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The emerging HTML5 standard will make it a lot easier to deliver more graphical and attractive Web pages to more and more devices (especially mobile devices). That makes it a big boon for Web developers, and also a great fit for Nearshore developers with an eye for good design and local tastes.

HTML5 Defined

HTML5, which most browsers already support, is the next step in the evolution of the hypertext markup language that controls how information is presented in Web browsers. It will make it easier for users to access audio and video by integrating audio and video support into the browser, rather than requiring the user to download and install plug-ins. The HTML page essentially becomes a container for other containers, which contains other containers, and so forth; JavaScript can easily access those containers, modifying, updating, and moving them around.

Another capability of HTML5 is that it gives developers greater control over presenting information from different sources on the same Web page. Conceivably, if you have multiple Web apps running on different servers or different sites, you have the capability to select bits of information and then reintegrate and display that information together using HTML5.

Use Cases

Why is that important? On the consumer side, for example, you would have the ability to present a news, entertainment, gaming, shopping or social site to mobile consumers that aggregates content in a new way from multiple sources. On the business side, you could create a Web site for, say, corporate real estate managers that gives them instant updates on demographic, zoning, traffic flow and other information to comparing potential retail sites.

Such capabilities are especially valuable when they’re available on mobile devices, and this is another area where HTML5 shines. Rather than forcing developers to write a native application for every mobile platform (i.e., Apple vs. Android vs. Blackberry) HTML5 can automatically recognize variables such as screen size and automatically tailor the display to the device. With mobile devices rapidly becoming the “screen of choice” for business users and consumers, that’s a huge benefit.

You need graphic designers as well as programmers – two different kinds of skills – that need to work well together when creating a web application. Good user experience and graphics design requires a cultural component — that is, an awareness of the visual images and metaphors that will be instantly recognizable to the end-user of the web app.

The ability and willingness for a Nearshore developer to assemble a team that has both kinds of talent is critical. The good news is that, if they can create such a team, the Nearshore cultural affinity with the U.S. makes Nearshore developers well-suited to these demands, compared to other places around the world.

Steve Mezak is founder and CEO of Accelerance, Inc., which helps customers engage the right offshore/nearshore software development team to create high-quality software. Read more about HTML5 on the Accelerance blog.