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What is HTML5?

By Heshy Friedman

HTML5 is the new standard of HTML, the language used to code and lay out web pages. HTML5 builds many new features into the native web coding and removes the need for additional browser plugins. It was designed to be cross-platform compliant, so that it displays effectively on large desktop monitors, smaller laptop screens, tablets, and smartphones.

Although HTML5 is still a work in progress, with certain elements not fully supported on some browsers, it is fast becoming the new coding standard for new websites with the gaps filling in. Starting this year, our development team will be transitioning the coding of all new websites to HTML5.

Here are some new features available in HTML5:

• Cleaner, more organized coding
• Native embedding of video and audio with built-in controls
• Enhanced form controls and additional form fields
• New, more descriptive semantic elements to clearly label different parts of the page
• Canvas and SVG elements to create vector directly on a web page
• Built in geolocation support which can determine a browsers coordinates and keep track of location
• Drag and drop elements directly into the browser
• Local web storage to retain objects on page even when the browser is closed and restarted
• Application cache for enhanced offline web browsing