HTTP/2 – it’s here, it’s fast, and it’s worth getting excited about

Here at Websavers we are self-professed server and networking geeks, so when we heard about HTTP/2 support being built-in to Plesk – our control panel of choice – we got pretty excited.

Right now, HTTP/1 processes HTML line by line. Each resource is pulled individually, creating dozens – if not hundreds – of web requests for every page loaded. Even though each request is processed in milliseconds, that kind of time adds up pretty quickly when you’re dealing with so many.

HTTP/2 is a bit more ‘intelligent’. It’s been designed from the ground up with the knowledge that websites will have multiple resources. That simply wasn’t the case when HTTP/1 was developed! Additional resources are prepared and ‘pushed’ by the server, and the entire process ends up being much faster.

HTTP/2 is also built around security. It will, in fact, only work over an encrypted channel. Were you waiting for a more compelling reason to get an SSL Certificate (like the free ones we offer through Let’s Encrypt)? Well, now you have one – without an SSL Certificate you’re unable to step into the newest ‘fast lane’.

All our latest servers have HTTP/2 enabled by default, so what are you waiting for? As if there weren’t already enough fabulous reasons to come enjoy the best Canadian web hosting with Websavers?

Want more technical details on HTTP/2? Here’s an article for your reading pleasure.