In September, Google will launch Chrome 53, its newest edition of the popular web browser, Google Chrome. Chrome 53 is a significant update because it will set the stage for the inevitable death of Adobe Flash. By default, Chrome 53 will block all non-essential Flash content on webpages. The fight against Flash began in a less noticeable way with Chrome 43, when most Flash content became “click to play.” But now, Google is breaking out the big guns in an effort to end Flash for good. Adobe stated it was working with Google in its goal of “an industry-wide transition to open web standards,” including the adoption of HTML5.
Why move away from Flash?
On the internet today, 90 percent of all Flash content loads behind the scenes. This type of activity slows your web experience down by dramatically reducing web performance and draining your device’s battery. With the simple transition to “click to play,” Google saw a vast improvement in page load times and is confident that the improvement will be even larger with this update. Flash has also become a popular entry method for cyber thieves. It is commonly used to exploit bugs and compromise web users.
In the past, Flash was a common way to present rich media across the web, but it has now been replaced by a thinner, more efficient method: HTML5. HTML5 is quickly becoming the new standard for web development. In fact, it will be essential to all webpages by the end of the year with the release of Chrome 55. With Chrome 55 (currently set to release in December), HTML5 will be the default experience entirely.
What does this mean for my website?
This update will block all instances of Flash on your website. This includes even the small non-visibles that run in the background to support things, such as page analytics. In order to prepare for this change, it is vital that you reconfigure your website to run on HTML5.
If your website runs largely on Flash, the time is now to start making the switch. Although this particular update will not completely disable your site, it is a major step toward the inescapable end of Flash. The sooner you move your website over to HTML5, the more prepared you will be for this switch. Take into account that Google is not alone in the fight. Other major players including Firefox and Microsoft are also taking strides to block the age-old plugin by 2017.
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