Present-day businesses leverage the latest technologies to grow and sustain their businesses. Web apps and websites have become a critical part of these endeavors. While many prefer mobile applications, the cost and efforts involved in marketing and making these apps stand out over millions of other apps could be limiting.

This is where web applications come in. Users don’t need to download them, giving businesses an easy route to share content without restrictions. But the trends in web development change rapidly depending on user expectations and technological advancements, making it vital for businesses to stay ahead of their competition.

We look at some of the top web development trends to expect in 2023.

1. PWA

Progressive web applications (PWAs) continue to impress with their versatility and remain one of the most vital aspects of web development. They have connected native apps and websites. Some of the features of PWAs are:

• They are created using JavaScript, CSS and HTML.
• They function as a website and offer an almost identical experience to a native mobile app.
• They can operate outside the browser and engage with users just like a native app.
• They enhance sales ratings and increase consumer engagement.
• They hasten webpage loading and enable offline functionality in apps like Google Maps.
• They don’t need to be downloaded from the app store and are easily available when browsed, just like responsive websites. This allows users to save space on their devices.

Uber, Pinterest, Flipkart, Spotify and Twitter are some e-commerce giants that have already switched to PWAs.

2. Single Page Applications (SPA)

SPAs are web applications that load a single HTML page for dynamic content updation based on how the user interacts with the specific page. One of the primary reasons for the popularity of SPAs is that they provide a highly responsive user experience that feels like a native app. SPAs are typically built using JavaScript frameworks like Vue.js, Angular and React.

3. Voice Search

One of the web development technologies fast gaining momentum is voice search. Voice-enabled devices are used by 51% of consumers to conduct product research. The voice search assistant industry is anticipated to grow to $11.2 billion by 2026. The benefits of a voice search are:

• It significantly accelerates the search process.
• It provides quick and effective answers to most queries.
• It offers a crucial additional opportunity to gain natural search traffic.
• It’s becoming more accessible to those with vision impairments.
• It helps websites improve their search engine rankings for voice search queries.

Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant use voice recognition technology.

4. Motion UI

Motion UI is an excellent method for attracting customers with appealing animations. It is a front-end framework to build responsive web designs. Some features of Motion UI are:

• It enhances user experience design by including many components that contribute to easier navigation and overall website performance.
• It’s an effective front-end library for the development of animated UI elements that can also be customized.
• You can create animated charts, backdrop animations and modular scrolling.
• You can create an element that slides, spins, bounces and transforms.
• It can be included anywhere on a website and is compatible with all web technologies.
• It’s easy to use and no prior knowledge is required.
• It’s based on in-depth UX/UI research and when implemented effectively in web design, it can significantly increase page conversion rates.

5. Artificial Intelligence Chatbots

AI will inevitably play a larger role than ever in web development. Some aspects of AI are:

• It helps organizations improve and involve human interactions.
• AI-driven chatbots are an intelligent variant of a standard chatbot. It makes use of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to interpret user intent and deliver a human-like experience.
• AI eases the implementation of advanced features like behavior analytics.
• It’s easy to include an AI-powered chatbot in both conventional and professional websites and PWAs.
• They can help make your customer service procedures more efficient.

Popular businesses using chatbots online include Starbucks, Facebook, Lyft, and Sephora.

6. IoT

The internet of things (IoT) refers to the range of different physical items that are now linked to the internet and actively collecting and exchanging data. Some features of IoT are:

• Its incredible connectivity and computerized sensibility feature help in understanding customer characteristics to build robust processes.
• It includes a wide range of components, including sensors, cameras, signaling devices, etc.
• It efficiently addresses consumer requests and provides appropriate guidelines.
• It can handle vast amounts of data, enhance security, and offer users novel UIs.
• The data is processed and transferred through cloud networks.
• It emphasizes more on the network’s scalability and reliability, thus assuring data distribution and collection irrespective of the volume and ensuring accurate results without any delay.

7. JavaScript Frameworks

JavaScript is the most popular language for software development and its programming libraries are known as frameworks. They already have pre-written codes that are the foundation for creating websites and web applications. Some of their benefits are:

• Frameworks such as Gatsby.js, Vue.js, Next.js, etc., assist in providing users with dependable, effective and contemporary programs.
• It supports a broad range of programming paradigms, such as object-oriented, functional, event-driven and prototype-based programming.
• It offers an extensive collection of plugins and code blocks that are ready to use.
• It also ensures that the new code is organized and structured.
• It offers ready-made solutions to a variety of JavaScript coding issues.

Websites such as Yelp! and Facebook Messenger use JavaScript frameworks.

8. Blockchain

Blockchain is one of the technologies that is revolutionizing numerous sectors and has the potential to transform web development as well.

• It offers safe and secure transactions.
• It relies on consensus mechanisms thus making hacking extremely difficult.
• Data is easily accessible to users as it is kept on a network.
• Reduces the likelihood of errors due to its decentralized architecture.

This technology has already been implemented by companies including Walmart, Visa and Barclays.

9. WordPress Development

WordPress is a flexible service platform with numerous functions and more than 40% of websites worldwide use it. It has emerged from a simple blogging platform into an effective content management system (CMS). Some of its features are:

• It’s one of the simplest platforms for web development and its design and is apt for beginners.
• It offers a unique digital experience with amazing features and plugins that helps businesses to scale and grow.
• The recent WordPress 6.1 update has brought about further improvements in block editing, creating custom templates and accessibility.
• A large group of developers, independent contractors, hosting companies and agencies on WordPress work towards maintaining and improving the platform regularly.
• It constantly focuses on website performance and accessibility.

Enterprises like Vogue and Walt Disney use WordPress.

10. Dark Mode

Dark and low-light websites have become extremely popular in recent years. According to a study around eight out of ten users prefer the dark mode whenever it is available. Some of its benefits are:

• Depending on the reader’s taste or system settings, they offer a simple way to switch between two modes.
• As the background is dark and the text is bright, it reduces strain on the user’s eyes.
• It has a contemporary, eye-catching appearance and is also energy-efficient.

Many well-known companies like Apple, Reddit, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter have already implemented this feature.

11. Cybersecurity

Securing data and networks and preventing misuse of computers is very critical. There is a continuous rise of non-traditional methods to improve cybersecurity which goes beyond monitoring tools and analyzing checkpoints. Cybersecurity helps web developers use frameworks like Django or Ruby on Rails and avoid threats like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

IBM, UpGuard and Cisco are popular providers of cybersecurity.

12. Serverless Architecture

A lot of effort has gone into reducing system overloads, data loss, and development costs. Serverless technology is an aspect that allows businesses to run applications without the need for any administration as they’re hosted on the cloud. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are pioneers in running operations without employing any provisioning, managing and upgrading servers.

Research has valued the serverless technology market at over $35 billion as of 2022, which is only expected to grow exponentially in the coming years due to the ease of use that it enables. The technology works seamlessly with IoT apps, chatbots, and APIs.