OPINION: Simon Melhuish on why web designers want to see the end of IE6

Six years ago Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 was dominating the web, it came bundled with Windows XP and its market share peaked at around 95%. As of this August, IE6 turned eight years old.
As a web designer, I can tell you that the most painful part of any project is when we have to make our lovingly crafted, beautiful creations work on IE6.
The system has a total lack of support for modern web standards, restricts creativity, holds us back from pushing the web forward and adds unnecessary extra working hours to a project, plus, what collectively must be billions of pounds in development costs throughout the industry, every year.
The internet has come a long way in eight years, and IE6 just can't keep up, it's old, it's difficult and most importantly, it's not safe,
It is baffling as to why IE6 still so popular, why is 15 percent of the world still browsing the internet with software that came out before the first iPod?
Part of the problem stems from people just being unaware. Also, a lot of the usage blame falls on IT Departments - users in corporate environments have no choice what software they choose to browse the web.
There is a lot that can be done to help phase out IE6, IT departments should consider the clear disadvantages of IE6 and upgrade.
Alternatively individuals can make sure their friends and relatives are up to date with the latest browser, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox, Chrome or Safari are all faster and safer options.

Simon Melhuish is a graphic designer at Brava Design in Liverpool