Hi,
I am about to block IE users from my website (using php) and wanted to get the maximum bang for buck. Please have a look at the following messages and give me your opinion on what is likely to have the most positive (deliberately leaving that for interpretation as you will) effect!
---------------------------------------------------------------- Browser Not Supported.
Unfortunately, due to issues the Microsoft Internet Explorer World Wide Web browser you will be unable to browse this site. This is an MS Internet Explorer specific problem and you will be able to navigate to this site with an alternative browser. If you do not have an alternative browser installed then just follow one of the links to any one of the award-winning browsers below to gain full access to the site. All the browsers below are available for Microsoft operating systems so you will have no problems once one is installed.
...links... ----------------------------------------------------------------
Browser Not Supported
Unfortunately, due to security concerns with Microsoft products you will be unable to browse this web site using any version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. At this stage you are able to view the site with any of the award-winning non-Microsoft browsers you can download from the links below, even if you are using a Microsoft operating system. The Webmaster is constantly monitoring this and the situation may change in the future if security concerns with Microsoft products persist. The Team suggests you investigate one of the many secure alternative options for operating systems and has provided some links to free or low cost alternatives below.
You'll have to be cautious with overselous use of the word Microsoft. Try to keep in mind that of the people you're trying to get the message to, many of them consider "Microsoft" to be the box sitting beside the screen. With this in mind, focus on the Internet Explorer side of things, rather than Microsoft.
Additionally, phrasing things so they appear like a system message, rather than an opinion, makes it much more likely that people will perform the suggested actions. Additionally, words such as alternative are to be avoided. It's all too easy for people to fall in to relating it to other things such as alternative medicine, which is likely to push them further away.
I'm not sure if the suggestion to remove Microsoft in favour for othe secure alternatives (Linux) is a good idea here. While it is in general a good idea, this may not be an appropriate forum in which to present it. Getting the user to change Internet Explorer for a different web browser is a major challenge in and of itself. To pile Linux on top of that isn't going to be appreciated. After that kind of advice, Aunt Sally isn't going to be paying much attention to the web browser situation. She'll just decide that the best thing to do is to move away from trying to visit your website.
I suggest that rather than trying to kill Microsoft with one broad stroke, you should instead apply the methodolgy of Death by a Thousand Cuts. Let this removal of Internet Explorer in favour of another web browser (even just the suggestion) be one of those cuts, and just that. Before too long people will properly understand when similar messages come from different directions about different Microsoft products. Internet Explorer here, MS Office there, soon they're realise that Microsoft, and not just some of their programs, is the problem to be dealt with.
Here's my suggested wording.
This website can not be viewed due to security weaknesses in Internet Explorer. As these security weaknesses are specific to Internet Explorer, they do not allow, in good faith, access to this website to be to provided to Internet Explorer. It is reccommended that any other web browser is to be used, which will provide protection from virtually all of the security weaknesses that affect Internet Explorer. Of the many web browsers out there, we suggest you investigate one of the many free and secure award winning web browsers as listed below. Please check out the list of features of each, to help you find the one that best fits your needs.
So we bag IE, explain why, tell them to use something else, and because people have trouble choosing from a list they don't know much about, they should have a feature list of what makes them different from the other browsers. Perhaps with "All of these browsers differ from Internet Explorer by ..." at the top, with major browser specific differences listed by each browser.
-- Paul Wilkins
