Why you should be using the latest browser

One of our toughest considerations when creating new websites is ensuring our design balances the latest web features, yet we continue to provide support for older browsers. However, we must draw the line each year on older browsers when it hinders modern design.

Here’s 5 reasons why, and a guide on how to upgrade.

1. State-of-the-art Security

Built in password managers securely store your username and password for when you next log into a website.
Latest browsers include the option to securely generate a complex password when registering an account on a website and save the password for you.
Actively protect you from known malicious websites.
All modern browsers allow you to browse in “private” mode. This means during your browser session no cookies, website data, or history will be saved.
Built-in anti-tracking technologies – the optional “do not track” settings inform websites and advertising organisations that you do not wish to be tracked across the web. Of course – it's still up to the individual website to honour this request.
The Opera web browser even has a built-in VPN service which can improve your anonymity and make it harder to be tracked when browsing the web
Support for latest security technologies - including support for the most advanced security certificates used by organisations like banks.
Info: Does privacy matter to you? You may want to look at using DuckDuckGo as your search engine instead of Google. We still recommend publishing your advertisements to Google, as they own the biggest search share of internet users.

2. Better performance

Modern browsers are built to be fast yet are also light on battery usage—so if you’re using a laptop or tablet, you’re still good. Beneath the surface, they interpret JavaScript quicker which means if you use web apps that rely heavily on this (such as Gmail), you’ll see even more performance improvements.

Newer browsers are optimised for speed and resource usage.
Each update offers well tested improvements that older browsers cannot compete with.

3. Support for the latest technologies

As a leading hospitality marketing agency, we want to make websites that are distinctive, engaging, and memorable. Taking advantage of the newest browser features is one way we achieve this. Newer browsers tend to implement the latest technologies in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

If you have an older browser, at best you’re missing out on the latest technologies. At worst, you won’t even be able to view newer websites. We try to design our websites with backwards compatibility in-mind. However, this means you will miss out on some animations and functionality if you use an older browser.

Eventually we must stop providing backwards compatibility for specific scenarios with older browsers, as it breaks future browser viewing.

4. Browser extensions

Browser extensions provide extra functionality to modern browsers and often integrate 3rd party apps and services. Google Chrome extensions, for example, include everything from password managers to adblockers. If you wish, you can even install an extension that adds a moustache to every picture of a face.

5. IE and Safari are dead

Are you still using one of these browsers? Perhaps it was the first or only browser pre-installed on your machine? We seriously recommend you re-consider and use a modern browser, and here’s why:

• IE is the most attacked and vulnerable browser
• IE is the least supported browser across the internet
• Microsoft are dropping support for IE in the next couple of years.
• Many common libraries that websites rely upon are dropping support
• You put yourself or your business at much greater risk
• You will find that the internet is slower, and websites fail to load
• You may not be aware that websites hide content from you specifically because IE cannot support it
• Safari has recently become the new IE in terms of failing to support modern technology that designers and developers depend upon. For now, we can support most of Safari’s short comings, but we don’t recommend using them for your own peace of mind.

Microsoft themselves even discourage users from continuing to use Internet Explorer. Here’s what Microsoft employee and cybersecurity expert Chris Jackson has to say:

“Internet Explorer is a compatibility solution […] we’re not supporting new web standards for it […] developers by and large aren’t testing for IE these days”. - Microsoft IT Blog