Windows® Internet Explorer® 8

Windows® Internet Explorer® 8, the new web browser from Microsoft was built with developers in mind. IE8 makes it easier than ever for you to build and maintain sites that reach and maintain contact with your customers like never before. Built-in developer tools make it efficient and easy to develop and debug your site. New extensibility capabilities let you differentiate your site and keep customers coming back.

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Windows® Internet Explorer® 8

Built-In Developer Tools

Developers have all of the tools that they need, right out of the box without the need to download or install anything. Simply hit F12!

  • DOM Manipulation & HTML Tree View
  • CSS Tracing
  • JavaScript Debugging
  • JavaScript Profiling

Side-by-Side Rendering

Internet Explorer will work with sites that were designed for earlier versions, so you don’t have to make changes to your site, until you’re ready!

  • Side by side rendering engines
  • X-UA-Compatible switch allows developers to specify which rendering engine they want to use.
  • Support for Quirks Mode, Internet Explorer 7 mode, and Internet Explorer 8 mode

Great Standards Support

Internet Explorer is one of the most standards compliant browsers available, and offers developers the features they want and need.

  • Full CSS 2.1 Compliance
  • Support for HTML5 features like AJAX Navigation, DOM Store and more!
  • Support for CSS3 features like vertical text!
  • Enhancements to the DOM
Windows® Internet Explorer® 8 - Visual Search and Search Suggestions

Increase the Stickiness Level of Your Site

Drive more traffic to your site while giving customers richer experiences. Create Accelerators and Web Slices that keep your site and services just a click away no matter where your customers are on the web.

  • Use Web Slices to update users about content that changes on a regular basis, and provide them with notification when it’s updated!
  • Use Accelerators to provide a quick and easy way to call back into your web service, so users can use it anywhere they are on the web!
  • Use Visual Search and Search Suggestions to increase the value of search results. Users know that they’re getting what they’re looking for quickly and easily.

Developer Resources

See IE8 Features In Action

Check out all the cool things you can do with IE8 and see the code to do it on the IE8 Demo Site.

Find what developers need to know

The Developer Information Index is a great place to start.

Understanding the Compatibility View List

Learn about Internet Explorer 8’s compatibility modes and the compatibility view list.

Other Resources

Learn more on the Windows® Internet Explorer® website
< Microsoft Web Platform
Development Tools >

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