After more than two decades, Internet Explorer has reached the end of its life.

Microsoft officially announced the retirement of Internet Explorer 11. This means the IE 11 desktop app will no longer be supported, and most users will be transitioned to Microsoft Edge.

What does this mean?

• No more security updates or technical support for IE.
• Organizations still relying on IE will be urged to switch to Edge’s IE mode.
• Developers can officially drop support for IE in most modern web apps.

A look back

Internet Explorer played a major role in the early web. It helped bring browsing to the masses, dominated the market for years, and introduced proprietary features that shaped how we built websites. But it also held the web back for a long time due to slow updates and non-standard behavior.

Why this matters for developers

With IE retired, front-end developers can:

• Use modern JavaScript and CSS without as many polyfills or workarounds.
• Rely on evergreen browsers with consistent support for new standards.
• Reduce testing complexity by not targeting a browser stuck in the past.

What you should do

If you still have:

• Legacy code supporting IE, start auditing and updating it.
• Compatibility scripts or fallbacks, it might be time to remove them.
• Concerns about old clients, encourage migration to Edge (or any modern browser).

This is a major milestone. We’re finally moving on from the browser that defined – and often constrained – the web for years.

Modern web development just got simpler.