As technology evolves rapidly, web development has become more innovative over time. With over 1.86 billion websites online, it’s no wonder that companies are seen to be competing with one another for the top rank on the search engine results page. The need to keep up with the ongoing developments and trends is important, as these emerging technologies offer plenty of opportunities for businesses to grow exponentially and stay competitive in the market.
As a software developer, we are always looking ahead to discover new technologies that can catapult your websites to a brighter future. Good news for you – we have outlined some of the latest web development trends which will be relevant in 2021 and beyond.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
The community demand for AI-powered communication is becoming more widespread, as it is one of the most influential technologies that shape the future of web development. Nowadays, companies are using AI chatbots, virtual assistants and voice bots to engage and upgrade human interaction with quicker responses, improving overall customer experience. Especially seen in marketplace platforms, travel and tourism, healthcare industries, etc., AI bots help these businesses to enhance the digital customer experience.
AI bots are trained on data collected from users through machine learning, through a series of engagements, which allows them to provide better solutions over time. Machine learning is the ability of software to improve performance without direct input from developers. The software analyzes incoming data, detects pattern, makes decision and improves its work on its own. Besides AI and ML, natural language processing (NLP) is also used to create meaningful interactions with users, thus making lives easier.
What you can do:
- Assess and consider if your current business processes have an avenue for AI and ML adoption. You’d be surprised, many of them can be automated with AI to free up resources for other tasks.
- AI-driven bots are great for customer service, and they make excellent sales agents too. They can upsell and cross-sell your products and services on your website like a salesman, maybe even better. It is important to integrate AI and ML into your services, as they are great tools to uncover new insights to help your customers and sales conversion.
Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)
PWAs are websites that work and have the in-app experience like native mobile apps do. They run independently in browsers, thus revolutionizing user experience through app-like functionality but without having to download it.
The user experience provided by PWAs is almost seamless as they are more interactive and responsive. This emerging trend has made some of the big brands’ identities stronger due to their offline way of working – faster loading, reliable and engaging user experience. With the increased usage of mobile devices every day because of its accessibility, it is expected that brands will choose to develop PWAs over native mobile apps.
What you can do:
- If you’re looking to revamp your existing website, or wanting to build an entirely new website, remember to optimize for mobile devices too. As most people use the internet through mobile devices, PWAs are much easier to navigate. Instead of building two applications, save your development costs by developing your website as a PWA for better user experience overall.
Single-Page Applications (SPAs)
The old ways of building separate pages for long, extensive web structures for different topics are becoming obsolete. These days, web users prefer to browse a single page web as compared to navigating through different pages within the website, especially when it can get frustrating for users to wait for pages to load when browsing online. This is why SPAs are growing in popularity because they allow for uninterrupted scrolling.
Some of the advantages of SPAs include simplified and streamlined development, increased performance, offline caching and faster page loading time, which decreases bounce rate. Moreover, it is an ideal choice when you are looking to create responsive websites as they work well on both mobile and desktop.
What you can do:
- If you’re looking to develop a new website for your next project, consider building your website as an SPA to reduce development costs and time, and also to improve overall user experience.
Voice Search (Internet of Things)
The rapid growth in voice search technology has reached a new level with the inception of smart speakers and assistants, and this greatly impacts how people interact with search engines. Huge corporations like Google, Apple, Amazon, Xiaomi, etc. are using the capabilities of voice search technology to enhance their digital products, introducing new heights of innovation. Evidently, virtual home assistants such as Google Home, Alexa and Siri are gradually gaining popularity.
The voice search technology significantly speeds up the process, as it captures speech much faster than you can type. It also allows for prompt answers when asked questions. There is no need to wait for web pages to load and users do not have to scroll through the pages of content to find information. As the technology continues to grow more complex, voice search is able to understand more conversational search phrases to deliver the best results based on the inquiry.
What you can do:
- If you own a website, consider to fully optimize it to accommodate voice search functionality. This is especially useful if you are in the e-commerce business, where potential customers are always searching for products online. The faster response time they get, the more bonus points you gain over your competitors.
Motion User Interface (UI)
In addition to providing all the information required about your products and services, a website should also be aesthetically pleasing – creating intuitive and responsive interfaces that grab your web visitors’ attention and guide them. Motion UI, being one of the latest web development trends, is great at this.
Motion UI enables the creation of customizable animated UI elements. Think of modular scrolling, animated charts, background animations, header transitions, nice hovers, etc. These, among other elements, are able to express your unique style while creating a more fluid and enjoyable user experience for your potential customers. Furthermore, motion UI improves behavioral factors and helps your web app rank higher in search results.
What you can do:
- Introduce visual cues to guide your visitors through your website or application. For example, guide users through your web or app with animations demonstrating which step to take next, or react to users’ gestures with catchy animations.
- A good motion UI keeps your users entertained, and boosts your page conversion rate easily if it’s properly implemented in your website’s design. Thus, in order to increase user engagement and provide better user experience, consider to upgrade your current web and app with motion UI techniques.
Cybersecurity
The more data a website has, the more vulnerable it is to cyber threats and malicious attacks. These cybercriminals aim to spoil your services and steal sensitive customers’ information or company’s trade secret, which can damage your reputation and cost you a fortune.
As many organizations are using digital platforms to run their businesses, this can be worrisome. Therefore, protecting your company and customer information should be your top priority now, especially when cyberattacks continue to increase every day.
What you can do:
- Ensure that sensitive data are properly encrypted. In the event that the cybercriminal gets to your database, they won’t be able extract any use from the data stored there.
- Besides implementing general measures such as putting up firewalls, introducing permissions and multi-factor authentication, etc., consider to conduct regular security assessment to determine current vulnerabilities or potential breaches in your web security system.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing trend is expecting to grow exponentially as most companies are moving towards remote-first especially during these unprecedented times. This trend will transform the approach to web development in years to come as it strengthens the entire web architecture and reduces development costs.
Implementing cloud computing boasts many benefits, such as enhanced scalability, faster time-to-market, cost-effectiveness and delegated maintenance. Some of the popular cloud solutions include Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services and Huawei Cloud.
What you can do:
Given the current global pandemic situation, many businesses have expedited digital transformation, shifting their operations online. Make sure you consider to adopt a private cloud infrastructure or taking a multi-cloud approach based on your business needs, as part of your long-term business strategy moving forward.
Volservers Solutions is a trusted digital consultancy and IT services provider in Malaysia with the expertise, experience and enthusiasm in Software (Web and Mobile Apps) Development, Managed IT and Cybersecurity services, helping your brand to thrive in the digital age with ease and confidence.
For more information on digital transformation for your business, call us at +60193688882 or email us at support@volservers.com.