7 Web Development Trends that will dominate the Industry in 2020

Your enterprise website creates the first impression of your business with your potential customers. An aesthetically designed and responsive website is what every business desires. It is, therefore, a matter of tacit acknowledgment that modern businesses need to stay aligned with the latest web development trends and the requirements of their customers.

In the same cusp are the developers, who, in order to stay ahead in the highly competitive web development industry must keep reinventing themselves by remaining abreast of the new trends in web technology. 

Incorporating fresh ideas and new innovations, the year 2020 has brought along a lot of new trends in web development. The key to success for a developer lies in gaining foresight into futuristic and most recent trends in web development and harness them to full potential.

Here’s a rundown of seven latest web development trends that you wouldn’t be able to overlook in 2020.

Trend #1: AI-powered Chatbots

Featuring right at the top of the list of new trends in web development are chatbots. Artificial Intelligence (AI), an integral component of Digital Transformation, is the core technology that works behind chatbots. Modern-day chatbots have the ability to self-learn, collect data and analyze information for effectively delivering omnichannel user experience. According to HubSpot, 47% of users would be willing to buy products/services using a chatbot. Business Insider has predicted that over 80% of businesses are expected to implement some sort of chatbot automation by 2020. All these statistics clearly indicate that intelligent AI-powered chatbots capable of mimicking human intelligence to perform cognitive functions for solving challenging problems will assume a more central role in web development this year.
 
Trend #2: Single Page Application (SPA) Architecture

Easy navigation is the most crucial aspect of website development. Even the most amazingly designed website is rendered ineffective if the users aren’t able to reach to their desired content. Amongst the most recent trends in web development is using Single Page Application (SPA) architecture for designing websites with easy navigation. As the name suggests, single page application is a long webpage which does away with intricate navigation and complicated menus. With speed and simplicity at the heart of their design, SPAs are gaining popularity as they run perfectly well on a variety of devices, right from desktops to tablets to mobile devices. SPAs are highly performant as interruptions are minimized with navigation actions being responded to without the need of creating a fetch new HTML from the server side. The year 2020 is expected to see SPAs based on React and Angular frameworks becoming even more popular. 

Also, read tips to follow for optimizing Angular Performance

Trend #3: Motion UI

Developers who are au fait with the latest web development trends would readily concur that motion UI has lately become a rage. Internet users no longer want to see dull and mundane websites displaying static content or at best a Flash-based animation. Motion UI is a standalone library that helps developers to create dynamic graphics and animations without having an extensive knowledge of JavaScript or jQuery library. The year 2020 will see the popularity of Motion UI soar through the roof owing to a considerable rise in demand for highly interactive websites which can communicate a visual story to the user instead of feeding him with run-of-the-mill content.

Trend #4: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

Just like last year, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) will continue to remain one of the hottest web development trends in 2020. The biggest advantage of a PWA is that although it is rendered through a browser like a regular webpage it offers a high level of functionality. PWAs also score above the rest in terms of user experience as they load instantly regardless of a poor network or the limitations imposed by the browser. The lightning-quick speed of PWAs can be attributed to their architecture that emphasizes core webpage content first. PWAs are not only devoid of cache issues but also immune against data snooping and data tampering as they are served via HTTPS.

Trend #5: Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs)

In October 2015, search engine giant Google announced it's Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) project – a collaborative effort between developers, content publishing websites and tech companies. The basic aim of this open-source initiative is to improve the performance of the mobile web. Almost four years down the line more than 1.5 billion Accelerated Mobile Pages have been published. One of the current trends in web development, AMP format is now supported by over 100 leading analytics, ad tech, and CMS providers. AMP platform enables the creation of attractive, fast and high-performance websites and ads across devices and distribution platforms. Web pages published in AMP format are incredibly fast and give the users a more engaging cross-platform experience. The platform gives the publishers and advertisers the freedom and flexibility to decide how to present their content and what technology to use. AMP format is likely to become more common in 2020, so be prepared to adopt it one way or another. 

Trend #6: Voice Search Optimization

According to Google, at present, around 20% of mobile searches are voice searches. It is estimated that by 2020, at least 50% of search queries will be voice-based rather than being text based. Voice search optimization is amongst the more recent trends in web development that is fast making its presence felt in the industry. As internet consumers take to voice search just like fish takes to water, developers are beginning to integrate voice search internally on their websites for the sake of their own sanity. It all begins by adding a voice search recognition API to a website which most importantly, two of the world’s biggest web browsers, namely Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, also support. Visitors can search the website, or fill forms, using just voice. Since consumers have the final word on whether a technology survives or not, voice search seems to have struck a chord with consumers and shall continue to thrive and evolve in 2020.
 
Trend #7: API-first Design

The list of latest website development trends for 2020 cannot conclude without a mention of the API-first approach. The rise of IoT has led to our mobile devices, homes, cars, and wearable devices being all connected. Although it spells convenience for users, more connected devices mean that each application ends up having more APIs. All is hunky-dory until the developer starts building the website from the wrong place. The traditional approach followed by developers of designing the application first and later adding in the appropriate APIs is on its way out. The more modern approach is the API-first design, wherein the developer starts with the appropriate APIs first and then builds the product on top of them. By taking this approach of building on top of APIs, not only a lot of time is saved, but a foundation is also laid for others to build on. In most certain terms, in 2020 and beyond, a headless content management platform aka API-first solution is the only way forward if lack of coordination between front-end developers and back-end developers is to be avoided.

Not Conclusions, but new beginnings that matter

We are living in interesting times where technology makes it possible for humans to converse with an abiotic entity. Digital transformation has impacted every aspect of our lives in a colossal way including how we browse the internet in search of the desired content. This blog which talks about seven new trends in web development for 2020 is only a small snapshot of a whole lot more than technology can offer for improving web development. The year 2020 is expected to bring along newer frameworks and design trends that developers must keep an eye on for improving their skill sets.