Can modern mobile and Web technologies amaze us ever more? The new HTML5 and CSS3 standards imply the answer ‘Yes’ and promise to make our web and mobile experience much more stunning.

HTML5 is called to take into account vital needs of the modern Web and solve a number of issues not covered in the previous versions of HTML. But presence of such companies as Apple and Google amid the key supporters of the HTML5 development also suggests that one of the central ideas behind HTML5 is as much as possible integration of web technologies and mobile platforms.

The presumable aim is to support web-based and web-oriented mobile devices and systems to provide an effective environment for full-fledged web applications and cloud services. This reflects an increasing tendency of switching from ‘old-fashioned’ desktop PCs to more lightweight and convenient but already high-performance handhelds, netbooks, and tablets that much better satisfy the requirements of a contemporary person and globalized business.

HTML5 and CSS3 Features Useful for the Mobile Web

So what makes HTML5 so attractive for web application development in general and the mobile Web in particular?

Amid the new features of HTML5 which deserve special attention are as follows:

• Inherent audio and video streaming support and playback
  E.g., users don’t need to install third-party Flash or audio players to use multimedia capabilities.
• Offline data storage
  Now web applications can intensively use data caching on the client’s side. Thus making user experience smoother and increasing the application availability.
• Extended drag-and-drop support
• Web sockets
  The interactive connections to the server are made really easy. Chat-like applications benefit here.
• Extended drawing capabilities (Canvas element)
  It is useful for flowcharts, 2D games, stunning graphic interfaces which extend beyond the conventional HTML and CSS.
• Geolocation
  It will provide location-specific information for users based on Wi-Fi signals or GPS, which can then provide users with content relevant to their physical locations.

CSS3 is another new standard responsive for web design as well as for overall user experience. Its hottest features are:

• Embedding custom fonts
• Translucent page elements
• Multiple background pictures
• Rounded edges for rectangular regions
• Shadows for fonts and regions
• Transform & Transition (available only for WebKit-based browsers such as Safari or Chrome)

HTML5 and CSS3 give a possibility to create more interactive and functional web resources, using less Javascript or AJAX requests and with less need for third-party plug-ins. In their turn, mobile applications based on HTML5 can be more dynamic and integrated than ever before. The major mobile platforms allow using of complex UI elements on the Web now (excluding only some specific native facilities of the operating system) and encourage this approach.

HTML5, Mobile Technologies, and PSD to HTML Conversion Services

In the modern web development the gap between graphic design and back-end programming is filled in by so-called PSD to HTML conversion services.

Previously a customer of such services asked to cut a separate mobile version of their website. Generally it was a static stump of the desktop version with a layout intended for smaller screens. Now there is a new possibility to make a full website rendered correctly on desktops, netbooks, smartphones or tablets of different device manufacturers. That is why many businesses that gain profits with the help of Web technologies strive to cut their websites cross-platform, so as not to fall behind in today’s competitive business environment.

Though HTML5 and CSS3 are not completely accepted yet (actually the final specification is expected to be finalized by 2014), their features are supported (in fact, only in part) by new versions of the main web browsers – Chrome, IE9, Firefox, Safari, etc. PSD to HTML conversion companies have started adopting the HTML5 and CSS3 possibilities too, to leverage new capabilities and grant smooth transition when standards are finally accepted.

See also:
“HTML5 – The end of PSD to HTML services or just the beginning of PSD to HTML5?”