Google I/O: Re-introducing the Mobile Web

by June 26, 2014

In his Making the Mobile Web Fast, Feature-rich, and Beautiful presentation at Google I/O 2014 Paul Irish shared Google's latest efforts to make the mobile Web faster, more polished, and feature-rich. Here are my notes from his talk:

  • The Web is discoverable: URLs allow us to share, rediscover, and save information.
  • The Web is everywhere: it's a shared open platform on every device.
  • While many people think the mobile Web is dying, the truth is the Web is not only alive but growing.
  • In 8 months the number of mobile optimized sites has gone from 47% to 60%. But why aren't more sites mobile optimized?
  • Speed, integration, and polish were the top concerns of developers about the mobile Web.
  • The Chrome team removed the 300ms tap delay on tapping targets. Chrome's mobile Javascript performance has been boosted tremendously. Google is getting the browser out of the way so you have full access to the capabilities of the device. Scrolling has been improved 30% and 60fps is the goal for all mobile apps.
  • Service worker is a successor to appcache that allows you to build offline first experiences. Service worker provides push notifications, background sync, and geo-fencing.
  • requestAutocomplete is a standard that allows you ti dramatically improve the process of filling in forms like checkout.
  • Web tabs in Android are integrated alongside native apps. This gives Web pages an equal footing with apps.
  • Polymer provides a rich component set that allows you to create great looking Web pages easily.
  • Chrome Developer tools have been rebuilt to provide robust information on what is making Web pages slow. There's also new mobile views to make development easier.
  • Web Starter Kit is a way to kick-off to start building for the multi-device Web. It provides smart defaults and workflow suggestions to get you up and running.
  • For many users, their first experience with you is through your Web site. Make a great first impression: build responsively, improve performance, and share what you learn.