HTML, the markup language that is used to create websites, is in its latest version, HTML5. This is a premier upgrade to the markup scheme, making it more efficient and capable. In this article, you will read about the advantages of HTML5.

Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML), which is used to create almost all of the websites out there, was recently upgraded to version 5. The new version, HTML5, was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C.org). This new markup language will enhance the capability of web pages to a much higher level. This article will introduce you to the benefits of HTML5.

An Introduction to Markup Schemes

The markup language used to build a website is a combination of three components:

• The markup scheme defining elements on a web page.
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) or XSL (XML Stylesheet Language) that defines the visual formatting of each element.
• And a scripting scheme such as JavaScript that helps you create interactive code.

CSS defines the color, font size, format, etc., of each element on the web page, and JavaScript or VBScript helps create executable elements, such as advertisements or surveys.

HTML has had four major versions (up until October 2014, when HTML5 was officially released), and minor revisions are done by W3C on occasion. Popular browsers out there support the latest changes in the language in order to display websites properly. Older browsers cannot properly display the websites created with the latest code specification of HTML. In the table below, you will find the scores given to popular browsers based on support for HTML5. A larger score shows better support.

Google Chrome is the only browser that supports over 80 per cent of the features offered by HTML5, and others are close behind. Since Chrome and Firefox are open source products, they undergo continuous development. This is the reason why they support many features of HTML5. Microsoft Internet Explorer, however, scores far below all other browsers. This makes IE less equipped to handle the latest websites.

Advantages of HTML5

Online multimedia content – videos, audio files, games, interactive apps, etc., – often use proprietary technologies like Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight. Web services may also use Flash to display videos through your browser. Without Flash installed on your computer, you will not be able to watch these videos. In the same way, the games you run on Facebook or Google+ may require proprietary technologies.

Adobe Flash is widely regarded to be a highly insecure technology. This is the reason why Apple doesn’t provide support for Flash technology on any of its devices – iPhone, iPad, etc (Check out Steve Job’s famous “Thoughts on Flash” explaining why Apple ditched flash long ago).

Flash is known to have a number of vulnerabilities, which open doors to spyware and malware. This is why developers are slowly moving away from Flash although it powers billion-dollar businesses out there.

Related Reading: 5 Old Web Development Trends That You Should Remove from Your Site

HTML5 is capable of replacing Flash and other proprietary technologies, and it can power multimedia content on websites. Here are a few things HTML5 can do:

• It can display multimedia content on websites without the need for external plugins like Adobe Flash or Apple QuickTime.
• You can build a multi-touch interface on your website with HTML5.
• It seamlessly works with your hardware – webcam, microphones, headphones, etc.
• It is capable of displaying 2D and even 3D animations on web pages without proprietary plugins.
• HTML5 works well with smart TVs, providing online videos and games through them.

As an example of how you can draw on the screen using the canvas object (which is only available in HTML5), check out my popular actual size online ruler.

You have probably come across online apps for such tasks as movie editing, animation, image manipulation, video/audio chatting, etc. These apps also will not work without Flash or other less secure technologies. HTML5 can be used to create those apps and display them on your website without compromising on security. Best of all, your browser doesn’t need any plugin to work with HTML5 apps. This in turn makes your browser faster and more secure.

HTML5 and Internet Explorer

Looking at the table above, Chrome is the only browser that supports over 80% of HTML5 specifications. Although it is still the second most popular browser, Internet Explorer doesn’t support even 30% of the features (Google Chrome is number 1 for popularity). This is the reason why some of the latest websites do not display properly on IE.

Google Chrome has become the chosen browser of web developers and expert users who know the value of HTML5.

Conclusion

The latest edition of the HTML will create a more secure Web. New websites will become much more interactive. Web developers will be able to build rich, interactive content without doing much work. The software development kit for HTML5 is available at the WWW Consortium’s website itself.