More Savvy Web Browsing - Are You Up-To-Date?

Are you using the most up-to-date version of your favorite web browser? If not, you could be missing out on some cool new features, or seeing some funny stuff on some of the websites you visit.

A while back, I introduced you to some popular browsers out there that, for many, are a refreshing alternative to the big blue "e" for Windows users. Perhaps you don't have the 5 or 10 minutes to spare to try a new browser out, or you're just not that interested, or you fear change, and hey, that's OK. But you should definitely at least be on the lookout for Internet Explorer updates as they become available.

Why? Because the Web is always changing, improving, and evolving. And most reputable web design firms, like FoxWebCo, will continue to change, improve, and evolve with it.

I'm going to share a dirty secret with you about Internet Explorer, the most popular web browser: it has kind of a bad reputation with Web Design people such as myself, due to some problems adhering to World Wide Web Consortium standards. But they're getting better at it. (Microsoft even promises that Internet Explorer version 8.0 will pass the Acid 2 Test for standards compatibility.)

What is the World Wide Web Consortium (or, W3C for short) and what does it mean to you? To make a long story short, the W3C is organization that seeks, among other things, to make the entire Web accessible, no matter what kind of computer, browser, or whatever you're using. The W3C defines how the codes designers like me use to make Web pages should work, and how browsers should interpret those codes. But Internet Explorer is notorious for not playing by the rules.

Since the release of Internet Explorer version 7.0 in October 2006, things have been a little better. IE 7 even has tabbed browsing, a nifty feature that was previously only found on Firefox and other browsers that many may not have known about. But the problem is, many of you are still using Internet Explorer version 6.0.

Some website designs that look AWESOME in IE 7 and other browsers, in IE 6, will appear distorted. Things that should float beside another element may get pushed up under that element, text and content may "bleed over" into the background, etc. It's kind of a tough job sometimes to make a website look good in the latest browsers, and IE 6, too.

So - in conclusion, I urge you strongly to upgrade! Not just for the sanity of myself and other Web designers, but so YOU can be a savvy Web surfer and use a browser that does a much better job of what it's supposed to do by being smarter about standards, has cool new features, and is also more secure.

If you don't know if you NEED to upgrade or not, in your browser, go to Help and click About Internet Explorer. If the logo doesn't say "Windows Internet Explorer 7", you should upgrade!

Click here to get started upgrading to IE 7!

And after you've finished upgrading to 7, be on the lookout for version 8.0 to be released!  Whenever Internet Explorer asks you to install any browsing or security updates, do it!