Discussion summary: Dropping support for IE11

Welcome!

The WordPress coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development team builds WordPress! Follow this site for general updates, status reports, and the occasional code debate. There’s lots of ways to contribute:

Found a bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority.? Create a ticket in the bug tracker.
Want to contribute? Get started quickly with tickets marked as good first bugs for new contributors or join a bug scrub. There’s more on the reports page, like patches needing testing, and on feature projects page.
Other questions? Here is a detailed handbook for contributors, complete with tutorials.

As a follow-up to the very active discussion around the proposal to drop support for IE11, there is a majority agreement to move forward with dropping support. The next steps are to figure out a timeline and what it means for projects/teams to drop the support.

Regarding timeline, there are two upcoming milestones where support could be dropped: 5.8 and 5.9. The argument for dropping in 5.8 is to realize the change and improvement quicker, while others are inclined to wait until 5.9 to provide a longer window between the official announcement and the effective date.

The decision when will be left to the release team for WordPress 5.8; this team is not formed yet as it depends on the April go/no-go Full Site Editing merge.

This post was written in collaboration with @mkaz, @annezazu, and @youknowriad.

#accessibility, #browser-support, #performance

Jb Audras 8:16 pm on March 25, 2021

Thanks for summarizing the feedback received in the previous post.

If the decision of the 5.8 release leads is to drop IE11 support in 5.8, @peterwilsoncc and I could definitely take care of updating the Browsehappy notice in one of the upcoming minor versions.

Indeed, even if the Browsehappy notice can be updated independently from CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. releases, I think it’s better to update alongside a release, to give better visibility to this change.
mrwweb 9:29 pm on March 25, 2021

A quick piece of feedback: It would be helpful if this post provided a summary of the discussion that included not just the majority opinion but the key pros, cons, and considerations for implementation. I think that would both increase confidence in the decision and also provide guidance for next steps.
Joe Dolson 4:45 pm on March 26, 2021

Per conversation in the accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) team today, we’d appreciate it if the process for removing IE11 support could include ongoing documentation of the impact of the changes on IE11, so that we can keep track of functional changes in IE11 that result from this, particularly any changes that might impact assistive technologyAssistive technology Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. Assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology.
lmcdo 3:10 am on April 1, 2021

Please take into consideration that there are in-support Microsoft devices (Windows RT devices) that only support IE11. Those devices are supported through 2023. Obviously that is not a large percentage of the user base, but people still using RT devices may not have means to replace those devices.
- lmcdo 3:23 am on April 1, 2021
  
  Frankly, I didn’t see the prior post. I’m a little disappointed. In my opinion, there should be major version update warnings for whichever version drops support, but both of these are startlingly early. I would hope that the default themes continue to support IE11 into the new versions, and only the adminadmin (and super admin) panel drops support.
  
  Obviously, supporting an old web browser is no fun, which explains the large number of comments in favor of dropping support. But WordPress is too big of a percentage of the Internet to drop support for an in-support web browser on the client side. Dropping it on the admin side however is 100% fine.
  - Knut Sparhell 7:54 am on April 1, 2021
    
    It seems this primarily about adminadmin (and super admin) from WP 5.8 and onwards, with blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor, upcoming FSE and Twenty Twenty-Two. I see no plans to massively remove support for IE11 in old coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. themes. The old themes are somewhat maintained to support new core technologies, and I guess it may be some discussions if, say, Twenty Seventeen 2.7 (next), will lose IE11 support on the front.
    
    For the very small fraction of users who want to keep IE11 functioning in admin for some time, immediately updating WordPress, or bundled themes, to latest have never been mandatory – only strongly suggested.
    
    The “bigness” of WordPress involves both a huge responsibility to try to keep support for whatever people use, and must use, but also to try to bring both itself and the whole www forward by not keep dragging along completely outdated things almost nobody use. That would only delay phasing out IE for the few that still clings to it.
Ofer Shaal 4:38 am on May 20, 2021

Microsoft announced today the official EOL of IE11 – June 22, 2022.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/05/19/the-future-of-internet-explorer-on-windows-10-is-in-microsoft-edge/

Comments are closed.

Welcome!

Communication

Share this: