - not surprisingly, considering its subject matter - are not using IE7, launched six years ago. In the past month, five per cent of visitors used IE8 and seven per cent used IE9. Internet Explorer 10 is scheduled for launch this autumn.

• Firefox: 43%
• Chrome: 36%
• IE: 12%
• Safari: 9%

Taking a cue from Google, web designers Approved By Browsers, Professional Solutions and The BPc dropped support from IE7 last year (unless specified by clients) and, interestingly, Australian on-line retailer Kogan has addressed the situation by introducing a "tax" on purchases made via the IE7 browser.

This may lose them some sales but the percentage is small compared with the costs of coding the extras required for the website to look the same in IE7. And, no doubt, the ensuing world-wide publicity isn't doing them any harm, either!