Web development standards can occasionally change quicker than they can be adopted. To keep one step ahead, it is critical to pay attention to emerging trends, methodologies, and approaches.
We observed trends across industries to compile this definitive list of web development trends for 2021. As a bonus, you’ll learn about the best web technology stacks to watch in the coming year. Whatever your present interests are – market development, startup breakthroughs, or Internet of Things inventions — you should be aware of these trends.
- Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Though not a new trend for 2021, progressive web apps (PWAs) in their most recent iteration will completely replace web apps. PWAs enable web pages to load quickly and can also run offline in apps such as Google Maps. PWAs have already been used by companies like Starbucks, Uber, Pinterest, and Twitter to improve user experience.
According to Statista, cellphones accounted for 65% of online purchasing orders in 2019. With the rising use of mobile devices for completing various online tasks, it is critical to transforming web apps into PWAs. PWAs, in addition to providing an unrivalled user experience, provide additional benefits such as lower development costs. - Chatbots with Artificial Intelligence
By integrating machine learning, natural language processing, and information retrieval techniques, AI chatbots are predicted to become even more sophisticated in addressing the needs of and matching the behaviour of users in 2021.
AI-enabled chatbots help improve the customer experience in addition to supporting businesses in executing speedier procedures via voice or text chats. They can collect data, respond to commonly asked inquiries, and resolve other difficulties, allowing customers to have a more seamless digital experience with a corporation. - Mobile Page Acceleration
Accelerated mobile pages, or AMP, were introduced by Google in 2015 to provide mobile consumers with lightning-fast digital experiences. Google’s AMP can help enhance fundamental business metrics such as the number of conversions on web pages, in addition to offering smooth user experiences and minimising bounce rate.
Despite a downward trend in usage, according to BuiltWith data, AMP remains the most common mobile technology utilised globally. - Single-Page Programs
Single-page apps (SPAs), one of the most significant current innovations in web development, are JavaScript-based web applications that load a single HTML page in a visitor’s browser and dynamically update content as needed without refreshing the entire page. Because Google, Facebook, and Twitter all use SPAs, the development community has embraced them.
According to developers, this type of application occupies less space on servers and presents information to consumers efficiently on a single page, in addition to being cost-effective and simple to design. As a result, SPAs benefit both developers and website visitors. - Voice Search has been improved.
Voice search, which was first introduced by Google in 2011, is fast gaining popularity. According to Global View Research, intelligent virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri saw record market growth in 2019 and are expected to continue to develop fast in the future.
To accommodate consumer demand, more digital behemoths are entering the market or developing new devices, such as Google Home and Apple HomePod. According to Juniper Research, by 2022, up to 55% of all households worldwide will have voice assistants.
Consumers are not just utilising smart speakers for voice search, but they are also using their smartphones and IoT devices. - UI in Motion
Consumers today want not only faster and more mobile-friendly digital experiences but also richer and more interactive ones.
That is one of the reasons MotionUI has grown in popularity. motion is a front-end framework that allows developers to create completely responsive webpages and mobile applications while also utilising predetermined motions within a native app scenario. You can use this framework to create an element slide, spin, bounce, and do other things. - Architecture for Serverless Computing
The search for technology that can assist reduce system overloading, data loss, and development costs has been continuing. This search culminated in the development of serverless technology.
Serverless architecture is based on cloud technology, allowing users to run code for nearly any form of application or backend service with no administration – no provisioning, administering, or upgrading of servers is required. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are the most prominent corporations that use and provide serverless architecture.
According to Grand View Research, the worldwide serverless architecture industry will be worth $19.84 billion by 2025. - Development for Mobile Devices
According to Statista, mobile devices accounted for more than 54% of global web page views in March 2021. With mobile devices accounting for the vast majority of traffic, adopting a mobile-first approach to web development has become critical.
For many years, many developers have followed this technique. It includes, among other things, exploiting geolocation data to provide highly tailored experiences to customers, delivering one-click ordering on eCommerce apps, and implementing bio-metric authentication such as fingerprint scanning or voice recognition by 2021. - Standardization of Dark Mode
Dark and low-light websites have grown in popularity in recent years. In 2021, there will be an increase in the number of websites and apps that offer dark mode user interfaces (UIs).
This feature is already available on Facebook and Twitter. These apps make it simple to switch between the two modes, based on the reader’s preferences. Facebook has a toggle button for dark mode, which will be a significant website development trend in 2021.
As more web developers implement a comparable built-in feature to switch between light and dark modes, this will become the industry standard in 2021 and beyond. - Native Cybersecurity has been enhanced.
Cybersecurity, or the discipline of protecting data, networks, and computers from unauthorised access, is one of the year’s most pressing topics. Every business, regardless of size, is subject to cyber-attacks. For example, in October 2020, Software AG, Germany’s second-largest software company, was attacked, with hackers demanding a $20 million ransom payment.
The amount of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks has virtually doubled each quarter in 2020, according to Cloudflare. DDoS assaults cause hours of outage and revenue loss, to name a few consequences.
Conclusion
To satisfy the requirements and expectations of online consumers, web development is always evolving. Many of the trends for 2021 are focused on enhancing the user experience on mobile; others in the future may be focused on optimising UX for smart wearables or gadgets that we haven’t seen yet. Keeping up with web development trends can help you ensure that your website constantly attracts and delights visitors.