HTML5, currently under development, will update the HTML standard for structuring and presenting content on the web. The web design community excitedly anticipates this next step for the Web's markup language. As Janine Warner describes in her new book "Mobile Web Design," some of the possible new features of "…HTML5 will standardize document structure, offline browsing, canvas animation, and location-based services in supporting mobile browsers."
My interview with Janine included a discussion of the impact of HTML5 on mobile website design:
L.C. As the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops recommended standards and best practices for the much anticipated update of the Web's markup language to HTML5, how will HTML5 ultimately impact mobile website design?
J.W. 4 out of 5 mobile design ‘experts’ agree that HTML5 is the future of Web design (okay, I made that up; it’s probably more like 5 out of 5). HTML5 is clearly the next step in markup languages for the Web, as well as mobile devices. The biggest challenge today is that the W3C won’t be finished with the new standards until 2012. In the meantime, the makers of web browsers, including Firefox and Safari, are forging ahead with it anyway. That means some browsers already support HTML5 and CSS 3 but they don't all follow the same standards because they aren’t clearly defined yet. It’s like the early days of the Web when you had to create redundant code to manage browser differences. It's not pretty and it's not efficient, but with any luck, the Web will evolve and become a more beautiful place in the next couple of years. In the meantime, if you push the limits with HTML5 today you run the risk that your designs won’t work in all browsers or (possibly worse) that you will have to redesign your pages later when the standards are finalized (and change). That's why many people say HTML5 is not ready for prime time yet. Some designers are creating cool new sites with HTML5, but they only work in a limited number of Web browsers.
Please check back soon for part IV of this informative interview with the insightful Janine as we discuss CSS 3 and more regarding mobile web design!
Comments
Thanks so much for this interesting interview on the impact of HTML5--should prove very interesting in the future.
Awesome!
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