HTML is the skeleton used to built most of the internet that we know and love. But as far as hypertext goes, it only implements a portion of the ideas that have been suggested by developers and software engineers over the years. Here are our 3 favorite advanced hypertext features that aren’t included in HTML (yet).
“Fat” Links
Links are ubiquitous in web pages. Despite this, little has changed with how they function in the past two decades. This take on traditional links allows for multiple locations to be set within a single link. This could be represented through drop-down menus when clicking on a link. With tabbed browsing being so widely supported, this could also be utilized by having a single link open multiple tabs. Or potentially multiple windows on large monitors.
The potential with this advanced hypertext feature is great, but unfortunately it leaves plenty of room for abuse. Finding solutions to these issues, it could drastically improve how we conduct research on the web.
Internal Vs External Links
How links are currently handled is pretty straight-forward, but this can lead to some issues with navigation for users. Knowing when you are about to leave a website is important to a user for many reasons. Currently, sites that want to notify a user that they are leaving their site have to find their own way to do it, often involving some minor programming footwork and a myriad of ways of letting them know.
By having a standardized way to distinguish between internal and external links, this process of notifying a user can be handled consistently by the web browser. Implementing it like this could also allow for the customization of how such links are handled based on each individual’s preference.
Rigid Site Structures
This is another feature that trades some design freedom for increased usability. Having a rigid structure, or a list of pages and features that must be included/identified on a site might seem like an overstep. This kind of rigid definition has already existed for some time though, in the form of home pages, and the back/forward button. It might not seem like it at first glance, but the back button at one point was an abstraction of links that could be included in a page to allow travel between pages (though many modern browsers use it differently now).
What More Could Be In HTML’s Future?
The internet is constantly evolving, and with it, the needs of website owners and users. Could these features be included in the next version of HTML? Or could it include ideas that we haven’t even thought of yet? Either way, we’re excited for what the future might hold!