As websites become increasingly complex, many site owners are constantly looking for ways to trim a few tenths of a second off their pages' load times.
For these people, a boost is coming from an unexpected source: the first update to HTTP since 1999.
The upcoming publication of HTTP/2 as the new protocol for browsers and other web services is expected to significantly reduce page load times across the Internet. HTTP/2 will also facilitate caching of more data, increasing speed to revisited sites.
Another upgrade in HTTP/2 involves multiplexing to allow multiple requests to be addressed simultaneously. In earlier HTTP versions, only one request could be outstanding on a connection at a time, meaning a stalled process could halt a loading page entirely.
HTTP/2 was based in part on the SPDY networking protocol spearheaded by Google.
To read more on the logic behind the changes made in HTTP/2 and the expected benefits, visit the project's FAQ page.