Starting today all new documents uploaded to SlideShare will be converted to HTML5 instead of Flash. Meanwhile, the company is running a process to re-convert all old documents into HTML5 with the goal of completely eliminating flash. SlideShare is a presentation and document sharing site.

SlideShare VP of Business Development Ross Mayfield says that the re-conversion of old Flash-based documents and presentations to HTML5-based applications should affect existing embeds of SlideShare content. All the old embed codes should work seamlessly.

Both Alexa and Quantcast put SlideShare in the top 300 websites in the world. “About nine months ago we were stepping back and looking at how things were growing, and it looked like we were in sort of a bind as Apple was starting to slowly kill off the use of Flash,” says Mayfield. He says that when looking at how to live in a post-Flash world the team began deciding then whether it should build native apps or go with a mobile Web application. Ultimately they decided on the latter.

“Native apps means you fragment your development team,” Mayfield says. “And you have to wait for Apple to approve updates.” Also, by using a Web based app, users could follow a link to a presentation from a blog or Twitter and view it on their mobile immediately, without having to download an app first.

So the team started looking at HTML5 initially for mobile, but soon realized there were benefits in replacing Flash on its full, desktop-oriented site as well. Mayfield says SlideShare page now load about 30% faster and have file sizes approximately 40% smaller. Both should have a substantial impact on international viewers with slower connections. Using HTML5 for both desktop and mobile also means that the development team won’t have to split its resources between two code bases.

“The Web is the biggest app store there is,” Mayfield says. “At some point in the future you’ll end up having more mobile Web apps than native apps.”

Services Angle

Many companies are struggling with the issue of creating native vs. mobile applications. In some cases a native app may make sense, but many others will find HTML5 most appealing for many of the same reasons cited by Mayfield.

Even those building “native” apps for iOS, Android etc. will probably find that using HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript will provide an adequate stack for most interactive Web services. Developers can use tools such as Titanium, PhoneGap and RhoMobile to build cross-platform apps from the same code base, enabling much quicker deployment to multiple platforms without fragmentation. SugarCRM is using Titanium to offer native apps based on HTML5.

HTML5 can also serve as a compliment to native apps, which is the strategy Salesforce.com is embarking on (and don’t be surprised to see Salesforce.com using tools like PhoneGap or RhoMobile to turn its mobile Web apps into native apps).

These moves prove that even though some worry that the open Web’s future is in danger thanks to the slow speed of standards bodies, the Web isn’t doomed yet.