Upgrade Browser Statement?

[arhkah]

Our humane society is replacing its current site with a css-based site that won't work with older browsers. I'm wondering whether there is some sort of coded statement that would only be viewable on older browsers. Something letting people know that they'll have to upgrade their browser in order to view the site. I'm hoping to avoid calls to the shelter from people who don't understand the problem. Ay help will be appreciated. Thank you.

Andrea

[londrum]

you can use IE's conditional statements for people using early versions of Internet Explorer.

<!--[if lte IE 5]>
<p>Upgrade your browser!</p>
<![endif]-->

that basically says that any browser prior to IE5 will print out the paragraph, but all other browsers will regard it as a comment.

the other way that people normally do it is to write something like this

<p class="hide">Upgrade your browser!</p>

and put
.hide{display:none}
in a stylesheet.

but instead of linking to the stylesheet in the head, they will import it instead, using @import
early browsers don't recognise import, so they will not know to hide the paragraph.

[nobody]

Other than that - looking at the statistics for your site will tell you how big this problem is likley to be as well.

[vincevincevince]

CSS normally degrades into a usable site, even if looks like a dog's dinner. Try using the new site with the stylesheet disabled. If you can get your information then you are good to go.

[jtara]

Our humane society is replacing its current site with a css-based site that won't work with older browsers.

Why?

One of the primary ADVANTAGES of CSS is that (if properly constructed) the site will degrade gracefully for older browsers.

Actually, the biggest compatibility problem with CSS is with browsers that A LITTLE old. i.e. those that support CSS, but support an older version than you are using. You may need to provide multiple style sheets for different browsers.

Alternately, you can provide NO style sheet for older browsers that don't support your version of CSS, if you can not justify the time and expense of creating alternate stylesheets.

For a really old browser, though, that doesn't support CSS at all, insuring compatibility is a matter making sure your text appears in the correct order (don't put the last paragraph first and then reposition it with CSS!), and few other simple rules, along with checking in an old browser (or with CSS rendering turned off) to make sure that it makes sense.

[stapel]

I have to echo the "why?" comment. Any time I land on a site that tells me to change browsers or leave, I just leave. If the site wants IE-only visitors, then I'll find what I need somewhere else. Is this what you want for your site?

Aside: It doesn't help that many of these IE-only sites want me to "upgrade" to a version of IE that is older than the (more advanced and compliant) browser that I'm already using....

Eliz.

[piatkow]

I have the same attitude. If some arrogant webmaster tries to tell me what browser to use the second word of my response is "off" which is usually uttered at the same time as the back button is hit.

[jbinbpt]

At some point you have to stop worrying about older browsers. If they can't or won't upgrade, most sites will render not as intended. They won't be turned off by your site because it looks normal to them.

[ccDan]

I'll fourth the "why" comments. If a web site tells me I should upgrade or change my browser, it might as well just put up a message that says "Go away. We don't want your kind here."

[jtara]

As you can see, people feel strongly about this.

If you tell somebody their browser isn't good enough for your site, you might as well be telling them that their mother is ugly and walks funny.

I realize this (probably) isn't the case with the poster's site, but insisting on a particular brand of browser (typically MSIE) gets the strongest reaction.

I'd guess the next-worst thing you can do is to claim that the user needs a browser "ugrade", when, in fact, they have a newer browser than your site is written for.

There are better ways of handling this than telling the user that their browser isn't up to snuff.

First, try to write your CSS to accommodate the last couple of versions of the most popular browsers. If you are using something extra-special that you really cannot part with, you can detect the browser and serve modified or different style sheets for different browsers.

For older browsers, you can still supply your content in a readable form by serving NO style sheet (for browsers that support style sheets, but just not the version of CSS you are writing to.) There's a bonus to this - if your site is readable, makes sense, and can be navigated with just basic HTML and no style sheet, it will also be reasonably accessible to non-sighted viewers.

You're already detecting the browser, in order to serve the "go away, you're not wanted here" message. Why not just use the same information to omit the style sheet?