This article was published on May 8, 2012

Wix says “Hell with Internet Explorer 8,” drops support for its HTML5 builder


Wix says “Hell with Internet Explorer 8,” drops support for its HTML5 builder

Although Internet Explorer 9 has turned over a new leaf with decent standards support compared to its predecessors, IE still has the reputation of a wet sponge. Not long ago, I asked if IE deserves a second chance — in some ways it does, but it’s hard to argue for the browser when previous (and terrible) releases are still clinging to life.

IE8, which deserves its horrible reputation, never supported HTML5 and has been slowing down the team at website development tools company Wix from taking advantage of emerging capabilities. Finally, though this should have happened from the get-go, Wix is officially saying “Hell with Internet Explorer 8,” and has dropped support entirely.

This means that, above anything else, Wix’s HTML5 builder couldn’t have possibly been much of a HTML5 builder at all, given its support for IE8. Right now, JavaScript is simply doing all the dirty work that Flash once did. Soon, according to the release, Wix’s builder is going to really start taking advantage of advanced HTML5 capabilities, which will likely include CSS3 as well. Sure, this is all a bit of a marketing gimmick, but it’s still nice to see companies push forward for the sake of its users in the long run.

Avishai Abrahami, Wix’ CEO and Co-founder on the change:

By freeing the Wix platform from the constraints IE8 places on its users, Wix will continue to lead the advancement of HTML5 web design features that aren’t supported by outdated browsers today. The Wix user demands more variety and a consistent stream of new features which will benefit their website in the long run. Advanced HTML5 Web design and IE8 support cannot co-exist.

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Since Wix’s HTML5 site builder has been live, more than 400,000 websites have been built/transitioned to the new format. Although IE8 still commands roughly 20% of the browser market, only 12% of Wix’s customers use IE8. For that 12%, they’ll now have to upgrade their browsers or stick to the Flash builder.

➤  Wix HTML5 Site Builder (read our review here)

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