HTML5 for Web Application Development?

HTML5 has been one of the revolutionary developments in the world of web application development. It is being used in the development of mobile as well as web applications. It has introduced a whole set of new elements that make it much easier to build web applications which run on the native browser. The new syntactical features include <video>, <audio>, <header> and <canvas> elements. Other features which enrich the semantic content of documents are <section>, <article>, <header> and <nav>. It has also defined many new APIs (application programming interfaces) which add robustness to web application development.

Most advanced web applications that you see around you are being developed in HTML5 thanks to its robust features. It is being widely used to develop Rich Internet Applications which is a mark improvement from all its predecessor versions. It works as a one stop solution for the development of SEO friendly, graphically rich and functionally strong web applications. You no longer have to structure an application in HTML and shop elsewhere for dynamic graphics as it offers unlimited choices when it comes to looks and feel.

HTML5 has become the first choice of a majority of developers working on web application development. Apps have become faster and high in technical functioning thanks to this powerful platform. Before we learn the important tips of HTML5 web application development let us take a look at the advantages offered by HTML5. This revolutionary application is miles ahead of its competitors and offers a lot of advantages when it comes to developing a web application.  Some of the advantages of HTML5 are –

• HTML5 allows you to stream audio and video without the use of any third-party plugin such as Flash player. The player controls can easily be created using JavaScript.
• The code structure in HTML5 has been modified and instead of traditional div tags new elements are being used to deliver cleaner and more SEO friendly codes.
• It allows local storage of data from the client side. This means that the application can be accessed even if there is a disconnection for a short period of time.
• HTML5 enables designer to use fancier forms. It makes form validation native to HTML and enhances the user interface.
• HTML5 reduces your development cost substantially as it automates many of the processes associated with the development of an application and also offer interoperability features.
• This latest version comes with an offline web applications feature which allows you to use the app in an offline mode where most of the important features are accessed from pre-downloaded file.

Must Use Tips in HTML5 Web Application Development

• Replace Cookies With Web Storage – Cookies are usually used to track unique users but they tend to increase your load time as cookie data is added to every HTTP request. The maximum impact takes place during the XMLHttpRequest. HTML5 solves this problem with the use of web storage. You can use sessionStorage and localStorage in place of cookies. They come in the form of an API and gather user data on the client side for the entire length of a session and not via HTTP requests.
• Enable Hardware Acceleration – Most browsers have already added the hardware acceleration feature which helps in leveraging GPU level acceleration to make dynamic visual operations run smoothly on a browser.  Your application will make better use of animated translation, rotation, scaling and opacity when hardware acceleration is enabled in it. This is an absolute must if you are incorporating 3D features in your application which you should do to make it look highly attractive.
• Opt For CSS Transition – JavaScript animation has been widely used so far in web application development but it would be wise to use CSS Transitions in HTML5. It gives you an attractive visual transition between two states. You can easily achieve dynamic visual features like manipulating the text-shadow, position, background or color of the object. This also allows you to add new class of elements easily and achieve complex functions like hovering of objects easily. Using JavaScript would mean huge amount of coding from the animation library. The GPU level acceleration makes these visuals smoother.
• Client Side Database Is Must – To make your application run faster it is advisable to use the client side database. Posting data to the server via XMLHttpRequest or form submission is a thing of the past. You can make use of Web SQL Database and IndexedDB which will help you in decreasing HTTP requests and making multiple trips via XHR or form posts back to the server which slow down your application. Things such as autocomplete can be streamlined to reduce the number of requests and hence make the app faster.
• Make Use of CSS3 – Along with HTML5 you should make use of CSS3. It offers you many styling options including border radius for rounded corners, linear and radial gradients, RGBA for alpha opacity etc. Avoid the use of heavy image sprites as this is one of the best ways of reducing the size of images used in the application. You can make use of Modernizr which is an open-source JavaScript library that makes it easy for web designers to support different levels of experiences.
• Use WebSockets – If you wish to make robust yet light applications you need to make use of WebSockets in HTML5. It replaces the traditional long polling technique which consumed a lot of bandwidth. It comes with a very light framing thereby reducing the bandwidth consumption substantially. Real time applications developed in HTML5 are increasingly being developed using WebSockets as it also reduces the ping time to the HTTP server.
• Web Workers For CPU Heavy Operations – If your application is heavy on the CPU it would be wise to use Web Workers which let your browser stay responsive even when the application is running which does away with long waits which many users face in heavy web applications. It is very useful when you have a large text or image processing application. It allows users to access large files easily on their browser.
• Latest JavaScript – When it comes to HTML5 you should use only the lasts version of JavaScript to achieve expected results with your application. Version 1.6 onwards has seen considerable advancements which facilitate the development of apps in HTML5. Native JSON which is a part of the latest version is much faster and safer compared to the external script. This adds a lot of value to any web application developed.

This article is written by HTMLFirm . It is  a professional PSD to HTML  &  PSD to WordPress conversion company which converts your photoshop designs to high quality cross browser compatible, W3C validated and SEO semantic HTML/CSS markup.