The field of web development and design is improving at an incredible rate. The growth is increasing on a daily basis and it’s become incredibly difficult to keep up with the changing times. This makes it even more imperative for the professionals and developers to keep themselves abreast of latest trends of web development in order to create engaging sites that can keep a user’s attention for more than eight seconds.
With so many updates every few weeks, web developers are always busy trying to get an edge over their competitors when it comes to the utility of technology. They’re harnessing new frameworks, techniques, and tools to enhance their ability of developing more engaging and robust sites. Plus, with the advent of personalized devices like smartphones, the web is getting more and more integral in our lives. We are using the web for nearly everything from shopping to banking to watching the news. The following web development trends will be the highlight of 2017:
360-Degree Video
The 360-degree video is poised to provide incredibly interactive experience, making a huge impact on the web design trends. Today, this feature is primarily used for online video marketing. However, it’s estimated that 360-degree videos will attract more attention, drive more interaction, and the views will grow more rapidly.
This new medium makes anyone feel like he or she is actually there. The video clips display a spherical scenario, where a special 360-degree video camera has prerecorded all the possible angles of an environment, providing a seemingly infinite array of future possibilities.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is going to impact the future technology in a big way. In 2016, there had been multiple advances being made in the field of AI, so 2017 holds even better promises. The technology giants like Google, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft are developing powerful artificial technology to be used by the users.
AI had already been started by a large number of applications, such as Google’s search algorithm. An easy access to some powerful AI tools, developers are likely to use AI in new and innovative ways in coming months.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet is no longer limited to just computers and mobile phones; it’s moving to our household appliances as well. Using apps on our smartphones now, we can remotely turn on our heating equipment, switch on the light bulbs, and even process food well before getting home.
Because of this, web developers are likely to develop applications that use, analyze, and display the devices’ data in order to communicate with IoT devices.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is the future prospect of internet with which users have already started feeling in virtual environment using computer hardware and software. The gaming industry is using this trend comprehensively in web development process. The visual displays used in virtual reality allow the users to immerse in the virtual world and stop the sensory impressions coming from the real world.
Google and Mozilla are making pioneering efforts on APIs with which virtual reality will transition to the web. In coming months, we will see more and more virtual reality in many applications.
Static Website Generators
Static website generation is increasingly becoming a significant part of web developer’s toolkit. These generators are very handy, as they create websites from plain text, usually stored in files rather than databases. They are benefiting the developers in terms of security, speed, ease of deployment, and handling of traffic.
Today, the popular website generators in use are: Jekyll, Middleman, Roots, and Hugo. Many developers consider it as an interesting area to watch out for in the coming months.
Rich Typography
In 2016, developers showcased a number of creative uses for typography, and 2017 is only going to feature a much richer typography. The designers are putting more efforts in order for type to take up more space on the screen.
It can be expected that they will come up with even more creative typefaces in order to keep up with this trend. The typography used in websites will have more contrasts by placing a variety of effects, images, and videos.
More Javascript
In terms of using Javascript, 2016 saw a significant change, and 2017 will only take it further. This evolution and growth in Javascript are responsible for bringing up the language to chatbots, virtual reality, internet of things, and much more. Its role has become more established and integral.
There is a widespread adoption of ES6 + features, improvement of language grammar as well as efficiency in writing applications. For example, Progressive Web Apps are the user experiences within the reach of the web that are reliable, fast, and engaging – a significant collection of techniques and best practices.
Micro-Interactions
Micro-interactions are those specific moments when a user interacts with a website, such as liking a post, sending a message or filling in a form field. Primary aim of micro interactions during these moments is to provide feedback and guidance in order to improve UX.
They are increasingly becoming popular because well-designed micro-interactions are extremely useful and can define the entire product. For example, Proto.io is a tool that helps developers to quickly test and iterate their web mobile application designs.
Collaboration Between Design & Development
2017 will see an improved collaboration between designers and developers. With the help of better prototyping tools from Invision, Webflow, Figma, and some others, the designers and developers will share greater understanding that will increase their workflow speed, which in turn will enhance the productivity and output.
GIFs and Cinematography
The cinema graphs are making a significant impact in terms of getting higher user engagement, which is why there is a wider adoption of this trend. The human brain tends to engage more with visual information and cinema graphs do exactly that. A creative video capture’s visitor’s attentions more than a still photograph.
At the same time using cinema graph doesn’t weigh down the website load speed. The Graphical Interchange Format (GIFs), on the other hand, enables the developers to tell a story in far more effective way than could be with a still image. So, 2017 will see an increasing use of GIFs and cinematography.
Read more about web development here on Tech.Co