For newcomers in this field and those curious to understand what web developers do daily, this could be an ideal opportunity to see whats trending right now.
As this year ends, it begs us to consider what lies in store for next year - will technology continue its intrusive presence into more areas of life, offering new buzzwords?
Here is our selection of front-end development trends we believe will shape the tech landscape over the coming year:
Eight Trends In Web Development
Artificial Intelligence Utilisation
AI was typically raised when discussing the direction of technology; today, however, we believe its usage is justifiable as much has happened this past year in web development and artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT had its year, when Cambridge Dictionary chose "hallucinate" as their Word of the Year for no apparent psychedelic-related purpose whatsoever.
Microsoft, Google and Meta (previously Facebook) have begun offering their AI technologies directly to the general public.
Now that developers have easier access to AI back end development instruments, we can expect AI to be used by developers in new and unexpected ways.
AI already features heavily in data analytics, so it will likely follow suit across other fields. One such AI programming tool that has quickly become part of developer workflow is GitHub Copilot; there are plenty more.
AI as an emerging trend can also be seen through The Grid, which is currently sunsetting V2 before planning for launch last year.
Tools With Minimal To No Code Requirements
At first, we werent sure whether to include this trend. However, fewer people learning code could benefit from low-code and no-code technologies.
Back end development became an attractive vocation because of a shortage of coding skills, thus leading to the ongoing proliferation of these tools. However, computers cannot replace people in the workforce; developers would still require formal training sessions to use the LC: NC tools effectively.
When coupled with generative AI tools, these techniques will enable smaller businesses to complete development program(including no-code design) tasks faster.
It is estimated that in 2024, the low-code market will reach $148.5 billion.
The Internet Of Things
While the Internet of Things has long been touted as the future, some may mistakenly believe it has arrived. Yet its true goal of providing network access to devices usually not connected directly to the internet so they may communicate and exchange data is just beginning.
Web developers were less involved in designing such devices than product or UI designers; voice user interface designers played a much more vital role.
Coders of applications that use, analyze and display device data are coders. At the same time, businesses like Xively and BugLabs have started offering APIs so developers may interact with Internet of Things devices directly.
Engineers need to develop ways to integrate IoT data into web develpoment platforms by 2024 to enable real-time visualization, predictive analytics and personalized experiences for end-users.
AI Chatbots
While these may already have existed in some form in recent years, expect this area of work to experience tremendous expansion during 2024 based on its success following that of generative AI and LLMs in previous years.
This phenomenon can be partially attributed to chatbots sophistication and accuracy, which has increased their employment potential within businesses.
Backend developers enjoy many opportunities regarding the technologies supporting them since their success relies heavily on sophisticated language processing, machine learning and information retrieval systems.
Common AI careers that may suit back end developers include machine learning engineering or machine learning itself - web developers with proficiency in machine learning languages like Python R Java will find ample opportunity and exciting projects ahead.
As one can readily see when considering whether this trend will remain, chatbots have proven to be an increasingly viable way for businesses to save money while reaching more customers than before, not to mention increasing reach by employing chatbots on social media platforms themselves.
Google released their version of Angular that brought many changes -- specifically redesigning its frontend JavaScript framework from scratch.
This has also led to many improvements in speed.
Now, JavaScript ES6 applications utilize its features; applications written using TypeScript take full advantage of these newer components and move towards more component-driven architectures.
Read More: Future of Web Development: Emerging Trends & Technologies
Package Manager Yarn
Package managers have become very popular among JavaScript frontend communities.Developers use them to simplify the installation, updating, configuration and removal of code modules from programmes by back end developers.
They do so by interacting with a registry of code modules and controlling any dependencies among these modules that might exist.
NPM and Bower are among the most frequently used JavaScript package managers; however, Meta has collaborated with Exponent, Google, and Tilde in developing its package management solution; we anticipate its popularity will only increase over time.
Yarn was designed to address Metas shortcomings with NPM in areas like performance, security, and consistency; it still accesses NPM and Bower registries for easy use.
With NPM, developers may encounter situations in their local frontend development environment where two different versions of an individual module exist depending on how it was installed - creating situations in which only one developers machine works seamlessly while another may experience issues.
