Web Development Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2018

With every new year comes new trends. And, in the everchanging world of web development, there are certainly a few that are poised to have a big impact over the coming year. By keeping an eye on them now, you can be prepared to adapt to them in the future, ensuring your increased success. To help you get started, here are some web development trends to watch in 2018.

Increased Implementation of Chatbots

Companies are turning to chatbots to help manage customer relationships and free up employees who may otherwise be tasked with fielding basic questions. This means web developers will need to become more comfortable with implementing the technology due to their web-based interfaces and the increased customer expectation that will be available.

Progressive Web Apps

As people become more reliant on their smartphones and tablets, increasing their comfort level with app-based design, progressive web apps will become more commonplace. Even though these are actually web pages, they will mimic the design of mobile apps to create a consistent user experience.

As a benefit, progressive web apps generally take less time to build and are often easier to maintain and deploy. Plus, they offer numerous other advantages, including the ability to work offline and are incredibly quick loading, making it no surprise companies will start to favor them.

Addition of Push Notifications

Push notifications used to be relegated to the land of mobile apps, but they are increasingly being used on web pages. They provide businesses with a significant amount of value, allowing important information to be disseminated with greater ease, increasing customer engagement. Since companies can gain so much through the addition of push notifications to their websites, web developers will be increasingly tasked with developing and integrating these services, adding a new dimension to their duties.

Single-Page Websites

More organizations are discovering the appeal of single-page sites, those that use only one webpage that is significantly longer than the designs of old. Navigation is largely based on scrolling and links, so complex menus aren’t typically part of the approach. This can simplify web development efforts significantly and lower the total cost of developing, hosting and maintaining a site, suggesting the option will become more popular.

More HTML5, Less Flash

While Adobe Flash Player changed how websites were typically designed, it is now being phased out. Adobe announced an end to updates and distribution after 2020, partially based on the solutions incompatibility with many mobile devices. This means developers will need to rely more heavily on HTML5 for video-based content, making it an important skill to possess.

While trends may come and go, those above are poised to make a splash during 2018, so keeping an eye on them is a wise move for anyone working in the field of web development.

If you are looking for a new web developer job this year, the professionals at The Squires Group can connect you with some of today’s leading employers. Contact us today to learn more about our services and see how we can help you take the next step forward in your career.


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