The web has come a long way since the 90’s and so has there been the changes in way coding where done there and are done today. However, there are many things that are still used today or it can be said clearly that HTML coding used in 90’s can save the world of web today as well. Here in this article we are sharing the experience of an SEO whose gloomy career background had a turn in web development and is now is walking down the memory lane for 90s coders.
The Humble Sprite-
Making a comeback via SEO, Sprite is an essence of web development. Used in 90’s coding, the sprite is a surprising blast-from-the-coding-past that is used even today and is frequently making its way into the core of advanced responsive design thinking.
Sprite sheets- A cutting edge practice for mobile SEO strategies
The Return of Sprite
- What are Sprite Sheets?
The sprite sheets are two dimensional images or animations that are integrated into a larger scene. The sprites originally were a method used to show animations such as movement of a character by integrating unrelated bitmaps so that they appear to be a part of normal bitmap on screen. The concept originally was taken from gaming wherein the sprites are just like the contact sheets of various snapshots of characters that are used to animate a motion. Without having to load hundreds of tiny individual images, the sprites were used by the HTML coders for interactions of web pages and to build a rich visual layout.
You can simply call it as various images packed carefully into a single image file so as to reveal an even more contorted position so as to create a webpage which is known as Sprite. This is a wonderful technology as the HTML coders can easily replace dull and predictive interactions of a website using this advanced technique. The predictable interactions such as non-interactive link images, square corners, uninteresting and pallid navigational elements and standard link rollover behaviours with the new and exciting elements such as coder-defined, rounded-edge, zanily off-kilter and multicolour effects. These effects will make you stand out tall in crowd gaining the mastery of web in JavaScript-free interactive splendour.
The use of Sprite by 2004
Sprite slowly became the most preferred technology by 2004 in achieving clean and valid HTML coding for the images thereby slicing obsoleteness of Javascript rollovers. The liberal and thoughtful usage of Sprite changed the way images were used in online marketing. Just like rococo brought a revolution in art and architecture, the images were artfully presented and were sliced into layers of Photoshop. The bedazzling websites were designed having images such as those of chefs in chopping frenzy that filled a visitor’s experience with delight and amaze. There never was an over-elaboration of rollovers in that brief window.
However, with the later updates in website designing, the Sprites were replaced with the advanced CSS3 and keeping the design choices subtle, the designing moved away from humble Sprite to today’s Zen like state of image-less websites. Today, the ecommerce portals are designed in a way such that they have better practical application and use and is not just limited to attracting the visitors. In short, the websites are designed on principles of elite coding that serves the general public. The coding is concerned to make it easier to order products online and also for the people to let the engage socially.
Though in general internet world, the use of Sprite has pined away however, the performance oriented companies such as Google is still sing Sprite on its homepage which is perhaps unsurprising. Nevertheless, the sprites used by Google’s homepage are closely monitored and have found to be using new elements signifying SERP changes. Thus, Google’s Sprite has two Powerful lessons to deliver to the advanced SEOs today.
Lesson 1: Do everything at quicker pace
What is the benefit to Google by using Sprite for its most valuable webpage? It’s nothing else, but SPEED
By adding the advantage of harnessing a throwback web concept called preload, the Sprites are preferred more by Google. In addition to this these famously require lesser hits to the server and are faster in rendering a page. With the preload, you allow the website to download everything that you need t to render to you already. This increases the speed of the server in loading everything quickly and so the concept of pre-load is obvious. Thus, Google being aware of this benefit of Sprites, uses the technology for much of its content for its search result pages in its homepage sprite.
Lesson 2: Sprite Is a Ground-Breaking Technique for Mobiles
Evidenced by the fact that massive revenues was delivered in UK past Christmas was from Mobile shoppers and people surf the internet on-the-go, having a fast paced responsive website is critical to the success of any online business. a high mobile render speed will have a great impact on mobile SEO performance in future.
Also in the earlier testing conducted by ever-excellent Peter McLachlan, it is worth noting that the Sprites have been found to render fast paced Sprites than data URIs since the since in simple SERP performance, mobile performance is gaining hype. So if you are formulating some mobile strategies this year for your business, make sure to keep Sprites at its heart. Sprites have great implications for mobile applications development best practices.
Conclusion –
The technology of 90’s – The Sprites, if brought back today can make you achieve blinding web performance with an elegant tool driving huge traffic to your website and improvising the visitor conversion rates on the search platform of the future i.e. mobile.