Web development trends remain constantly evolving, thanks to the ever-growing number of people and companies providing web development services, tools, and solutions. Staying alert to these trends is necessary for web owners and developers alike. Otherwise, you won’t be on top of the endless competition for a seamless user experience in web development and all other digital products.
In this article, I’ll highlight the nine latest web development trends for 2023 that are worth considering. You might have encountered some of them, but seeing them here should reinforce their importance for your current or next project.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Businesses looking to improve user engagement and retention rates are still turning to Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in 2023. Although this app-like website has been here for a while, since 2015, its benefits make it an increasingly popular choice. By 2027, it is estimated that the global PWAs market will be valued at $10.44 billion.
The latest developments in PWAs with modern APIs make them cost-effective for businesses and suitable for offline experiences. With Google’s PWA, developers have the advantage of upgrading their website to a PWA without starting from the beginning and the ability to switch from a platform-specific app to a PWA.
AI Chatbots
Integrating AI-powered chatbots in web development is a trend that is here to stay, thanks to the rave of ChatGPT. As natural processing language gets more sophisticated, web developers are finding ways to use it to provide personalized user experience and increase customer engagement for businesses.
Today, AI chatbots are commonly used to answer FAQs, assist with online purchases, and offer real-time customer support, among other things. However, according to a 2023 publication by Statista, conversational bots are primarily used in “after-sales and customer service followed by CRM, sales, and marketing.” So if you’re developing websites for businesses in these areas, take into account the power of AI chatbots.
Accelerated Mobile Pages
Your website’s user experience depends on the speed of your webpage. Studies even confirm that page speed can impact users’ purchase decisions. That’s why the need for Accelerated Mobile Pages is still relevant in 2023.
In addition, creating Google AMP HTML pages can significantly improve the speed and performance of your website on mobile devices and desktops. There’s a need to consider AMP pages in this era because it aids higher search rankings and enables increased visibility.
Single-Page Application
If you want your website to create fast and responsive web apps today, you need to incorporate Single-Page Applications (SPAs). This web development trend (SPAs) is a go-to for developers to dynamically update the content of a single web page instead of loading new pages.
With their low server space consumption and simple creation process using the AngularJS framework, Single-Page Applications (SPAs) provide an efficient, highly interactive, and user-friendly experience for both web developers as well as web visitors.
Optimized Voice Search
Voice optimization for websites is becoming prevalent due to the growth of voice-based AI technologies. By 2024, it’s expected that 8 billion voice assistants will be in use worldwide.
With more users relying on voice search to find information online, creating a seamless voice search experience and optimizing content for voice search is necessary. This web development trend is an attempt by businesses to ensure that users get what they are looking for on their websites the way they want it. Therefore, it would be best if you considered it.
Motion UI
Adding predefined motion to your website is a powerful way to increase engagement and interaction with your site visitors in 2023.
Built with Sass library, the wide usage of Motion UI lies in the fact that it seamlessly fits into all components of a website and can work with all web tools. However, the most common applications of Motion UI are in the menu, modals, header, and footer.
Serverless Architecture
The adoption of serverless architecture today enables developers to reduce system clogging and save costs. On the contrary, traditional server-based architectures require the maintenance of dedicated hardware and software resources.
In the wake of COVID-19, where people were restricted to working remotely, SaaS solutions, such as serverless architecture, have become a key component of digital infrastructure for many businesses.
In 2023, you can leverage serverless technology running on the cloud to operate code for various applications or backend services without the need for any administrative tasks.
Responsive Site Design
Responsive site design is a mobile-first approach to web development. It has been trending for a long time, especially the focus on designing and optimizing websites for smaller screens and touch-based gestures and interactions. This opportunity to offer flexible visuals and interactions across different device types can not be out of fashion, at least not any time soon.
Some important trends and best practices to follow in this areas are :
- The use of geolocation data
- The use of media queries
- Biometric authentication
- Vector graphics
- Fluid grid
- Landscape orientation
Dark Mode Standardization
Given the option to use dark or light mode, over 90% of people will choose the former. Although it has its downsides, the increasing demand for dark mode among users has led to the standardization of this feature in many operating systems. To take the experience even further, web developers integrate light and dark themes on websites to allow users to switch between the two modes. In 2023 and beyond, it will be common to find websites that provide dark-mode UIs as a default to align with evolving design trends and user preferences.
Summary
There you have it. As mentioned earlier, web development trends get updated frequently as web service providers innovate and user needs change. But the constant thing that defines these trends is optimizing the user experience and making it faster and easier for developers to do it. To be ahead of the curve, you need to be abreast of the industry trends. No more, no less.