The Benefits of Using HTML5 to Build Your Website

Posted at July 13, 2021 at 6:37 pm by Michael Lavrik

You can’t ignore the benefits of using Hypertext Markup Language 5 (HTML5) to build your website. It’s the fifth, as well as the final, version of the markup language of its namesake. Data collected by W3Techs shows that over 87 percent of all websites feature HTML5. While you can typically use an earlier version of HTML to build your website, HTML 5 offers a few major benefits.

Browser Compatibility

Using HTML5 to build your website will reduce the risk of browser problems. As the latest version of HTML, it’s compatible with all major browsers. HTML5 allows all visitors to access your website from their preferred browser.

HTML5 even eliminates the need for browser plugins by visitors. Rather than using Flash to display interactive media, for instance, you can use HTML5. Visitors will be able to see and engage with these interactive elements without downloading any plugins. With HTML5, your website will offer a high level of browser compatibility that makes it accessible to more visitors.

Local Caching

An innovative feature introduced in HTML5 is local caching. Also known as local storage, it serves two purposes: First, local caching is designed to prevent visitors from losing their data if they lose their internet connection. Visitors can enter data into your website’s fields, which will be saved locally on their computer until their internet connection returns.

Second, local caching protects visitors from redundant file downloads. Rather than downloading the same files each time they visit your website, they’ll only have to download the files once. HTML5’s local caching allows visitors to save copies of your website’s files on their browsers, meaning they won’t experience redundant file downloads.

Media Playback

Want to include video or audio content on your website? HTML5 can help. It supports the playback of rich media. You won’t have to install a separate media application on your website. Using HTML5’s media tags, you can include video or audio content on your website.

Adding video or audio content to your website is a breeze with HTML5. The markup language has a <video> tag that’s used for video content and an <audio> tag that’s used for audio content. To include media content on your website, upload the files to your site and add the appropriate tags to specify where they are located. With all major web browsers supporting HTML5, along with its rich media tags, visitors will be able to watch and listen to the files without downloading any plugins.

To learn more about HTML5’s media playback capabilities, visit developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/HTML/Multimedia_and_embedding/Video_and_audio_content.

Geolocation

HTML5 supports geolocation. Available with the geolocation application programming interface (API), it allows you to identify visitors’ geographic location. In other words, geolocation will reveal where your website’s visitors are located. You can then use this data to serve visitors relevant content.

Keep in mind that geolocation requires a secure connection. You can only use it if your website is secured with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate or a Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate. Installing one of these certificates on your website will create a secure connection that allows you to use HTML5’s geolocation feature.

Responsive Design

You can use HTML5 to create a responsive design for your website. Responsive designs are frameworks that leverage HTML tags and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to offer visitors a universal experience. HTML5 supports all the necessary tags and styling elements to create a responsive design.

Different visitors use different internet-connected devices to access websites. According to StatCounter, 55 percent of visitors use a smartphone, 41 percent use a desktop and a little under 3 percent use a tablet. Using HTML5, you can create a responsive design that works on all types of devices. Visitors will the same experience regardless of which device they use. For a responsive design, though, you should build your website using HTML5.

Search Engine Friendly

Another benefit of using HTML5 to build your website is search engine optimization (SEO). It’s a search engine-friendly markup language that can improve your website’s SEO game. HTML5 comes equipped with dozens of new tags that provide context for your website’s content.

Along with media tags, it features tags for traditional content. You can use HTML5’s <article> tag to define the main content of a web page, and you can use the <nav> tag to define navigation links. Other new tags introduced in HTML5 include the <header> tag for your website’s header, the <footer> tag for its footer and the <section> tag for a particular section of a web page. Using these tags will assist search engines in understanding your website so that they can assign organic rankings to it.

Easier Coding

You’ll have an easier time writing and editing your website’s code if you use HTML5 to build it. When compared to earlier versions of the markup language, it features cleaner and simpler syntax. Earlier versions of HTML use tags as well, but many of them are longer and more complex than HTML5’s tags.

With its short and simple tags, HTML5 makes it easy to code your website. You can write and edit code more easily if you use it. Many of HTML5’s tags are self-explanatory. In turn, HTML5 allows you to spend less time working on your website’s behind-the-scenes code and more time filling your site with content.

Future-Proof

HTML5 is here to stay. It’s a future-proof version of the markup language that will weather the hands of time. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has stated that it has no plans to develop a sixth version of HTML. HTML5 is the final version and, thus, is considered the living standard of HTML.

Of course, the W3C will still update HTML5. You can expect changes to the markup language’s syntax in the future. The W3C may add new tags or depreciate old tags. Regardless, HTML5 is the definitive, future-proof version of HTML.

HTML is the markup code that powers all websites. Instead of using an older version of the markup language, though, you should use the latest version: HTML5. It’s compatible with all major browsers, offers local caching, supports media playback, supports geolocation, allows you to create responsive designs, search engine friendly and future-proof.

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