Not so long ago, information was stored in something called cookies. When the web browser needed to store any type of information like dates, times, refresh rate of the web page being viewed, how long the visitor stayed on the site or more sensitive information, it was written in a cookie, which may or may not be encrypted, may nor may not self-destruct, or whatever else the web master or designer decided to handle the information gathered. In time, this method proved to be a huge security risk, very unmanageable and so much time was spent just going back within the web pages backend, correcting any issue, updating and so on, that something else had to be implemented which was safer, easier and just better all the way around. Especially, since browsers where moving forward and cookies soon was becoming outdated and obsolete.
So, the people that oversee the HTML programming language which are known as the WWC or World Wide Web Consortium, put their heads together and came up with a solution, at least for the time being, until something else is invented.
For years, everyone wrote and designed most static web pages in HTML 4 or just HTML, which was the standard and you can also find free mockups here. However now, there are several variations but the standard is now XHTML, HTML5 or XML. These take the original HTML language, expanding it so that it can actually do more from the client side (the browser). The browser actually stores the information on the visitor’s computer itself instead of on some server or in an unsecured area.
Now the way it is set up, it does not hinder website performance; actually, it is faster in most cases because different web pages can access the data stored within the same website instead of having to rewrite it each time. Unlike limits on storage that cookies had, web storage has a much larger limit something like 5MB or more and is never transferred or transmitted to any server. It stays in on the client/visitors computer. The storage rules decided by the original web site, each web page within the same web site can access the same data within that site.
A thing called sessions are used, this makes things a lot easier to manage within the coding. Using sessions, the coder can determine how many links the visitor has clicked, track the movements throughout the website as a whole, the length of time spent on any given page and/or the site as a whole. This information is only stored for one session which is the time the visitor spends on the site, when the browser has been closed out, the session has ended and all data stored is then erased completely, that is until the next session, which the process begins all over again.
The localstorage object that is used has no expiration date or time, unless coded into the object. (This is the part of the code for the session creation etc.) However, if no limit, then it does not expire and not deleted when the browser is closed. It will remain there in the browser storage next day, week even year that is, until it has a command to delete by some type of code or function within a code.
Window.Localstorage does not expire and not deleted when browser has closed, however, window.sessionStorage only stores data for one session and deleted when the browser is closed. These two different objects or commands, used when dealing with coding web pages for web storage in HTML5. Also, not all browsers support this function, so it is always best to check and make sure of which ones does to save headaches in the future along with trying to figure out why there are errors on the web page and how to correct them.
WebStorage is a lot safer than cookies for many reasons but it is also helps with the website performance in helping it to load faster, surf smoother and best of all keeping personal information private. It also, help the web designer/coder produce much cleaner code and making it neater for any future updating, revising or upgrading that may become necessary.
It is not hard to learn HTML to create awesome static web pages, just make sure that any coding done meets the WWC standards. Always having security and safety at the forefront, this way, only what the visitor wishes seen and their privacy protected.
WebStorage is a simple piece of coding within the HTML5 standard that helps with security, safety, site performance, keeps all sensitive information private, doesn’t transmit data to any server and keeps it in your browsers storage forever or until commanded to delete. Cookies could never do anything close to this, they were less safe, heavy (took up a lot of space after a while), and prone to being buggy, easily manipulated to carry viruses or cause a computer or browser to leave the owners control and much more. This new type of storage is much safer, faster, secure and easier to handle and code than anything before now.