The Present and Future State of HTML5 Development
There are several HTML5 features which have cast it in the limelight:
Video elements: Video elements are one of the major changes seen in the latest HTML version. Designers can now build web pages without the need of plug-in software like Flash. Recently, Youtube started using HTML 5 for displaying video. Built-in video controls have made the feature easy to use accessible too.
Application cache: One can now store web apps like how Outlook stores emails locally. Google has converted its Google Gears mail client with the help of HTML5 and Google Wave has also started the latest HTML 5 version.
Canvas for Images: The canvas element which is introduced by HTML5 helps the user to render graphics and photos easily. Designers would not need jQuery as an intermediate technology, thus saving on development time and effort.
Geo-location: The HTML5 Geo-location feature has smart location identification feature which utilizes various geo location technologies including the GPS (Global Positioning system), IP address, Wi-Fi, and the like. The system is encapsulated by regulations and need to be authorized before use.
Web workers: This feature enables a web app to accomplish complex tasks without having to take into account the real-time performance of a webpage.
Most of the top browsers include new HTML5 specifications in their future development plans. IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and many other browsers have accepted the standard though it would take time for all browsers to respond well.
The iOS platform already uses elements of HTML5 and all the Apple devices boast of support for the new version. Future website design projects will find HTML5 to be an important markup language across various display devices.
A new report from Usablenet revealed few interactive HTML5 elements that could increase user interactivity with a site sporadically. Usablenet revealed that the brands prefer HTML5-enabled features in their sites which include interactive galleries and expandable boxes. Most HTML5-support sites reported increase in pageviews by 11% while these sites reported an increase of 28% in overall usage.
Retailers use the HTML5 platform to better represent their products, especially in an interactive manner. An overlay with a shopping cart presented by HTML5 can help retailers speed up the purchase process mobile purchase process and also lower abandonment rate of the shopping process.
According to the Usablenet report, GPS is widely used to track down products in the local inventory which has also helped lower abandonment rates among customers. Due to the small size of the mobile phone’s screen, HTML 5 presents expandable boxes which can give more info about the products so that retailers can add more info to product descriptions. This actually reduces the overall bounce ratio too.
The HTML5 standard helps in ensuring cross-browser compatibility too and this has been every site owner’s wishlist. Phone cameras to be used as barcode scanners is next in line which is soon going to make way in the list of the top sought after mobile web apps. The current state and the future of HTML5 will determine how much of innovation is possible.
John Monatta is professional content writer who works for HTML5 development company. He is expertise in content writing of HTML5 Web Apps, CRM solutions, CRM integration, rich internet application development like Silverlight development and AJAX development.