When HTML 5 was first introduced in 2008, it raised more questions than it pumped up adrenaline: would it be better than all those previous versions of HTML? Would designers and developers be able to work with it? Is it the answer to fuel development of mobile ready websites that were just beginning to be the rage that we see that it is today? And then, Adobe announced that it’d kill flash. So, would HTML5 step in? Can it deliver?
Ever so slowly, HTML5 did become a web development or web design language to reckon with. In 2010, YouTube offered an HTML5 player and Steve Jobs trashed flash into the bid. All of Scribd’s documents switched to HTML5. In March 2011, Disney buys HTML5 gaming startup called “Rocket Pack”.
By 2011, 34% of world’s top 100 sites used HTML5. Today, wix.com has 1,000,000 HTML5 websites.
So, did it work? You bet.
In December 2012, The World Wide Web Consortium announced specifications for HTML5 and Canvas 2D regarding them as “feature complete”. This means that HTML5 now offers a stable environment for developers. Of course, it’s a little away from the 2014 deadline to become a full W3C standard.
HTML5 is a raging monster; it’s a well of opportunity, and it’s probably the answer to a unified web experience. It boasts of a simple set of protocols for future web development for desktops and for mobile. HTML5 systematically eliminates the wrinkles that the earlier HTML versions were drowning under.
What’s coming in 2013? Where do we see HTML 5 going from here? Let’s explore:
HTML5 is going to be the standard. Period.
W3C confirms the targeted date for HTML5 standard. W3C is now implementing an “implementation experience shift” to HTML5 with 50 organizations participating in what’s called as “HTML Working Group” – all of them committed to Royalty-free licensing under the reigning W3C Patent Policy. There’s a clear demand for web “interoperability” and that’s because the web is critical global resource transforming every industry, as we know it.
As the web grows in importance, there’s a need for clean standards for the language that powers the web. HTML 5 and CSS3 together are a formidable set of languages built exclusively for the future of the web. They are not too different from their respective earlier versions but they are robust, solid, and loaded with features that mean something for today users, thereby giving developers a lot more rope to climb with.
As we see it, HTML 5 is the way of the future.
Prepare for the HTML5 boom
According to a research study conducted by Strategy Analytics and other research agencies – thanks to a report on Techcrunch.com — HTML5 adoption will continue to surge. An estimated 1 billion+ HTML5 compatible smartphones will be sold. Pitch than number against the 336 million units sold in the year 2011. HTML5 is just getting started – be it for powering smartphones, websites, mobile apps, or mobile-ready websites, HTML5 is here to stay.
Enterprise mobility? Call in HTML5, Please
Gil Bouhnick of Clicksoftware.com made some bold HTML5 predictions for the year 2013, and we concur.
He notes that HTML5 was already massive in the year 2011. The market is already making the move to ditch Blackberry and Windows phones (although Windows 8 just bought it time). Almost every platform – mobile or web – is now making the shift to HTML5 (this includes Blackberry OS, Palm WebOS, and Windows 8).
Gil claims that HTML5 is the only true cross-platform ready technology to date and it comes with easy modules to launch it on any platform.
HTML5 Will Enter WarZone (to win)
The giants of the world took note of HTML5’s grand entry. Google and Microsoft are all playing by the HTML5 card. The mobile app stores or web app stores that each of these giants bet their respective future on are already taking steps to promote the use of HTML5.
Together, these giants will give a war cry to other companies like Apple (which still prefers to go the native app way). For companies like Apple, which traditionally rested laurels on native apps available on the Apple App Store, it’s only a matter of time before HTML5 will make inroads.
HTML5: First Choice For Development Environment
According to Carlo of Wipconnector.com, HTML5 is a great alternative for many applications. As smartphone markets begin to grow and as the web works to get as accommodative as it can, HTML5 proves to be simple, practical, and efficient to fit the developer’s glove.
Further, as Carlo reminds us:
- “ The ability to reuse HTML5 code across platforms will prove very powerful for many developers who will increasingly adopt it, most typically using a hybrid approach that wraps their code in a native wrapper to enable app store distribution and device feature access”
HTML5 Might Just replace Native Apps
Linda Bustos wrote an intriguing post on Getelastic.com, where she maintains that:
“Native apps are expensive to develop and maintain across multiple platforms (including updates and bug fixes) “
Developers are forced to be more proactive with app management. Native apps also lack the ability to be “link worthy”, and whatever revenue these apps are likely to generate diminishes thanks to the hefty cut platforms charge. All the while, the use of apps on mobiles is growing.
So, will HTML5 solve this problem? Yes, it appears to be so. According to the Worldwide Web Consortium HTML5 is a more complete, thorough, and capable. Although a perceptible shift to HTML5 from native apps is still far away, it’s a probable reality.
HTML5 Ads is the future
Since iOS devices are still a strong source of traffic and revenue for businesses or website owners, there will be more demand for HTML5 ads instead of “flash ads”. Since HTML5 is more than capable of doing everything that flash does, iHTL5 is also set to power everything that flash used to do. Plenty of startups are already emerging to capitalize on this growing opportunity.
As for predictions, we could go on and on. The fact is that HTML5 is a remarkably different animal. It almost evolves, grows, and gets better with age. As of now, it’s already a preferred technology but the future has a lot more in store for it.
What do you think about HTML? Where do you think it’ll go from here? What do you make of the opportunity HTML5 provides? Share your thoughts with us.
Author Bio:
Pete Juratovic is the Strategic Director and founder of Clikzy Creative, a website design company in Washington, DC. Clikzy Creative also offers fashion website design, search engine optimization, and many other services.