By now, you’ve probably seen some sites which advertise their use of HTML5. Maybe you’ve heard some people talking about how they need HTML5 on their site, or how they’re using HTML5 for one purpose or another. If you’re in a web-related business, HTML5 probably gets tossed as much as buzzwords like “responsive design” or “CSS3.” You’re hearing that name for a reason, too–the Internet is on the cusp of a new age in web development, and HTML5 is just the beginning.

What is HTML5?

Before knowing the benefits or future of HTML5, we need to have a clear, concise definition of the term. So, let’s cut to the chase: HTML5 is an continuously updated set of features made for modern browsers which will both simplify web development and extend the power of browsers. More accurately, HTML5 is a specification, or a series of collaboratively-created standards which can be used in all browsers. Many people have a general idea of what HTML5 does or how we can use it, but the term is often applied to subjects far outside the scope of its advancements. A relative of mine, a business executive, once saw some animation I did via JavaScript, and instantly he exclaimed, “Hey, that’s HTML5! We’re using that on our website redesign.” So with that in mind, let’s first clarify what HTML5 isn’t. HTML5 is not:

The solution to all web-related problems that have happened or will ever happen. HTML5 can help in some areas but is not by any means a cure-all.
A new language. HTML5 actually only adds 6 or 7 new tags to the HTML language.
A browser. Nope nope nope.
A different Internet entirely (although some would argue so).
JavaScript or jQuery. These are scripting languages which have been around for years, although HTML5 brings new features to web scripts.

Who cares?

In truth, the features included in HTML5 aren’t revolutionary. Sure, it’s cool that we have and tags. HTML5’s new Canvas allows us to do complicated drawings in the browser which can rival the Great Evil that is Adobe Flash. If you keep up to date with Chrome, you can have access to native video and voice chat, 3D rendering, and you can even use gamepads now. But for the majority of websites, who cares? Most people have neither the budget nor the expertise to use such features. You should care, though, because HTML5 can be usable in all browsers, and the Web desperately needs a single standard to keep the rest of the world up to date.

The biggest problem when making most websites is compatibility. Web development differs from other kind programming because it is literally impossible to determine the browser in which someone visits your website. A developer has no contro lover whether users visit in Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, or god forbid Netscape. And each browser has multiple different version with their own quirks (looking at you, IE). And each browser can be run on one of multiple operating systems. And each computer has a different screen resolution and different number of pixels. In an ideal world, websites work roughly the same under all of these conditions, but in the real world that’s a tall order to meet.

I mentioned earlier that HTML5 is ushering in a new age of web development, and that’s the era of auto-updates. Prior to the advent of Chrome and Firefox as we know them today, browsers simply didn’t update on their own. Even today, all versions of Internet Explorer stubbornly refuse to even prompt their users to get the most recent version. On top of that, people are lazy. The majority of users don’t know or care about how up-to-date their browser is, so few go out of their way to download new updates or browsers. This leaves us with a horrid hodgepodge of browsers dating back to the early 2000s (again, looking at you Internet Explorer).

In that respect, HTML5 is the cure-all to our compatibility problems (sort of). Browsers which can update themselves are now taking a larger market share than static browsers like IE. This era of auto-updates means that users will now reliably have up-to-date browsers which will be unified under the HTML5 standard. That means web developers can finally innovate for the masses!