RIP Internet Explorer

14/10/2020

Microsoft is officially ending its support for Internet Explorer in August 2021, putting the final nail in a coffin long prepared for the web industry's most infamous and notoriously challenging browser to develop for. Microsoft’s own software, such as Office 365, OneDrive, Outlook, and Microsoft Teams will also no longer integrate with the browser from November this year.

PC users may have already noticed Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer's successor, appear after recent updates, though it has in fact been around since 2015 and has already taken over the role as Microsoft's de facto browser. Built on the open-source Chromium platform, Edge will offer greater compatibility with modern websites and apps, however, there will be a legacy option that will allow users to open any apps that are still only compatible with Explorer, so you can continue to work as normal... for now. 

Whilst Microsoft is encouraging existing Internet Explorer users to transition to Edge, there are of course many other alternatives available, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Due to support being removed for Internet Explorer, it makes it even more important for existing users to transition to a more modern browser, since continuing to use Explorer will pose a significant security risk as time goes on. Additionally, as the technology continues to age, modern websites will likely not render correctly and some functionality will cease to be available.