2018 will see some new trends rise in web development. Want to be in the know? Then you should read our post below!
The internet is an ever-changing landscape, and everything online is constantly being re-designed and re-thought, to improve user experience. The web has come a long way since the early 90s (thank g*d). You can’t be stubborn when it comes to web development, you have to go with the flow, as it were. With web development evolving through new trends, to stay ahead of the curve, you have to be up to date with the latest development trends. Every year has brought a new trend and new idea, and 2018 is set to bring a whole new bag of trends to the table in web development.
And what are these coming trends? Well, we’ve asked leading website designers in Essex, Revive Digital, and their team of experts to shed some light on the coming year’s trends. When it comes to web development, you need to have your finger on the pulse. So, if you’re looking for a website in the new year, or you’re a developer, keep reading to find out the 8 new trends for 2018, so, you can own and create an award-winning website. This is the 8 new web development trends in 2018.
8 Web Development Trends
Single Websites
A fitting trend for number one, is one-page websites. The clue is in the name as to what they are. Yes, you’ve guessed it, they are one single page, which is extremely long, websites. These single page websites are going to become more and more common in 2018, and like it or not, it’s what the people want. With an ever-growing number of people accessing the internet through mobile or tablet devices, this endless scrolling option to explore a website benefits mobile users well. They are compatible on mobile devices and ease the user’s navigation. No need to scroll to the top to find the page you want; the easy navigation can assist you in jumping directly to the right section of the site.
Luckily for developers, these sites are fairly simplistic to both develop and design, with minimal hosting required too. They are an inexpensive option, which opens up a new market for website designers to tap into. The biggest ‘erm’ behind a client signing on for a new site is the high price. But, if these one-page sites are easier to create, then the design fees could be cut, opening up a new client pool for web design agencies. The people have spoken and called for a website that works easily on mobile devices. And developers have answered, with one-page websites.
‘Photogenic’ Content
With platforms like Instagram becoming ever popular, it’s now common knowledge that the internet loves a good photo. High-quality, interesting photos have always been a staple of culture around the world, with the first glossy magazines striving for better quality photos appearing on the pages over the years. And that’s not exception in the world of web development. 2018 will see a continuing shift into attaching high-res photos to websites. But not only that, the images will have to serve a purpose.
With more and more people wanting their information faster and faster, both photo and video content have become the way that internet users digest their information. So, now photos will have to become a vessel to convey that information. More and more businesses are looking into creating authoritative infographics about their industry, so websites will now have to be optimised to accommodate high quality photos in the coming year. Utilising HQ infographics and graphics in web development will become the key needed to succeed on the web in 2018.
Improved Chatbots
For larger businesses the rely on running a smooth operation, customer interaction is everything. However, for the largest businesses in the world, having an employee reply to every message on social media or via email is becoming an impossible task. More and more businesses will be investing in chatbots in 2018, to ease customer interaction and streamline their response services. Both written and oral conversation will be built into the latest chatbots, so they can respond in a more human way. It will allow a website or social page to response to customers at any time of day, without having an entire customer service department working around the clock.
The most advanced chatbots will be able to respond to queries and maintain basic conversation for common questions. They’ll be able to navigate the customers to the right section of a website or provide information to assist them with their query. Whilst some companies have started investing into chatbots, 2018 will see a surge of these bots appear online. More and more companies will begin using them until they become standard. Integrating chatbots into websites is essential to keep up with 2018’s trends.
Static Sites
Website design over recent years has shifted towards away from the flashy websites of the past and opted for a more minimalistic look and feel. That means that static websites are coming back into trend, with the most basic coding and display of content at the core of their design. Whilst this may seem like a regression in web development, this step into a more simplistic site is needed in the world of websites. These static sites load faster, are much more secure and are cheaper to develop. Again, this allows website agencies to access a new market of affordable website seekers.
In static sites, each page is encoded in the HTML, with all the content displayed as static for the visitor. But don’t be mistaken, these sites won’t be the basic boring sites that first appeared on the web. The designs will be trendy and, paired with the right photo content, they’ll look great. And for the developers, they’ll have an easy ride due to the ease behind creating static sites. It’s win, win for both user and developer.
An App for That
We’ve briefly talked about the surge in people using their mobile devices to access the internet. But a study has found that 89% of that time spent on mobile, was through using mobile apps. Some of the biggest companies in the world utilise mobile apps to access their services. Facebook’s mobile app makes it easier to use the social media site, and eases navigation compared to the mobile browser version of Facebook’s website. With such a great deal of our time being spent on mobile device apps, 2018 will see the rise of progressive web apps being available more widely. Businesses will move to invest in the development of web applications for their company.
Some of the features of these progressive web apps include; being reliable, working offline, minimal loading times and finally, receiving notifications via the app. In 2018 we’ll see the rise of progressive web apps, that offer the features of a browser merged with mobile app design. Developers will find that these apps are easier to maintain, faster to design and work more efficiently for all users.
Flash’s Death
Whilst Flash was something that every website used in the past, 2018 will see its death. Adobe, the creators of the Flash plug-in, declared that by 2020 no new versions or updates to Flash will be released. HTML5 has taken over from Flash, and if you’re still relying on it – you should definitely get rid. Flash is now incompatible with most mobile devices, so this makes a website that relies on flash redundant for the modern age, with so many people accessing the internet via their phones. HTML5 is now becoming the expected standard of development, so make sure all the websites you build are using this instead of Flash. Make sure your websites are mobile compatible and leave Flash in the past. R.I.P Flash (early 2000s – 2020).
UI Ease in Motion
When web designers and developers meet, one of the biggest concerns of any project becomes user interfaces. Excellent designs are rendered useless if a user can’t navigate the site properly, and without the right prompts, how can the site perform well. Now, UIs have evolved to show users through different actions how to navigate through a website. With a whole range of new functions, 2018 will see these interfaces being implemented into website design. From parallax scrolling to superposition, a whole new suite of functions will be built into the websites of 2018, to improve user navigation and ease. The websites of 2018 will look good and work even better than before.
Website *dings*
The biggest draw of applications is that they offer notifications, to alert the user to new activity or a special promotion or deal etc. It’s the direct sending of information where apps succeed, however, websites in 2018 will have to develop to enable website notifications for visitors. This is for those businesses that don’t want to invest into creating a mobile app, as enabling notifications allows a greater interaction with users at a smaller expense (financially). Building in notifications to a website can boost customer engagement and drive in more traffic, it’s an excellent way to keep a website’s visitors in the know. So, work on website notifications for 2018.
Final words
And that’s our list of development trends coming in 2018. If you want your website to be on trend and up to date, you’ll need to work on building these features into your site. With everything moving towards mobile, there has been a heavy emphasis on optimising sites for mobile devices. Single page websites are set to replace those tricky to navigate sites, and ease user experience on mobile devices. Whilst beautiful photo content will make an appearance, they will need to convey information for the new age of users.
Chatbots are becoming the future of customer service response, whilst static sites have made a comeback – albeit in a trendy way. Progressive web apps will combine the functionality of mobile apps with browser features, and 2018 marks the year of Flash’s slow removal from websites. Finally, UIs will be streamlined, with easier navigation options as well as website’s utilising notifications like mobile apps do. Make sure you stay on top of all the development trends coming this year.
