The HTTP/2 protocol, released in 2015 by the IETF committee, is the latest version of the HTTP protocol. Its unique features have made it widely adopted among developers. In comparison to its predecessor, HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2 offers significant performance improvements.

By simply making a change to your web server, you can experience the speed benefits of HTTP/2 without compromising compatibility with HTTP/1.1. This increased speed is not only beneficial for users, but it also positively impacts SEO rankings, as faster loading times are essential for better search engine results.

So, how does HTTP/2 achieve these performance gains? The protocol introduces several features aimed at reducing the inefficiencies of HTTP/1.1 and enhancing browser capabilities for quicker resource serving.

Here are the main features of HTTP/2:

  1. Request and Response Multiplexing:

    • HTTP/2 allows multiple requests and responses to be served simultaneously over a single TCP connection.
    • Before HTTP/2, only one response could be served at a time per TCP connection.
    • This enables faster communication and eliminates the need for optimization techniques like domain sharding and image sprites.

  2. Efficient Compression of HTTP Headers:

    • HTTP headers, especially when using cookies and other header values, can become large.
    • HTTP/2 introduces compression, reducing the data exchanged between the client and the server.
    • This lighter footprint enhances performance and reduces latency.

  3. Server Push:

    • Server push is a feature that enables sending multiple responses to a single request.
    • By anticipating the resources a client will request after receiving a certain resource, the server can push those resources together.
    • This eliminates the delay caused by the browser parsing the HTML and subsequent asset requests.
    • Server push can also optimize future page loads by sending cached resources that are likely to be needed.

  4. Binary Communication:

    • Unlike HTTP/1.1, which relies on text-based communication, HTTP/2 uses binary communication.
    • Binary communication offers advantages such as improved parsing efficiency, reduced error rate, and greater compactness.

Looking ahead, HTTP/3 is currently being developed. Adapted from HTTP-over-QUIC, an experimental project, HTTP/3 will be based on a completely different tech stack. Instead of TCP, HTTP/3 will use UDP at the transport layer, further enhancing the protocol’s capabilities.

By leveraging the power of the HTTP/2 protocol, developers can significantly improve the performance and speed of their web applications, providing an enhanced user experience.

Tags: HTTP/2 protocol, performance improvement, request/response multiplexing, efficient compression, server push, binary communication, HTTP/3 protocol, UDP transport layer