HTML5 is an improvement over HTML. This version was created as a solution for today’s needs — one of which is support for creating mobile-friendly websites .
HTML5 is able to handle errors better than HTML. In addition, HTML5 also uses a simpler syntax than HTML, so that developers can create complex website page structures more easily.
However, HTML5’s differences from its predecessors do not stop there. The following are other advantages possessed by HTML5:
- Better Error Handling
- Ease to Create Web Applications
- Simpler Syntax
- Support for Responsive Website Creation
- Support for Video and Audio Content
- Support for Vector Graphics
- Compatible with More Browsers
- Local Information Storage
- Auto Focus on Form Fields
- Running JavaScript in a Web Browser
Let’s discuss one by one!
1. Better Error Handling
Open a web page in several different web browsers. It could be, there are some parts of the display that don’t look the same in each browser. The reason is that the page’s HTML code is imperfect for certain web browsers.
However, mistakes in writing HTML code cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is the job of web browser developers to create parsing algorithms to handle the error examples above.
Fortunately, HTML5 offers a better error handling system than its predecessors. This also facilitates the performance of web browser developers in making parsing algorithms.
In other words, websites written in HTML5 help web browsers to deal with imperfect HTML code.
2. Ease to Create Web Applications
Prior to the release of HTML5, the majority of websites were static because earlier versions of HTML did not have built-in features that support dynamic content such as animations and videos. To make this possible, web developers still rely heavily on Flash and JavaScript.
However, many websites today look and perform like applications that run outside of a web browser. Let’s look at Twitter and YouTube as examples.
In fact, now there are many websites with a single page model. These sites use only one page written using HTML, but can display interactive content. An example is Google products such as Gmail.
All of this is possible thanks to the new elements in HTML5 that replace the performance of Flash and JavaScript. Besides that, this fifth version also makes dynamic content work more smoothly.
3. Simpler Syntax
Prior to HTML5 implementation, web developers had to use <div> tags for various elements. The tag is needed to mark a section on a website page.
The use of these tags is not a problem if you create a simple page. However, this can be inconvenient for developers when writing code for web pages with complex structures.
Fortunately, HTML5 replaced section marking with simpler syntax, such as the <nav> tag to indicate a website’s navigation menu and the <footer> tag to represent the page’s footer section. Of course, this is one of the most important benefits of HTML5 for web developers.
4. Support for Responsive Website Creation
Mobile phones were not equipped with web browsers when HTML4 was launched. This is the reason why this version does not yet have a framework for efficient mobile website creation.
However, browsing habits have changed a lot since then. In 2018 alone, 58% of website access was done via mobile devices.
Well, HTML5 was created as a solution for these changes. With this latest release, web developers can create responsive websites, namely websites whose appearance can be adapted to mobile viewing more easily.
Also Read: How to Make Responsive WordPress Templates with HTML5
5. Support for Video and Audio Content
HTML4 does not have good support for video and audio content due to inadequate internet connection speeds in the late 90s.
Therefore, it is not surprising that creating a website with HTML4 multimedia content is not easy to do.
As a solution to this problem, HTML5 was created with features that make it easier. An example is the controls attribute used to create play and pause buttons on a media player.
6. Support for Vector Graphics
As previously mentioned, responsive websites are now a must. However, its creation requires a visual design that can be enlarged without distortion.
Vector graphics, which include files of the SVG, AI, and EPS types, are the solution. Unlike JPG or PNG files that break when enlarged, the quality of vector graphics is maintained.
Since HTML5 makes it easy to create responsive websites, support for vector graphics is also on the list of advantages.
Also Read: How to Safely Enable SVG Support in WordPress
7. Compatible with More Browsers
Currently there are so many web browsers available. Not only on laptops and computers, but also on mobile devices.
Actually, these browsers can still read websites written in the old version of HTML. However, not all of them can translate HTML4 code well.
On the other hand, websites created with HTML5 have been optimized for various existing web browsers.
8. Local Storage of Information
Previous versions of HTML did allow storing website user information. This is necessary, especially for websites that have interactive content.
However, the storage is carried out using a cookie system which incidentally is only able to accommodate a small amount of data.
In HTML5, the way information is stored has been improved with the localStorage object which replaces cookies with the local storage of an Internet user’s browser.
9. Auto Focus on Form Fields
To understand this advantage, try opening a website page with a form in it. Call it the login page of a website, as an example.
If your cursor immediately appears in one of the form fields, it means that the website was created using HTML5.
Also read : Example of the Fastest Web Browser
10. Run JavaScript in a Web Browser
On websites that use previous versions of HTML, JavaScript code can only run on the browser interface thread. This causes the interactive content on the page to not function until the page has finished loading.
The good news is that HTML5 comes with a JS Worker API which allows JavaScript to run in separate threads. Thus, browser users can still interact with the page, such as clicking buttons and typing in a column.