Getting Ready For HTTP/2: A Guide For Web Designers and Developers

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol that governs the connection between your server and the browsers of your website’s visitors. For the first time since 1999, we have a new version of this protocol, and it promises far faster websites for everyone.

In this article, we’ll look at the basics of HTTP/2 as they apply to web designers and developers. I’ll explain some of the key features of the new protocol, look at browser and server compatibility, and detail the things you might need to think about as we see more adoption of HTTP/2. By reading this article, you will get an overview of what to consider changing in your workflow in the short and long term. I’ll also include plenty of resources if you want to dig further into the issues raised. My aim is to give you enough of the background to be able to make good decisions as you plan your move to HTTP/2.

A Brief History Of HTTP Link

HTTP is an old protocol, initially defined in 1991, with the last major revision — HTTP/1.1 — published in 1999. Websites in 1999 were very different to the websites we develop today. In http2 explained, Daniel Sternberg notes that the amount of data now required to load the home page of an average website is 1.9 MB, with over 100 individual resources required to display a page — a “resource” being anything from an image or a font to a JavaScript or CSS file.

HTTP/1.1 does not perform well when retrieving the large number of resources required to display a modern website. As we’ll see later in this article, many of the performance best practices we know as web developers come from our coping with the limitations of HTTP/1.1.

Read full article here: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/02/getting-ready-for-http2/