If you are using the latest version of your favorite web browser then you are probably already benefiting from the new web protocol called “HTTP/2”. This means your web browsing experience has just got a whole lot faster and you are already part of the Great Internet Race.
If you are still wondering what all this HTTP/2 mumbo-jumbo means – then this calls for a brief history lesson on the web evolution:
Surfing online and viewing a website was made possible by communicating through a special language called HTTP which was invented by a British computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. Surprisingly, the HTTP has remained relatively unchanged for the last 20+ years despite the web dramatically evolving over this period of time. Thanks to Google who played a major part in spearheading the goal to speed up the web with the new HTTP/2 protocol because as history shows: it eventually became approved by Mr Nottingham who chairs the Internet Engineering Task Force’s (IETF) HTTP.
What makes HTTP/2 special that it speeds up the web when compared to the older HTTP is really a combination of a few things such as: compression of headers (eliminates much redundancy), multiplexing of data over a single connection to a web server (eliminates the need to create multiple connections wasting unnecessary resources) as well as being primarily in binary form (previously it was semi-textual content).
Enjoying a Faster Web Experience
To enjoy the benefits of the faster web speedup through HTTP/2 depends on a few things including:
- Whether the web server behind the website you are visiting also supports HTTP/2.
- The version of your web browser (if you have the latest version then it is already likely to support HTTP/2).
- The web browser (i.e. Chrome and Firefox will only support HTTP/2 over secure Internet connections and reverts to the older, slower HTTP for plain-text connections. This was done deliberately and as an incentive to encourage those who host websites to upgrade their web servers to support the new HTTP/2 and force all communication to be performed over secured connections).
We’re pleased to state that the Hueyify platform supports both HTTP and HTTP/2 protocols for secure and “plain-text” Internet connections. The Hueyify platform will automatically accelerate any browser or “web technology” that is not HTTP/2 ready or enabled to automatically use the HTTP/2 for all outbound connections connecting to web servers and offer you a faster and improved web experience.
In fact if you are using Chrome or Firefox and connected to the Hueyify platform using “plain-text” connections then Hueyify will automatically use plain-text HTTP/2 communication when supported by websites. Effectively, offering you an accelerated and better experience.
At Hueyify we’re excited by the improvements made to offer better web experiences. Although we have seen much advancement of the web in recent times – we can foresee that we’ve only just briefly touched the potential of what the web can become.
Future of Internet and Web Browsing
It is apparent that there are preferences and choices in everything we do: from the way we do things, what we like and don’t like. That’s why at Hueyify we are working on an innovative platform that puts the power of preferences, control and personalisation into the Internet.
It is not a question of whether websites can be tailored and automatically personalised to each individual but when.