An Introduction to HTML5 for Web Developers

If you have just started learning about HTML5, reading this blog post would be of great help. HTML5 is the latest hypertext mark-up language for the websites. Today, major browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or Opera offer HTML5 support. However, HTML5 with CSS3 is still in the development phase. HTML5 has impressive features and has changed the internet world completely. It is created to make the coding process in designing more logical. The syntactic features include the new audio, video, canvas elements and integration of vector graphics content.

In the following sections you we will examine why HTML5 is truly the way forward and the most preferred choice for web developers.

Cross browser support:

Beside major browsers such as IE, Safari and Chrome, Facebook and Microsoft also promote and support HTML5. All of these are also compatible with HTML5 codes.

Clear codes:

HTML5 is one of the best tools for those web developers who prefer to work with codes that are easy to read. HTML5 helps developers to write semantic codes through which they can segregate meaning from content and style. Thus, it allows developers to write clean and descriptive codes.

Audio and video support:

You can be less bothered about Flash Player and other media players that make your website appealing and interactive while working with HTML5. In fact audio and videos in HTML5 do not need any player and you can easily run their content on any computer. As mobile phones also support HTML5, audio and video files can be run on any mobile or smart phones.

In addition, HTML5 content functions faster than Flash. In a nutshell, HTML5 has numerous advantages over Flash for example, HTML5 can be run without extensions, it has better drag and drop options alongside  better online editing options.

Support for mobile platforms:

With increasing advancement of mobile technologies over the last few years, mobile browsers have accepted HTML5 as one of the best web technology. Even the gap between HTML5 and the traditional app has been minimized to a great extent. Besides, HTML5 also supports the development of games in mobile devices.

Support for game development:

HTML5 paves the way for creating interactive games which are mobile friendly. For example, by using HTML5’s <canvas> tag web developers can develop games. Those developers who have built Flash games in the past would surely love to explore HTML5.

Easy accessibility of sites:

HTML5 makes every site easily accessible for the following reasons- ARIA and Semantics. Indeed, new HTML heading such as <nav>, <aside>, <header>, <footer>, <section> allow readers to easily access content.

ARIA is primarily utilized to assign precise role to all elements in an HTML document. Furthermore, with the new semantic tag readers can examine HTML documents and create a better experience for those who use them.

As you now know why HTML5 is a preferred choice, you must be curious about what’s new about HTML5. Let’s take a look at them.

New important syntaxes incorporated in HTML5:

<Nav> – in between the nav tag, the navigation can now be placed in the mark-up. This will automatically make your lists act like navigation.

<Embed> – this tag defines the container for external applications or interactive plugins.

<aside> – this tag marks content aside from the page content, which for instance can be a lateral sidebar.

<section> – this syntax define sections in a document. It is quite similar to div which segregates different sections.

<header>, <footer> – you can use these predefined tag as you do not have to manually name IDs for headers and footers.

In summary, HTML5 was developed to endure today’s necessities and any changes that might occur in the industry. It is definitely here to stay for many more years to come. Therefore, if you have not yet thought about using HTML5, it is high time you started using it to make your Web development work easier and faster.