Takeaway:
The rapid adoption of HTML5 - the successor to the now
long-in-the-tooth HTML4 - is allowing programmers to create some
impressive websites.
It seems like
HTML5 has been around forever, but it’s technically not even a standard (the specification recommendation is scheduled for
2016, so
it will be years before it’s officially approved). Because most
browsers already support many of its features, smart developers and
programmers are taking advantage of the myriad ways that it improves
their coding and enriches many popular websites.
Whether you’re a programmer or someone who enjoys the wonders that HTML5 lets website designers create, the new
markup language has a lot to offer. Here are five cool features of HTML5:
Geolocation Is Where It’s At
"Would
Like To Use Your Current Location?" How many times have you seen that
on your phone in the last few years? It’s HTML5’s convenient yet
possibly intrusive
geolocation feature, and you’re going to be seeing it even more. With an increasing percentage of traffic coming from
mobile devices
(the United States is at 12 percent, while India is more than 60
percent), it’s no wonder that many websites are using HTML5’s
geolocation feature to hyper-localize a user’s Web or app experience.
This
site should pinpoint your position extremely well on a
smartphone and surprisingly well on a desktop.
HTML5 Will Improve Your SEO
Want to improve your
Google page rank? Use HTML5. According to
searchengineland.com, using HTML5 is a "godsend" for
SEO, especially for sites that use a lot of
Flash,
since "searchbots will be able to crawl your site and index your
content. All of the content that is currently embedded in animations
will be readable to search engines. In basic SEO theory, this one aspect
of HTML5 will do wonders for your website’s ability to drive
organic search
traffic." HTML5 also makes it easier for programmers to use audio and
video on their sites, and search engines favor media-rich pages.
It’s a Blank <Canvas> for Gaming
Programmer Josh Goldberg faithfully
recreated
Super Mario Brothers, a cherished childhood game, by using HTML5 and
the <canvas> element. His impressive piece of programming went
viral,
attracting more than 300,000 unique, Mario-loving visitors per day.
Unfortunately, he didn’t check with Nintendo before undertaking the
year-long task of recreating the game. Mario’s owner, Nintendo, stated
that the game was "illegal" and should be taken down immediately, as it
violated their copyright. The site was taken down on November 1, 2013 -
but not before nearly 2.7 million visitors had a chance to play the
game. WebdesignerDepot.com has a list of 25 "
incredibly addictive," legal HTML5 games.
HexGL, a futuristic racing game, has stunning graphics for a browser-based game.
Local Storage Means No More Cookies
Cookies
have worked (reasonably) well for programmers since Netscape invented
them in 1994, but they have significant drawbacks, including the need to
be sent with every
HTTP request, lack of
encryption
and size limitation (about 4k). While technically not part of the HTML5
standard (it was split off from HTML5 a couple of years ago), local
storage overcomes the cookie’s limitations by storing data locally in
the browser. The data is never sent to the server; no third-party
plugins are required and the 5MB size limit is more robust. IBM has a
cool
sticky note example of local storage, while the curious should visit Dive Into HTML, which
goes deep on local storage.
Create a Garage Band Using Jam With Chrome
Invite some friends and form a band with
Jam with Chrome,
an HTML5 Web app with 19 different instruments, amazing graphics (the
vibrating guitar string effect is mesmerizing) and surprisingly good
sound. This Chrome-only game takes full advantage of HTML5 features,
like Web Audio (which creates better sound from the browser), Websockets
(to let band members interact in real time) and the Canvas feature,
which allows for better graphics (including the aforementioned vibrating
string effect).
Web
developers
don’t seem to care that HTML5 is not a standard. In fact, the entire
Web community is benefiting while developers happily use its rich new
features to develop amazing websites and games.