The basics of web design are all based around the language which the world wide speaks. This is what enables us to not only create effective websites, but helps to provide the link building, communication and SEO strategies to get our sites working effectively, ensuring our page rankings are high and providing users to our sites with a easy to use and reliable set of web pages. This language has taken a long time to develop, but it appears as good as it is, it has still not been fully perfected.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) has come a long way over the past five or ten years. Where an old school SEO company will remember the days of struggling to upload content and create page codes and meta tags, the past few years have seen a much more sophisticated format which makes life that little bit easier all round. Most of us involved in search engine optimisation and website design will be thankful for HTML4 and eternally grateful for the ease of use it has given us.
As much as HTML4 is appreciated, it is time that it stepped aside and made way for a brand new version called, rather creatively, HTML5. HTML5 promises us a decrease in some certain commands which are now deemed a bit unnecessary, plus the introduction of new commands and options which will make uploading content onto your web pages even smarter.
HTML5 will see various commands being diminished and not supported, such as [font] and [centre]. This will have an effect on the coding companies use in their online content if it happens, not a great deal of extra work but having to re write code is something most of us could do without.
The main purpose and improvements web development professionals will see with HTML5 is much less need for additional plug-ins such as java and flash, as more sophisticated and complex content such as videos and images will be much easier to upload and viewed just by the HTML5 commands. This will make it a lot easier for websites to include this content within their sites and also easier in terms of visibility to users – and of course to search engines, which can help them become a great SEO resource.
Some other changes we will experience with HTML5 is the inclusion of navigation block commands within the main elements and a general tilt towards standard website usage. We will also see new API’s (application programming interfaces) which will aid in organising and monitoring browser history, additional storage options both on and offline and playback functions for various types of media.
Before all web designers lock themselves away and start re-writing all their program codes, HTML5 is only in its early stages. It has been being worked on since 2004 so it is highly unlikely that we will see much of a change immediately. HTML5 does also have the ability to work with older HTML versions, and it would have a significant effect on the world wide web as a whole if all older versions of HTML were no longer able to be used.