Does Netscape 4.X still matter?

[Tygur]

I just spent all this time developing a website, and I tested it in Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Opera all the way through and made sure it worked with all three browsers. Now that I'm finally done, I ended up bringing it up in Netscape 4.7. It turns out that Netscape 4.X totally messes up the page.

So my question is simple. Is this something I should worry about?

[goldenbuddha]

Netscape 4.X has the worst HTML compliance for web graphics development, IMO. But the new versions are much better. So if anyone is still using 4.X, leave them a message on your site telling them to upgrade would be helpful.

[thekemp]

just put the requirements of viewing on the front page, ie: ie 5.0+ opera x.x mozilla 1.X netscape 6+ etc

[crouse]

It's one of those things every webdesigner has to decide .......... where do I stop??

Personally........ I never check how my sites look at below 800x600.
I check check pages in current versions of Mozilla, Opera, and yes..... IE (just because most people use it). I just check with current browsers, becuase the upgrade path is so easy........ well if they don't want to upgrade....... then I'm not going to worry about them too much.

You have to draw the lines somewhere. You don't really have much choice. I try to code to w3c standards....... but sometimes things still look different on different browsers and settings no matter what you do. But coding as close as possible to w3c standards will ensure a wider base of users who can view your site the way it was intended.

[Nighthawk]

It seems like some people still use Netscape 4, but it's well-known for not rendering things correctly. You could put a disclaimer at the bottom of the page, and possibly even a javascript function that'll warn someone with Netscape >6 (and only them) that you recommend they upgrade their browser before viewing your site.

[Redwolf]

In short. No.

During the days of Netscape 6, it did since Netscape 4 was consitered better than he 'newer' versions. Netscape then released the source, and made major improvments thanks in part to the Mozilla Project (both browsers use the same engine).

So forget Netscape 4, the peopel still using it need to upgrade.

[willy_ph]

Alot of universities and highschools still use Netscape 4.x. I'd like to say that it doesn't, but it is still in wide use, so I'd still make my pages display properly in 4.x

[aarmenaa]

Heh-my school won't use anything but Netscape 4. For some reason they got the idea that Netscape 4 was more "secure" than other web browsers. Go figure...

-Aarmenaa

[hawkman2]

Heh here at NOAA (U.S. govt agency) were stuck on netscape 4.75. The mail admins claim there's LDAP problems with the newer versions.

[tonyromen]

I'm gonna go against the grain and say YES.

I took a breif webdesign course in college and a strong underlying theme was making things work. I think the majority of tech savvy people who use netscape update and use the latest version, but I think that MOST people who use netscape (including your grandma/neighbor/uncle who barely knows how to turn on thier computer) use older versions of netscape...namely 4.x

Also I think of Netscape 4.x as a final test. If it works in 4.x, then it probably works in everything else!

EDIT: ( thought of more stuff) As a web designer, you have to cater to your audience if you want the most traffic. Think about it. Just because there is a little disclaimer that it will work in another browser, doesn't mean that someone who stumbles on your page will download it JUST to see 1 page! I'd think they'd move on to another site that offers up similar info.
Now...if the audience you are catering to is a more tech savvy one, then chances are they are up to date on their browser choice. It's a trade off I guess.

just my 2 cents.

-t