HTML 5 was developed with lots of new tags and enhancements. It gives developers flexibility to create more exiting and interactive websites and more powerful and efficient applications. HTML 5 brings HTML up to date including managing data, drawing, video and audio. It enables websites to deliver what the users want better and faster.
The HTML 5 vs. Flash debate has been in the news for a long time. Apple once declared that Flash was just so old fashioned and would be replaced by HTML 5. Apple had also refused to have Flash installed on the iPhone and iPad. In advance, Google is one of the strongest backers of HTML 5. However the Flash Player is installed on the vast majority of all Internet-enabled computers. Flash can be used by almost every PC user and is compatible on multiple browsers. Flash do have its place in today's web world and is unlikely to disappear any time soon. But many developers are already working on HTML 5 to do what they used to have Flash do on their websites. They convert flash to HTML5 and use HTML5 to develop cross-browser applications for the Web and portable devices.
Why these web designers and developers prefer HTML 5 to flash? There are a wide range of reasons. The main advantages of HTML 5 over Flash are listed below.
Improved Code
In HTML5 we have new structural elements to create page template. It will enable web designers to use cleaner, neater and more organized code. We can remove most div tags and replace them with new HTML 5 elements. HTML5 have some syntactical features, which include the <video>, <audio>, and <canvas> elements as well as the integration of SVG content. Due to these new elements, it will be very easy to integrate multimedia and graphical content to web without using flash and third party plug-ins.
Better Semantics
By using HTML5 elements like <section>, <article>, <header> and <nav>, we can increase the semantic value of the web page as the codes are very standardized. It is obvious to see which parts of the page are headers, navigations, footers, etc. Besides, we will see greater consistency in terms of the HTML used to code a web page on one site compared to another. This will make it easier for designers and developers to immediately understand how a web page is structured even if they are brand new to it.
Greater Accessibility
It will be possible for different technologies to expand on the features with the help of HTML5. They can offer web users more accessible pages as they can immediately make more detailed understanding of the structure of a page by looking at HTML5 elements it contains. Many new features and standards have emerged as part of HTML 5. Once you detect the available features in the browsers, you can take advantage of those features in your application. The main focus of HTML5 is to make easier application with easy front-ends, drag and drop tools, discussion boards, wikis and other useful elements.
Elegant forms
HTML5 enables designers to use enhanced forms. These smarter forms with improvements to text inputs, search boxes and other fields will provide better controls for validating data, focusing and interaction with other page elements. HTML5 will also enhance the user interface and reduce the need for JavaScript (only needed in browsers that don't support form types). New form types and elements will help designers certify that the information entered online is completely accurate. There won't be any need to run additional scripts for checking validation. In advance, HTML5 will speed up the loading time and improve the user experience
Good Local Data Storage
HTML5 allows storing data locally on client side by using the new SQL-based database API. The data can be accessed to support the web application and it can even be accessed when the client is disconnected for a short period of time. Thus, this database can be used to store e-mails or shopping cart items for an online shopping site.
Support Geolocation
With the help of new HTML 5 Geolocation APIs, anyone can find out where you are in the world and share that information with people. HTML5 can make location generated via GPS or other methods, which is directly available to any HTML 5 compatible browser based application. A good example is the Google Latitude for the iPhone. This is a pure web app instead of a platform dependent iPhone application.
Compared to HTML5, which is an open standard, Flash is a closed technology owned and controlled by Adobe. Google's bots also don't consider flash files to be part of website's content. All smooth preloaded audio-visual is completely useless if your site isn't trafficked. So, you will lose market share to your non-flash-driven competitors without solid search engine rankings. On the other hand, Flash is incompatible with hundreds of devices. It is not a good fit for mobile devices. The overall support is pretty bad (especially with all the iPhones out there), its touch interaction has evident limitations. Flash is also known to drain resources and battery life.
This is only the overview of the HTML5 advantages. Actually there are lots of benefits to know about HTML5. In the near future HTML5 will become a popular online development language. So just keep it in your mind and start using HTML5 in your designs right now.