Yarn employs lock files to guarantee all developer computers run the same version and ensure a smooth backend development experience for everyone involved in a project. Yarn appears poised for further advancement after placing fifth in the Most Used Category front-end developer Survey.
Static Website Generators
Static website generators use plain text stored as files rather than databases to build pages for websites like Jekyll that use static websites as source material for building web pages.
While static pages created this way can have advantages in certain instances, Jekyll provides some benefits of creating static web pages as an option to consider when building web content. These include increased speed, security, ease of deployment and their handling of traffic surges.
Although static site generators do not feature user-generated content (comments) or real-time content updates as standard features on the internet today, their creators still find them interesting to track.
Many front-end developers anticipate static site generators will become an exciting area to follow closely over the coming year as Content Delivery Networks and APIs integrate further with web architecture, making deployment more straightforward for content and templates. Static site generators could become increasingly attractive if their templates and markup are kept separate from a "full-stack" paradigm.
Voice Search And VUI
At first blush, one may argue that voice recognition technology has existed for over 10 years, yet in 2024, things appear to have seen tremendous advancement.
Today, we will cover more than Amazon Alexa or smart speakers such as Nest or Sonos.
Statista projects that the voice recognition market will experience an explosive surge from $10 billion in 2024 to $50 billion by 2029 - at a compound annual compound growth rate of 23.7%.
Integrating AI generative processes with voice search has not just become feasible; Google has already implemented this into Assistant.
Since weve already discussed becoming a voice user interface designer, full-stack developers should also become adept at making products they work on, particularly mobile apps, that are voice search- and navigation-friendly.
With advancements in voice search becoming the new normal, these improvements are now essential rather than "nice to have."
Progressive Web Applications, Or PWAs
Progressive web apps (PWAs) have long been around, yet their most advanced version promises to overtake traditional web apps in the last year completely.
PWAs speed webpage loading speeds and enable offline functionality within apps like Google Maps; businesses such as Starbucks, Uber, Pinterest, and Twitter already utilize PWAs to provide superior user experiences; many more will join this ranks by last year.
Over 58% of international online traffic in Q2 was from mobile -- not including tablets. As more users turn to phones and tablets to complete various online tasks, PWAs have never been more necessary than now.
PWAs provide superior user experiences while offering additional benefits such as reduced website development costs and uninterrupted maintenance services to their providers.
Plus, these pages look and act just like regular websites do. Last year will see HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, WebAssembly or Angular being utilized to develop PWAs.
Other Trends In Web Development
Chatbots With Artificial Intelligence
Chatbot technology will advance in the coming year to better satisfy consumer demands, using machine learning techniques such as natural language processing and retrieval to mirror user behavior closely.
AI chatbots enable businesses to conduct voice or text chats more rapidly while improving customer experiences. An AI bot can gather information, respond quickly to frequently requested queries, handle various problems efficiently and deliver an exceptional digital experience - providing customers with an enjoyable digital journey.
Numerous B2C businesses currently utilizing AI chatbots to assist their consumers are using this form of AI marketing technology in growing numbers, rising 190% year over year between 2024 and 2030, according to Forbes, with many businesses replacing traditional bots with features found within Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Skype chat apps instead of traditional ones.
Look forward to even more significant advances with AI-enhanced chatbots by 2024.
Accelerated Mobile Page
Unbounces research indicates that page speed significantly influences purchasing decisions; hence, there is a need for accelerated mobile pages as part of your web presence strategy.
Google first unveiled Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) as a lightning-quick online experience for mobile consumers. These accelerated pages can improve consumer satisfaction by decreasing bounce rates and smooth user journeys; Google AMP could also help businesses measure important business indicators - these could have equal significance as conversion numbers.
Although adoption rates for Googles AMP have gradually declined, it still makes up half of the top 10,000 websites employing mobile technologies globally and 35% overall.
Conclusion
Nothing on the Internet remains static for long, and web development is no different. Our data and how we approach handling it continually change and develop.
Mind the Principles when It Comes to Web Development process Even as web development trends may shift over time, it pays dividends if you know its fundamental principles thoroughly before joining or carving out a niche in any particular direction. Before jumping in at any given trend, create your own niche. Ensure everything has been addressed. Why wait any longer if you want to dive in? See whether launching a web development career in 2024.
