Crocodoc recently announced a new version of its HTML5 document converter, which packs in a wide array of extra new features to better take advantage of the growth of HTML5 in general. Crocodoc has already converted a huge number of documents—more than 60 million at last count—to HTML5 documents, so when Crocodoc rolls out a new version, it’s worth taking notice.

Crocodoc is already a name to conjure with when it comes to document conversion; not only has it converted an enormous array of documents already, it can work with multiple types of documents– including PDF, Powerpoint and Word—and has signed up a variety of customers for its services, including major names like Yammer, Dropbox (News – Alert) and LinkedIn. This is impressive enough, but it’s only been in operation since 2010, and the newest update only adds to Crocodoc’s overall impressiveness.

The newest version of Crocodoc brings in a newly-redesigned conversion engine, as well as improvements in mobile performance, load time speed, and improved display quality besides thanks to a combination of HTML5 and scalable vector graphics. Reportedly, the previous version of Crocodoc used to display everything as one big image, overlaying the text with HTML Web fonts. But now, Crocodoc just displays the whole thing with the aforementioned combination of HTML5 and scalable vector graphics to yield an image that not only looks better, but it also loads faster. Further improvements come with the overall manipulation of the image itself, as pinching to zoom and scrolling functions also get a boost from the reduced download size.

Being able to convert documents to HTML5 provides a major advantage in terms of publishing for the Web. It allows users to use familiar programs to create documents while also allowing them to use a simple program to turn the output of those familiar programs into something ready to go online. With Crocodoc, the resulting HTML5 output is as clean and impressive overall as it can be. The viewer can be customized to each user’s specific tastes, while the output results can be better protected thanks to an array of advanced security features like 256-bit encryption and a variety of deployment options.

The overall effect here is that users now have a smoother, better option to work with in terms of getting documents ready for the Web, allowing access to the vast pool of users represented by same. While the current preview isn’t quite ready for launch, Crocodoc reportedly will be accepting developers into a private beta fairly soon. Those interested should head over to Crocodoc’s preview site for a form to fill out to get in. The improvements should make an already useful tool even better, and thus more likely to garner the attention of all those looking to convert documents to HTML5.