Yes, we support HTTP/2 and QUIC in all our cPanel Shared Hosting accounts. Note although the web server support HTTP/2 and QUIC, for security reasons, most of the browser require the site run over an SSL certificate to use HTTP/2, this means if you wish to take the advantages of HTTP/2 and QUIC you need an SSL certificate for your web site.
What is HTTP/2?
HTTP/2 is the first major HTTP protocol update since 1997 when HTTP/1.1 was first published by the IETF. The new HTTP protocol is needed to keep up with the exponential growth of the web. The successor of HTTP/1.1 brings significant improvement in efficiency, speed and security and is supported by most modern web browsers.
- HTTP/2 is binary, instead of textual.
- It is fully multiplexed, sending multiple requests in parallel over a single TCP connection.
- It uses header compression to reduce overhead.
- It allows servers to “push” responses proactively into client caches instead of waiting for a new request for each resource.
- It uses the new ALPN extension which allows for faster-encrypted connections since the application protocol is determined during the initial connection.
- It reduces additional round trip times (RTT), making your website load faster without any optimization.
If you wish to read more about other improvements, check at https://http2.github.io/faq/
What is QUIC?
QUIC is a new protocol developed by Google, currently undergoing standardization with the IETF's QUIC working group.
QUIC (or, Quick UDP Internet Connection) is an experimental protocol initially developed by Google in 2012, and announced publicly the following year. As of mid-2015, roughly half of all requests from Chrome to Google servers were served over QUIC.
Chrome and Opera web browsers support QUIC by default and will use it if the server supports it. Chrome dominates the browser market; together with Opera, these two browsers represent about 62% of web users. With QUIC enabled, the majority of visitors will see the difference.
QUIC is the next generation internet protocol, designed to make up for the shortcomings of HTTP/2.
Web protocols are always evolving and improving. HTTP gave way to SPDY, which was refined into HTTP/2, and now there's QUIC. Just as SPDY's aim was to improve upon the inadequacies of HTTP/1, so too is QUIC poised to improve and replace HTTP/2.
