75% of internet users form an opinion about a website based on aesthetics. It only takes a few seconds for a user to form an opinion about your website. However, aesthetics alone will not improve the quality of your website. You need to improve overall user experience through techniques such as responsive web design and optimizing load speed.
Web development is a critical factor in the quality of a website. Web development plays a vital role in both aesthetics and user experience. Unfortunately, web development is a dynamic industry. You need to keep up with the latest technologies and ditch strategies that no longer work.
With that in mind, we have compiled the following lists of web development trends that will dominate in 2020.
Progressive web applications
A progressive web application (PWA) is a website that functions like a native mobile app. PWAs deliver app-like experiences on the user’s browser.
To illustrate, let’s look at internet-based apps on your smartphone. With or without internet access, you are still able to open apps such as WhatsApp. You can even reply to messages. When your internet is back, your messages will get sent in the background automatically.
That’s what PWAs promise precisely. Your website can still load without internet, sync in the background, sync across multiple devices, and much more. PWAs are the next big thing in web development as they have a high potential in improving user experience.
WebAssembly
Existing frameworks such as JavaScript, compromise the performance of web apps because they slow down calculations. That significantly affects user experience. In fact, that’s the reason gaming apps and other heavy applications such CADs are only available as native desktop apps.
WebAssembly (WASM) facilitates progressive web applications. WASM does not replace frameworks and programming languages such as JavaScript. Instead, it makes them less complicated when developing web applications.
WASM is a new format that will compress the code of programming languages to bytecodes that can run in a browser without compromising on speed and performance.
Prototyping software development
Let’s say you are developing a web app. It is a big project, and several months later, you think you are done. So, you launch it. But, alas, the results are terrible. You missed an important feature. And, including the feature means rebuilding the app.
The scenario above happens a lot. Yet, it can be avoided, through prototyping developing software technology.
Prototyping helps test ideas before committing and spending a lot of time and money on developing software that will not work. The valuable feedback gained from prototypes helps make changes when you still have enough time and budget.
Single-page applications
A single page application (SPA) is a web app that dynamically rewrites the current page as opposed to loading new pages from a server. Perfect examples of sites that use SPA technology include Facebook, Gmail, and GitHub.
SPAs significantly improve user experience by getting rid of page reload. A user opens only one page and all other content loads using JavaScript. Besides, internet users do not like having to navigate a lot of pages to get the information they are seeking.
Chatbots in customer support
You might think that your customers do not want to talk to a bot. But the data on chatbots suggest otherwise. To start with, 48% of consumers prefer customer support via live chat – chatbots are perfect for live chat. Plus, 57% of consumers prefer chatbots since they are instantaneous – no need to wait and chat with a human.
Chatbots not only work for the consumer but also for your, the business owner. You can slim your customer support team or replace it completely using chatbots.
Voice search
Smartphones come with digital voice assistants, Google Assistant for Android, and Siri for iOS. Also, we have smart speakers with voice recognition capabilities for PCs and other smart devices used at home. For these reasons, voice search is gaining popularity. In 2020 and beyond, voice search will probably make 50% or more of all searches.
The point is consumers are becoming comfortable with voice search. So, you will want to integrate voice search on your website. Why should a consumer use voice to find your website and then have to use text to find something on your site?
Voice search is a feature that increases user experience by making your website easy-to-use.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
AI and machine learning are technologies that have limitless potential in improving user experience. Machine learning refers to the ability of web software to enhance UX without the input of developers. Integrate AI into your website, and it will analyze data, make decisions, detect trends, and improve the results.
The most straightforward application of AI is in analyzing the behavior of individual customers. Behavioral analysis is vital in adjusting content to match the needs of an individual.
Airbnb uses machine learning to customize the search results of guests. The technology improved bookings and conversion rates significantly.