If you publish content digital, you’re no doubt aware HTML5, the newest iteration of web reader to offers cross-platform readability. Jake Sebastian, guest blogger in Talking New Media, gives his pros and cons of developing content for an HTML5 platform.
“In today’s digital publishing market, the decision as to what you publish is inextricably linked to where you’re planning to publish it,” Sebastian writes. “For all our emphasis on ’born-digital’ content however, there remains a significant audience segment that simply isn’t going to be served by e-books and native iOS or Android apps.
“This is especially true for corporate publishers and enterprise applications, as many of the productivity tools these audiences use keep them tied to desktop computers during office hours,” Sebastian continues, making the point that despite our love of mobile devices, a good number of your readers will be consuming your content via laptop or desktop.
Reaching those readers becomes more affordable with HTML5, as publishers can produce content without the high cost of iOS or Android licensing and without all the interactive bells and whistles expected on those more involved platforms.
And while this lack of that interaction may be a drawback (for now), the market is bound to keep up with consumer demand.
“Obviously, any function requiring an accelerometer or advanced finger gestures isn’t going to work in this interface, and the overall experience may vary somewhat from device to device,” Sebastian notes.
“That being said, it is possible to create a very interactive user experience by using Adobe InDesign to create your web app content. Using actions, sub-layouts, layers and HTML, there exists a great deal of potential for talented designers to create stunning, innovative layouts in the web-reader format.”
As Sebastian notes, “…one of the greatest advantages of a digital publishing platform over custom development is the ability to design native mobile content that can then be published to many different platforms without extensive coding or redesign.”
We appreciate this in-depth explanation from Sebastian on the state of HTML5, and we’ll be keeping our eye on this as it develops.