IE Warning Plugin
Today I have come across a very interesting WordPress plugin called ‘IE Warning‘.
Introduction
It’s a well known fact that IE 6 does not render all the kinds of web pages correctly. Also, one cannot ignore the fact that IE stands tall in the web browser market share. It’s the leader in the web browser market.
IE 7 has lot of improvements over it’s predecessor IE 6. But IE 6 is still widely used all over than the IE 7. Most of the corporate networks in the world still use IE 6 and not IE 7. Attribute this to the Windows operating system, which has a wider reach in the OS segment. Among the Windows OS’s, XP is the OS which runs on most of the desktops. The browser which comes along with these OS’s is IE 6. This is where the problem lies.
So, how do you reach out to your readers who still use IE 6?
Is there a solution for it?
I believe the only solution is User Education. This could be achieved through the IE Warning plugin.
Features
Once the plugin is activated, the plugin shows the blog visitors a splash message on the screen indicating a message that IE does not render web pages correctly and they may want to download Opera and Mozilla Firefox browsers. Of course, for the users who like IE 7, they may include a message to upgrade their browsers to IE 7.
You may customize the message and you can also set the least version of IE for which the message should not occur. That means, if the reader’s IE version is lesser than the specified version, the message is displayed. Otherwise, not.
Functionality
Download and Install the plugin as usual into your WordPress directory. Activate it. Go to the settings and customize it. You are done.
Pros
- The chances of your readers switching to Mozilla or Opera are higher.
- The readership of your blog will certainly increase when the pages are rendered correctly.
- By encouraging your viewers to browsers like Mozilla Firefox, you would be increasing the reach of the Open Source software. You are indirectly a contributor to the Open Source community.
Cons
The message is displayed as a splash screen which may violate some of the Ad Network’s policies. But the author of the plugin is planning to change this. Rather than having a splash message, he may include a small window attached to the page on top of the browser just below the toolbar. So, that’s something we have to wait for until the next release.
Thanks to Bobrik, who is the author of the plugin. Visit the plugin home page here.
Download IE Warning WordPress Plugin
I only expressed my views as an IE 6 user and this need not be a generalized view. Let me know your thoughts and comments about the plugin and this article in particular.
Technorati Tags: IE, Internet Explorer, WordPress Plugins
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I seriously can’t stand splash pages, and why not just write your code to pass W3 validation in the first place so it renders across all browser platforms?
You are correct Julie. I found 44 errors and 24 warnings for my site http://read2know.com. Unfortunately, I can’t really fix them as I currently don’t have enough knowledge to fix them! My primary skill set is something different. 
Thanks so much for the information!
Or, you could do lots of fiddling with your CSS, so your site renders in IE6. You will be cursing Microsoft the whole time however. Quirky browser that.
witchypoo´s last blog post..Best contest Ever
Very good find. I think my site will also not work fine in IE 6 as it is same theme as yours.
If you have made any fixes let me know..
Nihar´s last blog post..How to Hide Files & Folders, Password Protect – My Lockbox
@Witchypoo, you are correct. I have been using a free theme. Rather than fixing it, it’s better to create a brand new one. What do you say?
@Nihar, found 40 errors when I did a W3C validation of the theme. Unfortunately, don’t have enough time to even review them!
This is a great idea. I often wonder how many readers I lose due to IE.
Somone´s last blog post..8 Top Thesis Forum Threads: Customizing Thesis
@Someone, same is the case with many of them. Though my site do not have any issues with W3C validation it still don’t render properly in IE..!
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language 
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
It is so frustrating to me how IE causes me so many issues when I am working on my website, but it is still the browser that most people use. Why??
I don’t personally like IE because of the numerous problems it creats. I think I can make use of this plugin. Thanks for sharing this excellent piece of information.
isn’t total shame to IE?
thanks fort this plug in that we are getting warning… anyways I am not affected at all.
thanks.
Helen@Windows XP Driver´s last blog ..Troubleshooting RealTek AC97 Drivers 
Personally? I really hate IE. It always crashes on my computer that’s why I’m using different browser. I feel more comfortable with it. However, there are sites that require the use of IE so I don’t have any other choice sometimes.
Wow! Thanks
Can I use your post test in my blog and as plugin description?
bobrik´s last blog post..service command