What is HTTP/2?

HTTP/2 is a major revision of the HTTP protocol which is used by the Internet for serving up web content. HTTP is considered a pretty old protocol so there was a need for an update that would allow the HTTP protocol to take advantage of new applications. The main hold back of HTTP/2 implementation was browser support for it. But that has changed since 2015 when the HTTP/2 protocol became standard for Chrome, Opera, Firefox, I.E. 11, Safari, Silk and Edge browsers.

Benefits of HTTP/2

HTTP/2 will significantly reduce the load times of your website. It reduces the amount of excess data transferred in page headers by transmitting it in binary code. This keeps it simple for a client’s computer to interpret the sent information. This improved performance will feel especially noteworthy for mobile users.

Google will favor HTTP/2 run websites with better rankings due to the site speed improvements that HTTP/2 brings and the need to use SSL with it.

HTTP/2 uses just one connection to load a website and that connection remains open as long as the website is open. This reduces the number of round trips needed to set up multiple TCP connections. This means a faster loading website.

HTTP/2 utilizes multiplexing. This means multiple requests are allowed at the same time, on the same connection. With HTTP/1.1 each transfer would have to wait for other transfers to finish.

HTTP/2 utilizes binary language. This makes HTTP/2 easier for the server to parse, to be more compact, and less error-prone. There is no additional time wasted in translating information from text to binary which is the computer’s native language.

Here is a great graphical explanation of the benefits of using HTTP/2:

What does HTTP/2 mean for our clients?

Speed, speed, and more speed, providing for a better user experience. As time goes on, and people learn the limits of the new protocols, users should see increased speeds on HTTP/2 connections. Sites that uses HTTP/2 will utilize less bandwidth as well.

Currently HTTP/2 is only used over HTTPS which is the SSL protocol. However in light of us offering free (YES FREE!) SSL certificates, this will not pose a problem. Moving to the use of SSL for your website means not only having  a more secure website but the use of SSL also improves page ranking with Google and improves credibility with your site visitors.

What does HTTP/2 mean for EMWD?

HTTP/2 will result in lower bandwidth requirements, less network overhead and lower server memory usage. It is the server benefits that made us very excited about supporting HTTP/2.

HTTP/2 also will increase our value to our clients as we will be one of the few hosting companies that offer the awesome combination of free SSL certificates AND HTTP/2.

How do I take advantage of using HTTP/2 with EMWD?

The only thing you need to do is make sure you are serving your web pages over SSL (https instead of http). If you are using WordPress then adjusting your site URL in your WordPress settings to use https will have all of your web content served over the SSL protocol. All of our shared hosting sites should already have a free SSL certificate installed.

If you are not an existing client then just order either a shared hosting service or our WordPress hosting service and you will be setup on a HTTP/2 enabled server within our new cloud.

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