Web development has come a long way from its early days of mere text-based web pages. Web technologies in recent years have given developers the ability to add a myriad of content like video, audio, and animations to web pages and mobile applications. Recent technological advances are pushing that envelope further, with the addition of features like blockchain/cryptocurrency management and voice-based search. Factors like cost and cloud computing are driving this change. You can learn more about these latest web development trends affecting US businesses in 2022 and how they can benefit yours too in this blog.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Factors Behind The Latest Web Development Trends
- Cloud Computing
- 5G
- Remote Work
- Cost Cutting
- The Web Development Trends Of 2022 and Beyond
- Progressive Web Application (PWA)
- Blockchain
- Single Page Application (SPA)
- Voice Search
- New Frameworks
- In Conclusion
Introduction:
The World Wide Web couldn’t be named more appropriately for a technology that has stretched out to capture every aspect of our lives. The convenience it offers has made it the mainstay of the world, with billions of people using it for a myriad of purposes. One of the reasons this has been possible is the underlying technologies used to build websites and other assets.
Web development technologies had rather humble beginnings with text-based webpages. But as demand and technological advancements grew, so did web development to become a world of infinite possibilities.
The technology that got people hooked to the web was mobile internet access. Once 2G/2.5G rolled out, the personal computer on the desk or lap stopped being the only means to get online. 3G completed the transfer of the baton to make mobile devices the primary means of accessing the web.
Web development technologies evolved to cater to this new paradigm, with businesses pushing to include all possible content formats to bolster their branding efforts. Large-scale smartphone adoption has added a new twist to the web development trend-setting with the inclusion of apps that offer new avenues for web content design.
Businesses in the US have been at the forefront of adopting the latest web development technologies. Hence, they play a big role in the development and popularization of those technologies. The country is reliant on the internet for much of its daily life, with millions checking out a website or an app of a business to learn about and trust it.
The prevalence of competition is pushing these businesses to figure out creative ways to attract and retain customers.
New trends have been, and continue to be, set in the web development space in 2022. They have heralded a new, exciting digital era with an expanded roster of web assets at developers’ and businesses’ disposal. Parallel technological advances are further pushing these trends to become the norm. If you’re a business in the US, then you need to check out and adopt these hot web development trends, the details of which are present in this blog.
The Factors Behind The Latest Web Development Trends
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of the day’s web development trends, it helps to understand the forces driving their increased adoption. The following factors are behind the transformation occurring in web development and design:
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Cloud Computing
Everything is moving to the cloud, like the computing needs of businesses and individuals. Microsoft is already working on making its famed Windows operating system a cloud-based offering which has so far been a personal device installation.
Gaming moved to the cloud a while ago and continues to evolve in that direction with the addition of associated features like live streaming. Want AI-based processing at your fingertips? Call on IBM’s Watson supercomputer to do it for you. Such cloud-based operations require web technologies that can deliver them to the user seamlessly, regardless of the device they are using.
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5G
Expected to take mobile communication to new heights, 5G is already making web developers rethink their approach to their trade. It is expected to not just connect familiar devices to the web but also upcoming ones like self-driving vehicles. Real-time holographic projections and the like are expected to become ubiquitous with increased 5G rollout, and corresponding web development technologies are already in development or out for use.
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Remote Work
The lockdowns during the COVID pandemic didn’t just put people in their homes. It also relocated their jobs there with them. Remote working allowed some businesses to continue functioning during the disruption, and this change has become the norm for many roles. There is also the rise of the gig economy, with a significant portion of the US workforce participating. And these jobs are heavily dependent on the web to get completed.
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Cost Cutting
Businesses always look for ways to cut operating costs, and web development helps here. A retail store needn’t spend much on adopting real-time try-on technology when the company can push the same onto their smartphone app or website.
Creating secure websites prevents the BFSI sector from incurring losses due to hacking and subsequent lawsuits. Users can save on expenses too. E-courses, for instance, can be chosen instead of on-site learning at a fraction of the cost. The latest in e-book and course development needs the web to make newer possibilities come online.
Many others, like extended screen usage and the metaverse, are driving the growth of web development technologies. They are, in turn, setting the stage for new ones to be added to the list.
The Web Development Trends Of 2022 And Beyond
These are the latest web development trends of the year to keep track of and adopt. They will help your US business become relevant and future-proof as well.
