There are few technologies as pervasive on the lips of developers and those in the web industry as HTML5. HyperText Mark-up Language’s fifth version heralds in a new version of the venerable syntax language that is built for a new era of content-rich websites.

New tags specifically lay out what each section of content is for, from asides, articles, and sections. This type of content already exists, of course; they didn’t just magically pop up in HTML5 after being absent in web development for 20 years. But, now that developers can specify what exactly a piece of content is in the markup language, search engines will be better able to see what the page is offering and the layout of that page.

There are a host of other capabilities that HTML5 offers as well. Local storage allows for client-side stored information to be reused later almost like a database inside the user’s browser. While this is not as robust as having an actual database that can be accessed from any browser on any computer, it’s got some pretty great applications. The tag can stream video without the use of Adobe’s Flash Player plugin, making it more mobile friendly. In fact HTML5 is extremely mobile friendly.

Most exciting about HTML5 though, is easily the tag. Paired with javascript, this tag can create rich, interactive applications or animations. Charts, graphs, games, basically anything that you would want to be animated and/or interactive can be done in the tag. In a user landscape that demands more from their websites, HTML5 is the vehicle to make a website more than a marketing medium, but rather an experience.

Unfortunately, while HTML5 is being broadly used even now, it is still in development with new standards being ironed out. Browser support for the myriad different tags is not consistent. Internet Explorer, with its 37% (and shrinking) market share has the worst support for this technology. Chrome, Firefox, and other more modern browsers do a better job supporting this new technology. Internet Explorer 10, which comes out late 2012 promises to have html5 support on-par with its competitors.

Get excited about HTML5, it’s the next phase of the new, content-rich web. At Ayoka, we develop in the most innovative technology such as HTML5. A local and collaborative IT enterprise software development firm still exists onshore in the United States… Please give us a call at 817-210-4042 to get started!