Top Web Development Trends for 2017 and 2018

There is no saying to when the next trend is due or when will a new development technique just emerge and make you want to rethink the entire development strategy. There are, however, a few emerging web development trends that will surely dominate the year of 2017 and beyond.

And as a Web Developer, there is always a constant need to stay updated with the latest web development trends because the latest trends always provide the users with better functionalities. Read on to know the web development trends that would rule the last quarter of 2017 and 2018.

1. Materialize CSS Framework

Materialize CSS framework, a mixture of CSS SasS and JavaScript framework is an open source framework that works on user experience by merging simplicity and cleanness of flat design with the real world using motion to build a bridge between web design and the real world.

This UX framework governs the look and performance of individual elements on the website. And while it has many components that aren’t rich as Bootstrap, it does provide many components that Bootstrap doesn’t, like Parallax and Toast.

Materialize CSS framework is compatible with all the modern browsers and it takes care of basic styling, custom components, transitions and animations to give a better user experience.

Hence, Material Designing is a major trend to lookout.

2. SSL & HTTPS

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) are cryptographic protocols that are secured through TLS (Transfer Layer Secure) by three layers of protection:

1. The transferred data would be encrypted.
2. Data, when being transferred, cannot be modified or corrupted without detection.
3. Data would be authenticated to prove that the users are communicating with the intended website.

But that’s not all. Other than security and authenticity, HTTPS gives you the upper hand over HTTP when it comes to Google ranking and SEO. The coming years are going to be dominated by HTTPS because Google prefers sites that are more secure. And in addition to that, the users also expect a secure and private user experience.

And with 43% users abandoning a website after seeing a security alert message, it becomes more important to secure your website.

3. PHP 7 and Above

PHP7 is a scripting language that is slowly turning out to be the developers’ favorite one. It is not only free and simple, but it also works great with Content Management Systems.

A code created in PHP will let a developer integrate the platform across various platforms. It is flexible, scalable, offers various extensions and add-ons, is embeddable and offers various frameworks. Other than that, it supports both database management systems and open source databases.

In this era where anything that is easy, simple and free (or cheap) and yet delivers exceptional results is worshipped. WordPress, the Content Management System that powers over 27% of the internet uses the PHP server-side programming language. GeekWire has a beautiful website built on PHP7.

PHP server-side programming language is used by 82.6% of the websites.

4. WPCLI

WPCLI is a set of commands that can be accessed by the admin. Developers just have to send commands to the admin and the admin can access it without having to use the Web Browser. The best thing about using WP CLI is that you don’t have to use multiple commands to hand over the control to the admin. It is possible using a single command.

5. NPM

NPM or Node Package Manager is the default package manager for JavaScript runtime environment Node.js. NPM is basically a library that will allow you to add packages and reuse them whenever necessary, instead of having to create them all over again. Node.JS installation turns simple by using WPCLI.

6. User Behavior Tracking

Anything and everything right related to how different users react to different sections of your website is important. The more you know about your users, the easier it is to bag conversions in abundance.

The most used tool to track user behavior is Google Analytics tool amongst various others.

Various open source platforms like WordPress facilitate integration of various third-party tools. Thus, you can easily integrate any heatmap tool or user behavior tracking tool to your website.

7. Google AMP

With 80% of the internet users owning a smartphone, having a responsive website becomes more necessary. If you don’t have one, you need one to make it accessible to users on the go. And if you already have one, this is what you should be doing next – optimizing your website for speed. Users lose interest in a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. They might even opt for a competitor’s website over yours just because your website was slow.

Therefore, Google introduced AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is essential for faster website. Integrating Google AMP gives you a fair advantage over the other websites in the following ways:

a. AMP provides an improved mobile search experience
b. AMPed pages are SEO friendly and are preferred by Google which is why Google gives a ranking boost to the AMPed pages.

Other than that, it will also ensure that your page comes up in the carousel showcasing top content along with other AMPed websites. An AMPed page is 4X faster and uses 8X lesser data compared to traditional mobile optimized pages.

If an eCommerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1 second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.

8. Chatbots

Chatbot, a service fuelled by rules and AI, is a chat interface that interacts with you. According to Business Insider, messaging apps have now surpassed social networks in terms of monthly active user numbers.

Chatbots not only understand commands, but it also understands language and it gets smarter after having more conversations with people.

77% of people with texting capabilities are millennials and they are rumored to have a positive perception of a company that offers text capability.

9. JavaScript (Angular & Node)

JavaScript is the current trending framework that is both easy to use and user-friendly language. Now, the Angular JavaScript and HTML integration is used for better user interface.
Node JavaScript on the other side is used for faster communication between the user and the website. Node JavaScript also enhances Real Time Interaction between the user and the website.

10. Multilingual Website

Multi Language Website is mandatory if the services that you cater are for an audience that is present globally. Multilingual website is a huge plus because it will not only attract the usual English proficient public, but it will also bring forth the audience who don’t understand English that well. That way, you don’t miss out on your well-deserved amount of conversions.

11. VR optimized WordPress Website

Virtual Reality is a huge and upcoming trend and WordPress has bagged the opportunity to use it in our website with the simple use of a plugin. The mere use of one of the many VR plugins will embed the Virtual Reality functionality in your website where the person would be able to get a three-dimensional view of the website by using the three-dimensional headset.

Virtual Reality will entice your potential audience if used the correct way because it holds the power to give your potential customers an amazing experience.

12. Minimalist Design

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

– Antoine De Saint Exuper

Minimalism is the art of using the barest of the mandatory elements to its maximum extent in a simple style. This will help in reducing the commonest of the distractions and fuelling focus on the main content.

It works on the principle of Less is More and it is built on the concept of more whitespace, typography, grid and color. To nail the minimalist design, it takes thorough understanding of the bare minimum design elements mentioned above. You are provided with the least of all and you must make the most of it to create a beautiful minimalist design.

13. WordPress 4.9

WordPress 4.9 will turn out to be the second major release of the year 2017. This latest version will bring forth the theme of code editing, plugins and themes management and a user-friendly way to customize a website. It will turn up with the theme of editing code, managing plugins and themes and using a user-centric way to customize a site, and polishing some features added earlier this year.

Conclusion:

All the web development trends mentioned above are guaranteed to help you code a website the people would be looking forward to in the last quarter of 2017 and the year of 2018. But using all the trends mentioned above would be letting too many cooks spoil the broth.

Feel free to contact Monks to get an expert WordPress Developer at your work. The Monks will be happy to assist you and helping you out with the trends that would work wonders according to your website requirements.

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Nick Patel

Nick is a Tech Monk working as a Marketing Head at WebbyMonks. He loves to explore cutting edge technology and share his write-ups through this blog. An avid learner, WordPress lover, passionate technology enthusiasts, and interested in everything tech. While not writing for technology you can find him fishing, shooting with camera, and brewing more filter coffee. On a lighter note, he is here to learn, explore, and overcome technology while falling in love with the tiny nonsense of daily life.

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