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Progressive Web Application (PWA)
The conveniences of the mobile web page, like quick load time and lower resource usage made it available as an app in an instant. That’s what this technology entails. It has been around for a while and is gaining more tailwinds in 2022.
The advantages include seamless installation, memory savings, power savings, faster rendering, easy maintenance and updates, distribution flexibility, and quick launch times. With the increased web traffic generation and movement through mobile in the coming years, PWAs will make all the difference to businesses of all verticals. eCommerce ones have already set their foot through the door, with 8% already having invested in PWAs.
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Blockchain
Cryptocurrencies surged full-stream ahead in the latter half of the previous decade, prompting large swathes of investors to make them a major financial asset. Their use as a substitute for fiat currency is also prevalent, with some countries pursuing the goal of making crypto payments a standard.
Crypto wallet agencies that maintain these currencies have sprung up to cater to the growing demand, Blockchain technology also finds users in many other applications, like logistics tracking and healthcare data maintenance. These applications place great emphasis on cybersecurity and reliability.
And the latest web development technologies can cater to their software, hardware, and associated infrastructure support.
The WebDev technologies can avoid technical glitches to make the entire system reliable and have room for the ever-evolving encryption measures to be put in place. Peer-peer networking for enhanced services to be flawlessly rendered by businesses, governments, and individuals alike must also be built using these web development technologies. Not to mention a secure means of access to the data via multiple data channels regardless of location.
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Single Page Application (SPA)
Why have multiple web pages when a single one containing all relevant information will do? That’s the goal of SPA, and it’s a trend that has become popular in recent years. These applications may be a part of a website or a PWA. SPA functions by loading the entire basic structure of the website initially and then adding the dynamic structure on the same page.
The content is loaded as per the position of the viewer on the website i.e. if they are at the top of the page then only that content gets loaded.
The responsiveness of SPA’s is down to the main web development technologies prevalent today: HTML5 and AJAX. Assisting them are frontend Javascript frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, Ember, etc. The advantages of SPAs are the ability to provide offline support, a more navigable UI, easy debugging, and speedy page loads combined with reduced bounce rates.
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Voice Search
Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, and other such voice commands-based personal virtual assistants have gained traction in homes and offices. They are also integrated into apps and personal devices directly, allowing for easy control of said devices and apps.
Adding to those are AI-based chatbots and other similar assistants that are increasingly accepting voice as a standard means of communication. All combined, the voice recognition market is said to reach $27.16 Billion by 2026.
Web development to include voice search is expected to continue to be developed through this year and beyond. Its two major components-SpeechSynthesis and SpeechRecognition-are finding greater integration into web applications via Web speech API. (SpeechSynthesis converts text to voice and SpeechRecognition does the context identification and speech pattern recognition.
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New Frameworks
Javascript frameworks have helped to create the web we love and use today. They have made the process of web development a walk in the park by providing the necessary support mechanisms. The most popular ones until now have been Angular, Node, React, and Vue. But now a few more have made their way to the list, offering more features and advantages than many present frameworks.
The latest in-demand web development frameworks are Ember.js and Backbone.js. Ember is famous for offering the best features of JS stack. It is efficient, has a big support community, and has a large library with ready-to-use files. Backbone is known for being the best web development framework for SPAs. It’s mainly dependent on the JS stack and uses the model-view presenter. It’s small in size and flexible, making it fast. Using event-driven algorithms to connect views and models, it has understandable functionality.
It can also be connected to REST APIs that can synchronize frontend and backend.
Some other trends that are present or evolving in conjunction with these are IoT-centric web design, API-first development, Motion UI (for animated component integration), Serverless Architecture (for cloud SaaS solutions), and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), and Web3-based development.
In Conclusion
The US has long been considered the land of opportunity. The businesses in the country now have the opportunity to catapult themselves into the future using the trendiest web development and design technologies. Your business will experience the return on investment you expect due to the benefits offered by the adoption of the latest web technologies for your online marketing assets.
You’ll be future-ready and up to the task of outdoing your competition by reaching out to your customers more effectively and creatively. The possibilities are limited only by imagination.
Nathan Smith is a senior .NET developer with many years of experience in the tech industry. Nathan takes an out-of-the-box approach and looks for compatible technologies that he hopes will add value to their users’ lives.
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