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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-28T04:31:45+00:00

This question has been asked before, but I would like a little more detail

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This question has been asked before, but I would like a little more detail from this one, more about the audience and why.

I was never a Javascript fan, if I could avoid using it I would… but now jQuery has evolved, I’ve found myself using a lot of it, and really enjoying it. But I now feel I could get carried away and use too much.

1) How many people actually have JS disabled? Does anyone have precise visitor statistics/analytics that proves what percentage of visitors are disabled? If it’s only 1 – 5%, should we really be caring about them?

2) What’s the reason for disabling JS in the first place, seeming as it’s enabled by default on all browsers? I don’t understand why the browser gives us that option. I’ve never found a reason to switch off my JS, unless it’s for testing purposes.

3) Do you think that JS will ever become a permanent browser language, by disallowing users to switch it off? Websites would be amazing (and secure) if scripts were permanent.

M application, a secure login only site, is rich with AJAX, overlays, tooltips and elements fading in and out – so much that it wouldn’t work without it. But this isn’t a problem for me as my users are warned at the point of registration that JS is a 100% requirement and my particular visitors actually need my application. I also have a <noscript> redirection back to the login page.

I’m asking the above questions because I’m about to redevelop the home-page to my application, which is public, but I’m unsure about how much to use and how big the audience is that would miss out on the jQuery goodness.

Thanks

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    1) I found this blog post from Yahoo that states that around 0.25 and 2% of their visitors have JavaScript disabled.

    2) I think this is a leftover from 10 years ago. There is no reason to disable JavaScript as the usability hit you take on many websites (with some not even being usable) is a lot more than the little security you gain. I always stretch that if non JavaScript users are that important to you then create a separate version of the page.

    3) I don’t know what you mean with permanent. JavaScript already runs in a Sandbox so you e.g. can’t access local files. Other security issues are more things like secretly submitting forms or redirecting to a malicious page.

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