BBC News has switched to HTTPS—hurrah!
Here, one of the engineers writes on Ev’s blog about the challenges involved. Personally, I think this is far more valuable and inspiring to read than the unempathetic posts claiming that switching to HTTPS is easy.
Update: Paul found the original URL for this …weird that they don’t link to it from the syndicated version.
This is a great illustrated explanation of how DNS resolution works.
I share many of these concerns.
The web is huge. Even bigger than Google. I love that the web preserves all the work. I don’t think anyone has the right to change the web so they no longer work.
All the books, Montag.
If we want a 100% encrypted web then we need to encrypt all sites, despite whether or not you agree with what they do/say/sell/etc… 100% is 100% and it includes the ‘bad guys’ too.
I’m all in favour of HTTPS everywhere, but this kind of strong-arming just feels like blackmail to me.
All new CSS properties won’t work without HTTPS‽ Come on!
I thought Mozilla was better than this.
Here’s a nice one-sentence definition for the marketing folk:
A Progressive Web App is a regular website following a progressive enhancement strategy to deliver native-like user experiences by using modern Web standards.
But if you’re talking to developers, I implore you to concretely define a Progressive Web App as the combination of HTTPS, a service worker, and a Web App Manifest.
Well, I guess it’s time to change all my locally-hosted sites from .dev domains to .test. Thanks, Google.
A fantastic piece by Aaron who—once again—articulates what I’ve been thinking:
Your site—every site—should be a PWA.
He clearly explains the building blocks of progressive web apps—HTTPS, a manifest file, and a service worker—before describing different scenarios for different kinds of sites:
Progressive Web Apps may seem overly technical or beyond the needs of your project, but they’re really not. They’re just a shorthand for quality web experiences—experiences that can absolutely make a difference in our users’ lives.
Highly recommended!
The slides from Calum’s presentation about progressive web apps. There are links throughout to some handy resources.
This primer on progressive web apps starts by dispelling some myths:
- Your thing does not have to be an “Application” to be a PWA.
- Your thing does not have to be a Javascript-powered single page app.
- PWAs are not specifically made for Google or Android.
- PWAs are ready and safe to use today.
Then it describes the three-step programme for turning your thing into a progressive web app:
- The Manifest.
- Go HTTPS.
- The Service Worker.
Tell it, brother!
PWAs don’t require you use a particular JavaScript framework or any JavaScript framework at all. You don’t need to be building a Single Page App either.
This looks like a useful tool, not just for testing locally-hosted sites (say, at a device lab), but also for making locally-hosted sites run on HTTPS so you can test service workers.
How wonderful is this‽ The latest research task I set for Amber was on HTTPS, and she has delivered her findings …as a poem!
Turning your existing website into a progressive web “app”—a far more appealing prospect than trying to create an entirely new app-shell architecture:
…they are an enhancement of your existing website which should take no longer than a few hours and have no negative effect on unsupported browsers.
A nasty service that Harry noticed in his role as chronicler of dark patterns—this exploits the way that browser permissions are presented below the line of death.
Things are looking good for HTTPS.
Details of The Guardian’s switch to HTTPS.
A nice little walkthrough of a straightforward Service Worker for a content-based site, like a blog.
Slowly but surely the web is switching over to HTTPS. The past year shows a two to threefold increase.
One more reason to make the switch to HTTPS.