20 Web Development Trends and Techniques to watch out for in 2022!

In a world where almost everything has moved from brick and mortar concept to a digital platform, we have reached a point where consumers believe that your website quality correlates to your business quality! 

Here’s the statistics to prove it- around48%of people cite that a website design is the number one factor in determining a website’s credibility. When the stakes are this high, it becomes a necessity to understand and keep up with the new trends in the market, related to web development.

From complex engineering work, UI/UX design to blogs that are up to date, there’s a lot of components involved in the technological side of creating a website for greater customer engagement. 

Here’s a list of 20 web development trends covering most aspects of the website, that we recommend keeping an eye out for!

1. Voice search optimisation 

2. Dark mode 

3. Push notifications 

4. Progressive web apps

5. Motion UI

6. Accelerated mobile pages

7. Low code development 

8. Cloud computing 

9. AR and VR experiences 

10. Artificial intelligence and chatbots 

11. Blockchain

12. Data compliance 

13. Internet of things 

14. Multi browser support 

15. Automated testing 

16. Voice UI

17. Content personalisation 

18. Web assembly to power web apps 

19. API first approach 

20. Single-page websites 

1. Voice search optimization 

Voice search is a trend that was picked up almost instantly and is a growing trend to not miss out on. With close to50%of consumers researching products using voice search, there has clearly been a rapid growth from the days of the launch of Siri in 2011.

When devices are getting better at understanding user intent via voice, people are choosing to use voice commands over typing. Hence, optimizing your website products for voice search recognition forms an important strategy in 2022 and beyond. 

This strategy not only is beneficial from the customer end but also helps owners understand usage analytics of voice search, helps rank better in search engines, boosts traffic and user experience. From the customer end, it helps increase loyalty, ease of use and hence drives sales. 

2. Dark mode 

With the most popular apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and others opting for dark mode, its global popularity is undeniable. Not only does dark mode enhance user experience, but also is a major upgrade that is to continue in 2022 and beyond. 

It reduces battery consumption on devices while optimizing for reduced eye strain in any device that the website is accessed on. As consumers interact with websites on a daily basis, keeping up with elements like this leads to instant gratification and longer retention. 

3. Push notifications 

For higher conversion rates, push notifications are a must-have. So, how exactly do push notifications work to continue the shopping cycle of your customers?

Whenever a new product or content is available, push notifications within the website or mobile app interface inform users of the same. It reduces the hassle of email campaigns and expecting customers to check the website. Push notifications require less marketing effort but have better results as customers tend to interact more with push notifications. 

Push notifications serve as a relevant form of interaction, unlike pop-ups. Hence, for better engagement and conversion rates, push notifications are not to be missed out on. 

4. Progressive web apps

As customers increasingly turn to mobile apps usage, having a website that seamlessly works on desktop and mobile is crucial. With 89% of users accessing the web through mobile and mobile apps, it is a trend that is predicted to move upward like no other.

A progressive web app is a web-based app that provides users with all the benefits of the website and more, within their devices. From better UI, functionality, customer support, streamlined shopping, data security and a more immersive mobile app experience, progressive web apps is the key.. 

While PWA is not an overnight phenomenon and requires teams working on it for longer periods of time, the end result is a customer acquisition and retention phenomenon that does the trick. PWA has become a regular phenomenon, with tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter implementing the same. 

5. Motion UI

From the early 2000s of web pages, user experience has gained traction and has evolved to be a creative challenge for website owners. Motion UI is a library used for creating CSS transitions and animations. So, how exactly does this help?

The era of using GIFs and flash is now replaced by Motion UI. It helps create a superior user experience and can be used to work on any element of your website. For a design that is easy to use and experience from the customer’s perspective, Motion UI is a trend to follow up on. 

6. Accelerated Mobile Pages 

A surprising element that affects web page rankings via the algorithm issite speed. A positive experience for customers includes faster and smoother loading pages. There are chances of customers returning back to the search page and not giving your website another chance if the loading rate is slow. This is called a bounce rate. 

To reduce your bounce rate, accelerated mobile pages play a crucial role. An open-source platform created by Google and Twitter, developers can create faster mobile pages. 

7. Low code development 

Low code development allows accessibility of website creation for people to develop the initial phase and scale it up. While lack of coding or technical skills used to be the barrier, low code development experiences have bridged the gap. 

Not only does it save time and resources for developers and non-developers alike, solutions such as WordPress, Wix, Webflow have streamlined the modification of components within the website as well. The growing audience for no-code platform usage is only expected to scale up in the coming years. 

8. Cloud computing 

By the end of 2022, a whopping67%of enterprise infrastructure will be cloud-based. It cuts back on costs as it allows companies to view resources such as data storage, servers, applications, and so on. 

Using resources within the cloud can help streamline operations within the departments of the enterprise. There are additional benefits of data security, backups, and disaster recovery while allowing focus on other aspects of the business. 

9. AR and VR experiences 

The AR and VR market is a rapidly growing industry, as they go beyond the ‘add to cart’ and the checkout experience. This was demonstrated by IKEA, with a stellar campaign that was released through the IKEA place app. 

