HTTP/2 vs HTTP: The Web Just Got Faster

HTTP/2,the next big change in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP network protocol used by the World Wide Web is finalized. It comes a good 15 years after the HTTP 1.1 protocol was implemented in 1999. HTTP/2 promises to make the web faster!

HTTP/2

It is intended to work as an alternative to HTTP 1.1 and a large part of HTTP/2 is based on the SPDY protocol by Google that aims to reduce latency of web pages. Some of the cool things that HTTP/2 is expected to do is allow a more efficient use of network resources. As web pages get bigger is size, there is a need for more efficient protocols to meet the growing speed demands of web users and a faster browsing experience on mobile devices.

http/2

How does HTTP/2 make the web faster?

This is performed by Header fields compression to reduce overhead which will have significant impact for speed especially on mobile browsers. Its is multiplexed, so can use one connection for parellelism, which means fewer requests and reduced server loads. The server push feature will allow servers to push responses to cache which the client might call for.

Mark Nottingham, chair of the IETF HTTP Working Group posted more what to expect from HTTP/2 and  the HTTP/2 FAQ is a good place to get more information about the project. Google has informed that it will push support for HTTP/2 in Chrome 40 in the next few weeks.

So all these new technologies will make the web faster and its going to happen soon. Site speed is becoming an essential component for SEO (page speed tests are getting important) and mobile devices are gaining web access share, and as more websites switch to responsive designs, a faster web is required. So HTTP/2 is the next step to push it worldwide rather than depending on individual sites and server configurations to push the change.

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About the Author: P Chandra is editor of QOT, one of India's earliest tech bloggers since 2004. A tech enthusiast with expertise in coding, WordPress, web tools, SEO and DIY hacks.