Internet Explorer 6 : PNG Fix

While learning about CSS and tableless design using 'Divs' - I stumbled upon a problem. It took me quite a while to find the solution because I really didn't know what issue I was trying to resolve (I know, in order to resolve a problem you must first know what the problem is - yes, this is basic, I know.) I decided to use .png files.

Not sure what a .png is? Read on...
"For the Web, PNG really has three main advantages over GIF: alpha channels (variable transparency), gamma correction (cross-platform control of image brightness), and two-dimensional interlacing (a method of progressive display). PNG also compresses better than GIF in almost every case, but the difference is generally only around 5% to 25%, not a large enough factor to encourage folks to switch on that basis alone. One GIF feature that PNG does not try to reproduce is multiple-image support, especially animations; PNG was and is intended to be a single-image format only." source: www.libpng.org.

Anyway, I was testing my new images using IE7, Firefox and Opera - everything looked great. Then I remembered the dreaded IE6! I booted up a computer still running the piece of junk browser and noticed that my .png files (which should have had a transparent background) looked like crap (this is not a technical term) but I had no idea as to why they looked like crap! I struggled. I searched (but I didn't know what I was searching for and I almost decided to go back to .jpg's and .gif's but eventually I found this page - The PNG problem in Windows Internet Explorer. Not only did I find the solution (a bit of JavaScript code to make things better) but a description of the problem, with examples. Needless to say that after a week or so of frustration I was nearly airborne when I realized just how easy it was to make up for one of the many shortcomings of Internet Explorer 6!

Redesign In Progress

This is an ongoing project I am working on. I am redesigning Malware Solutions using tableless design. When completed the site will use valid XHTML and CSS. If you are interested you can see the progress here by clicking on "client login" (you do not need a password or username).

The purpose of the redesign is to optimize the site (SEO) and to see how far I can climb in search engine rankings using only SEO.

I don't have a time line for completion. This project will take a back seat as new clients are added to my work load.