It allowed customers to visualize furniture at their homes, with real-time customizations. This helped customers visualize the product for better purchasing options, reduced returns, and saved logistic costs. 

While IKEA was one of many, immersive experiences such as AR and VR help enhance customer experience and loyalty.

10. Artificial intelligence and chatbots

Despite being controversial on its plethora of usages, AI has made its way into the marketing sector, establishing itself as a crucial part of a company’s marketing strategy. An applied aspect is chatbots, which is a widespread concept that most consumers have interacted with, at least once. 

Conversational chatbots that can mimic human experience and conversations speeds up the response time, reduces costs, and answers questions that are asked on a regular basis. Around1.4 billionpeople interact with chatbots on a daily basis. While they are not a replacement for human staff, implementing a hybrid chatbots strategy can help retain customers. 

11. Blockchain

Cryptocurrency is the latest fad, but the technology behind it has revolutionized various domains. The fact that blockchain offers enhanced security features, has made it a trustworthy feature for enterprise systems. 

Running contracts, confidential information, and sensitive documents on blockchain technology, ensures tamper-free, trustworthy, and secure storage. With most companies slowly adapting to blockchain technology, it is a rising trend for 2022 and beyond.

12. Data compliance 

If you overhear the statement “data is the new oil”, take their word for it. Data is a priced asset and as an organization with customer data, the risks are high. Not only should the data comply with data regulations, but it is also your responsibility to safeguard it from data leaks as well. 

While GDPR compliance in the EU was one of the first to tackle data compliance standards, there are many laws and standards being regulated to safeguard user data. As a website owner, abiding by different data compliance laws in different countries, and investing in better data compliance is on top of the to-do list.

13. Internet of things (IoT)

Minimalistic, 3D elements, basic fonts, and a visually aesthetic user experience are some of the recent trends observed in web development. Users prefer basic animation, a minimalistic scrolling experience that highlights product/website details. 

The initial hype arose with the launch of WebGL, a JavaScript API for rendering 3D graphics In 2011. The possibilities of using 3D continued post that, with recent years focusing on using 3D in the web development arena, towards crafting a web experience that retains customers and boosts engagement. 

14. Multi-browser support 

Regardless of your target audience, just as devices differ, so do browsers within devices. Different users may have varied browser preferences and it is essential that your website is compatible with all. 

Every browser showcases a website differently. Manual checking is an easy compatibility check, but with the number of browsers, the different versions, and platforms around, the excessive time taken would amount to resource wastage. Using certain infrastructure tools that can help with automation testing for browser compatibility is a step for resource management and a better user experience. 

15. Automated testing 

While automated testing is not required in all cases, a number of factors make it beneficial for web development in 2022 and beyond. With load testing, features that are used often, and larger and smaller projects, and tasks of higher priority, automated testing is an option to rely on. 

Automated testing offers high accuracy and reliability, requires less intervention by engineers, helps catch bugs faster, and increases overall efficiency. It helps modify the smaller features of the website, ensuring the perfection of the site, contributing to a better user experience.

16. Voice UI

With the growing demand for smart speakers, voice accessible tools, and voice searches, it is an evident trend that is set to continue. Implementing voice UI can help by increasing accessibility towards sight and hearing impaired audiences. 

Voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri are commonly used for searching products in the e-commerce domain. This can be applied to other websites, to encourage voice search to ensure a smoother customer experience. 

17. Content personalisation

One of the basics of user experience to target your audience more precisely is content personalization. Not only does it open up creative opportunities for website owners, but it also contributes to customer engagement as it deviates from the traditional ways. 

Innovative ways to get customers to build trustworthy relationships with the brand is where content personalization comes in. Around91%of customers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. Using personalization APIs and machine learning is a must-use strategy for web development for data-driven progress. 

18. Web assembly to power web apps

When your site has heavier JavaScript operations, it has a tendency to get slow, which can affect user experience. Over the years, browsers added optimizations for JavaScript that led to major improvements. However, JavaScript does lag in some areas, and web assembly was designed to address the same. 

A website developed using web assembly is faster and enables higher security, portability and enables the envelope to script across multiple platforms. For an updated, smoother experience for developers and customers alike, web assembly is a development trend to not miss out on. 

19. API-first development 

API development is becoming a major trend due to the reliability and reduction of development costs that it brings about. From a business, there are multiple services provided, and apps are just one of them. Having an API first approach ensures seamless customer connection between the ecosystem of services, puts forth the need of the user first, as development teams can do their work as the user is accessing the website. 

20. Single-page websites 

The benefits of a single-page website are many, consumer-wise and business-wise. The experience is made simpler, with sectional content, and hassle-free surfing. The user experience across devices is relatively made simpler. 

This helps in boosting overall traffic and conversion rates and reduces bounce rates. For ease of navigation, single-page websites are a tool that makes our list. 

Implementing the list for 2022 and beyond

Web development trends are on the rise and will continue to be. Chasing and implementing all might seem strenuous, but for the ones that align with better customer experience, might just be worth the try!

In the growing race of marketing, businesses need to prioritize the developments required for their website, and implement, to make it to the top of the customer satisfaction scale. As a developer, to make a list and start implementing, is the way to go!