On today’s fast internet, users expect any website to load within a few seconds. If you want to attract more visitors and give them a better browsing experience, improving your site’s performance is the answer, and that’s where HTTP/2 comes in. With this protocol, you can make your site load faster, strengthen its security and noticeably cut response times.
So why is HTTP/2 something you should consider for improving your website’s performance? That’s what you’ll learn in this article.
What Is HTTP/2?
HTTP/2 is a newer version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) designed to make websites faster and more secure. It was adopted as an official standard by the IETF in 2015. Unlike HTTP/1.1, which handles requests one at a time on each connection, HTTP/2 can send lots of data at once over a single shared connection, which makes sites load noticeably faster and more efficiently.
As modern websites have become more complex and rely on more resources such as images and videos, HTTP/1.1 is no longer enough to meet their needs. A modern protocol was needed to solve problems such as slow page loads and growing demands on server resources, and HTTP/2 was built to do that efficiently, drawing on the techniques of SPDY, a protocol developed by Google.
Some people ask: why HTTP/2? HTTP/2 brings noticeable performance improvements, especially in website load speed, which is something every website owner has wanted for a long time.
For example, some tests using HttpWatch showed page load times improving by up to about 20%, tested on a single server without any other optimizations.
It does this by opening one persistent connection between the browser and the server, which reduces the number of requests needed to get data. Most importantly, HTTP/2 sends data in binary form instead of text, which saves the computer time interpreting it and leads to faster, more efficient performance.
The Key Advantages of HTTP/2 for Your Website
HTTP/2 has several advantages:
- HTTP/2 can send and receive many requests at the same time over one connection. With HTTP/1.1, each connection handles one request at a time, so browsers have to open several connections to the server. With HTTP/2, one connection carries all requests, which cuts response times significantly.
- HTTP/2 reduces the amount of data transferred by compressing request headers. This reduces the delay caused by large amounts of data and the overhead of repeated requests, which noticeably speeds up your website.
- HTTP/2 can prioritize loading your site’s most important elements first, so the main text and images load before less important content. This does a lot to speed up your pages and improve the user experience (UX).
- HTTP/2 helps reduce server response times, which makes browsing smoother. This is especially important for visitors on mobile devices with slow internet connections.
- In practice, HTTP/2 runs over HTTPS, which encrypts all data in transit, giving your site’s data and your users’ information strong protection from threats and cyberattacks.
Why HTTP/2 Matters for Your Website
A better user experience (UX): your website’s speed plays a big part in how satisfied users and visitors are. Users expect a site to load in a few seconds, and HTTP/2 helps reduce load times, which encourages visitors to stay longer on your website.
Higher search rankings (SEO): Google and other search engines consider your site’s speed when ranking results, so HTTP/2 directly helps your site’s overall performance and its chances of appearing near the top.
A lower bounce rate: slow sites make visitors leave before pages finish loading, but HTTP/2 makes your site respond faster, which lowers your bounce rate.
Keeping up with the modern web: HTTP/2 has become a standard in most modern browsers and servers, so supporting it keeps your site ready for new developments on the web.
Fewer connections: HTTP/2 reduces the number of connections needed to load a page, which greatly reduces server resource use, so your website needs fewer hosting resources at a lower cost.
You can check whether your site supports HTTP/2 with a testing tool such as the KeyCDN HTTP/2 Test.
The Difference Between HTTP/2 and HTTPS
HTTP/2 is the second major version of HTTP, the protocol used to transfer data between the server and the browser. Its goal is to improve website performance through the advantages above. In theory, HTTP/2 can work over encrypted (HTTPS) or unencrypted (HTTP) connections, but it’s almost always used with HTTPS, which also makes your website more secure.
HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP. It uses SSL/TLS to encrypt the data sent between the server and the browser, and its main job is to protect data and stop hackers from intercepting or tampering with it.
So how are HTTP/2 and HTTPS related?
Although HTTP/2 can work with plain HTTP, most servers and browsers only support it when the connection is encrypted with HTTPS.
So if you want to use HTTP/2, you need an SSL/TLS certificate enabled on your site. Learn how to secure your website with an SSL certificate.
HTTP/2 is an evolution of the data transfer protocol itself, while HTTPS is a way of securing that transfer. The two work together to give users fast, secure browsing.
If you have a website and want to give users the best experience, HTTP/2 isn’t just an option; it’s essential for faster page loads, better SEO and lower server resource use. Make sure your site supports HTTP/2 to improve it and attract more visitors.
If you have any questions about securing your website, get in touch with the Kemetova team. We offer every website service you need, including website design, website maintenance, SEO and fast, secure web hosting.