What is HTML5?
HTML5 is the latest version of the classic HTML programming language used to build static websites. It uses a lot of the same markup tags but can now be used to build more dynamic websites, thanks to it having a host of multimedia elements.
If you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What can I build with HTML5?
Unlike HTML, which you can only use to build static websites unless you pair it with plugins and other programming languages, you can use HTML5 to build a wider range of outputs, including:
- Dynamic websites
- Games
- Animations
This is all thanks to the language natively supporting a wide variety of multimedia elements, such as audio and video.
While you will still need to use things such as CSS and JavaScript along with your HTML5 code to build a website that requires special functionality, you no longer need to do so just to make your website dynamic.
Question #2: What is the difference between HTML and HTML5?
The biggest differences between HTML and HTML5 can be grouped into three basic categories:
- Compatibility
- Support for multimedia
- Dependence on SGML
Let us go over each one in more detail:
First, unlike HTML, it can run smoothly across all modern browsers, which are slowly starting to pull support for older versions of HTML. This means that if you want a website that is not only free from browser compatibility issues, but also future-proof, you will need to build it using HTML5 (or convert your old HTML website to HTML5).
Second, as we have seen earlier, while HTML does not have native multimedia support, it does. This means that you can do so much more with the latter without requiring plugins and other programming languages.
Finally, classic HTML was originally based on something called standard generalized markup language (SGML), which, having been developed around the 1960s, is obviously now completely obsolete—especially because it is not designed for mobile devices. This is exactly why HTML5 was developed to be completely independent of SGML and have its own unique set of rules.
Question #3: What are the benefits of using it?
The main benefits of using HTML 5 are:
- It can be used to create dynamic websites
- It has native multimedia support
- It is more efficient
- It has better support for mobile devices
Let us take a closer look at each one:
First, as we have seen earlier, unlike HTML, HTML5 can be used, on its own, to create dynamic websites. Back in the day, the only way you could do this was by using plugins and other programming languages with your HTML code.
Second, again, unlike HTML, itsupports multimedia, such as video and audio, natively, no longer requiring plugins such as the now-defunct Flash Player. This means HTML5 websites are significantly less vulnerable to security risks.
Third, HTML5 is also significantly more efficient, not only compared to classic HTML but things such as Flash as well.
Remember when having YouTube open on your browser significantly slowed down your computer? That was because YouTube used to use Flash, which was an extremely resource-hungry technology, back in the day.
Finally, by being more efficient, it also runs so much better on mobile devices than classic HTML.
Keep in mind, though, that just because you are using HTML5 does not mean that your website would automatically run smoothly on smaller, less capable devices. At the end of the day, you still need to make sure that your code is clean and optimised.