We’ve switched to HTTP/2. What are the benefits?

Now, there is a new alternative to the endless caching and performance supplements. HTTP/2 — a new protocol update for HTTP by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). HTTP/2 is the successor to HTTP/1 and provides much needed changes in security, speed, and usability.

Aegir Digital have made the switch to HTTP/2 and all our customers’ websites can benefit from this feature.

Let’s explore some of the key features and main benefits of implementing HTTP/2:

Secure connection

Although HTTP/2 can run with a normal http connections, companies like Google (Chrome) and Mozilla (Firefox) have publicly stated that they will only enable HTTP/2 browsing if the website is run over a secure connection. That’s why we offer free SSL certificates to our customers.

Multiplexing — Multiple Requests per Connection

HTTP/2 makes a considerable improvement with a feature called multiplexing. Multiplexing allows the client to load multiple requests on the same connection, allowing a faster, concurrent load time for all important web assets.

Loading Essential Resources First

HTTP/2 allow developers to allocate dependency levels for their code, thus serving visitors only the code required by a particular web page. Because requests are concurrent with HTTP/2 — loading a dozen of small files won’t be an issue.

HPACK Compression

HTTP/1 transmits server requests and responses in plain-text, leading to a lot of excess data being transferred. HTTP/2 reduces the amount of data by transmitting it in binary code, keeping it simple for a client’s computer to interpret the sent information. Not only will this improve performance, but mobile users can feel a noteworthy improvement in both load times and general performance.

Is it good for SEO on Google?

Google contributed to many features that make up HTTP/2. In November 2009, Google announced project SPeeDY (SPDY), with the goal of making the web faster.

HTTP/2 has followed the footsteps of SPDY and Google has always put first those who are following the latest trends and methods that improve the web experience.

They have made it clear that there won’t be direct search engine ranking improvements only because of the choice to use HTTP/2. Instead, site speed (which is impacted heavily by HTTP/2) will remain a Google ranking factor and be aware that GoogleBot has been updated to support HTTP/2 as well.