Hi Eric Heitz, main reason is that modern browsers all support, html5 has more semantic elements and there are new and prety exciting features. Some dificulties may arise on older browsers.
Most of them will render new elements as inline elements, so the solution is easy: Simply specify "display: block" on new elements on your css for those browsers, or any display property you need. Yet, not so easy on earlier versions of internet explorer, and they will have to be delt differently: An unknown element is appended to the DOM with no children, and that can wrek you layout up to ie version 8. Again, the solution is easy, but implies javascript: You just need to create those elements; something like "document.create.element(whatever)" will do the trick, nothing more needed, but there are scripts already made for that, say on boylerplate, or the simplest html5shiv, you can google for that. Has for new input types, all browsers will render them as regular input type text, so there is no reason not to use it, and for newer browsers you get new features, like the hability to put placeholder text, capture focus and so on. On mobile browsers, telling what kind of field you have, will tell the device what keyboard to load, wich is really nice. You can use "modernizr" to check for browser support for the features you are using via javascript, or you can check support for indivisual features in browser versions on "whencaiuse". You can use xhtml sintax or plain old html sintax, but if you wish to use xml you need to use "poliglote markup" and that can raise questions you'll need to decide according to your audience, specifically in what realates to differences between internet explorer before 9 and the rest of the browsers. All in all, html5 is a huge step in terms of features, say you get local storage, an improvement on coockies,canvas, better forms, and so on, but a really easy step to make if you already thought in terms of semantics. You can develop a good document outline using http://gsnedders.html5.org/outliner/ , and get a structuring old html didn't have,lots of good stuff happening! You also get support for alfa colors, svg, gradients and so on on css is nice, and it is permited to use browser vendor prefixes. Yet, the validator, specially the css validator, isn't stepping up that quickly, so if you're used to check your code there, be prepared for some erros on plain good valid code. Also, you can easily define aria roles for accessibility, support is growing. http://caniuse.com/ will give you the information you need to decide. But main thing is, you do not get a specification written on stone: you get an evolving specification, able to adapt to new web developments, that can guide you on the code, but essencially tells you to use the features that have support and previews new ones. It is a changing world, and w3c is adapting, instead of waiting for finished hard rules, it is telling us all to adapt to. A new approach, in my view, a smarter one. Hope it helps, isabel On Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Eric Heitz <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > I have been avoiding using HTML5 and CSS3 on new web projects. > My clients browser range is between IE7 and IE9. Little usage of Firefox > and Opera. > > Really scratch my head on when I should be moving on and become > a heavier user of the IE conditional stylesheets and specific scripts. > > Main reason I ask this question is I have taken a few site designs and > converted them to HTML. > Some of these designs used rounded corners and shadows. Wanting to get > away from > the slicing of designs to adapt to the web and utilize the CSS3 options > more. > > Any thoughts or opinions on this? > Just curious what the list thinks. > > Thanks! > Eric > > ______________________________**______________________________**__________ > css-discuss [[email protected]] > http://www.css-discuss.org/**mailman/listinfo/css-d<http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d> > List wiki/FAQ -- > http://css-discuss.incutio.**com/<http://css-discuss.incutio.com/> > List policies -- > http://css-discuss.org/**policies.html<http://css-discuss.org/policies.html> > Supported by evolt.org -- > http://www.evolt.org/help_**support_evolt/<http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/> > ______________________________________________________________________ css-discuss [[email protected]] http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/ List policies -- http://css-discuss.org/policies.html Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
