The world of web applications has always stayed very inclusive and ever-evolving. The tendency of businesses to get modern-looking and super-fast web applications has increased to a great extent over the past decade or so. Web applications are a great way for business to streamline their work processes and go into the market with a modern and futuristic mindset.
Web development has kept on evolving and advancing with new trends every year. 2021 is upon us and there is already much exciting news that we are expecting to get related to IT and new technologies. Web app development is a niche that is set to see some all-new trends that will further add to the functionalities of web applications.
In this article, I have made a list of 8 exciting trends that are set to revolutionize the web application development niche. And as a business owner, you should be following up with these trends to keep your business ahead of the game and stay competitive.
8 Web Application Development Trends to look for in 2021:
- Progressive Web Apps (PWAs):
Arguably the most impactful trend in web application development. Progressive web applications have dominated the World Wide Web and are pushing it to new peaks. According to a report by Gartner, progressive web applications are bridging the gap between the usage of mobile devices and other devices such as tablets and laptops. They are set to eliminate the usage of the native app by 50% by the end of 2021.
If this is to believe, it would be a phenomenal setback to native applications that are currently the most in-demand and used applications with their user accounts to 80% worldwide.
In a nutshell, a progressive application is similar to a native application that offers functionality similar to native applications. We all know that native apps are famous for their reliability and speed, and somehow web applications are now on their way to be considered the priority of businesses. Some examples of leading progressive applications are:
- Alibaba
- Forbes
Now, you must be thinking about which technology/framework you should consider for developing progressive web applications, so here are a few suggestions (based on acceptance and worldwide usage):
- React JS
- Angular JS
- Node JS
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs):
AMP is another web application development trend that will continue to grow in 2021. According to a report, almost 65% of the web applications are surfed over mobile devices and those websites that don’t have an AMP plugin installed, perform poorly on mobile devices. This not only increases the bounce rate but also leave a forever negative impression on users mind about that particular brand.
Google developed this plugin with the assistance of Twitter a few years back in a view to enhancing the user experience of web applications on mobile devices. As it’s clear from its name, AMP helps in loading the website pages faster and enhances the user experience that ultimately leads to reduced bounce rate and makes a user spend more time on a web app.
AMPs are optimized pages that can run easily and are designed with a simple but convenient interface with only minimal features compared to complete web items. The pages are mobile-friendly and are always readable.
- Responsive Websites:
However, the world of web applications is currently populated with the trends like PWAs and AMPs but a few old trends are still here to make their presence felt and responsive web applications are one of them.
If you are a real tech-geek and love to hover on to different websites, then you would know that there’s no match to a super-loading responsive website. It multiplies the user experience with great speed, loading, and functionality.
Although businesses now consider going for web applications rather than websites, if you are in a niche that doesn’t require a lot of consumer input, a responsive website is a great fit for your needs and is also budget-friendly than progressive web applications.
- Virtual Voice Assistant Optimization:
Searching for voices is another trend that you cannot continue to disregard. It has an immense impact on the internet and much still to come. Gartner says approximately 30% of all searches will be carried out by 2021 without the use of a screen. To say nothing of the rise in the number of intelligent speakers year after year. The Activate outlook indicates that the United States will have approximately 21.4 million of them by 2021.
As a result, sales of voice trade are projected to rise rapidly, hitting USD 5 billion in the United Kingdom and USD 40 billion in 2022.
Taking into account numerous studies and current market conditions, the optimizing voice assistant is the trend in web growth that cannot be denied. It should soon become a component of your SEO and IT strategy. Early adopters are ahead of the market at all times.
- AI-Assisted Chatbots:
This is believed that this year and the coming ones will make us witness chatbots more often than ever. There’s tremendous work has already been done in this particular domain over the past 5 years and so, this is why the reliance of a majority of web applications has been increased on chatbots.
Communication is of great importance in any segment of our lives and the importance of swift communication channels in a business environment is inevitable. Especially when you talk about the B2C segment, communication holds the key in gaining the business trust of its customers. Companies that are easily accessible get more public eye and attention rather than those companies that don’t have established communication channels.
So, one thing is sure that B2C businesses can draw amazing benefits by incorporating AI-assisted chatbots into their web applications. The rise of Bot will impact web design trends, in particular UX design. AI and machine learning technology have contributed to a major development in terms of virtual assistant designs, which are not just about the visual interface or product-serving algorithms
- Push Notifications:
There’s no denying that push notifications enhance the user experience and help them staying update on the things that matter to them. It all shows a company’s commitment to providing a friendly user experience to their customers via their application.
Although, this trend is mainly being implemented in mobile applications and even if you are not using an application, you will get a push notification (if you have enabled it) whenever there’s an update or a piece of news that matters for you. Similarly, this particular trend will continue to impact the web application market, as well as PWAs, which are getting normal and being adopted by a great number of businesses.
You can use the following tools to set up push notifications in your web app:
- OneSignal
- PushEngage
- PushCrew
- Single Page Applications (SPAs):
There’s a lot of conversation going on about the usage and usefulness of progressive web applications but one trend that silently making its mark is single-page applications. It’s in human nature that we want things to be as simple as they can and bring us to ease.
Single-page applications eliminate the long communication with the server by enabling you to click less. You’ll be having everything you need on a single-page application so that you don’t need to click multiple links.
As JavaScript frameworks are continuously rising in terms of usage, SPA is one particular field where their application is expected to surge in 2021. Here are a few great examples of single-page applications:
- Gmail by Google
- Google Maps
- Google Docs
- Development of AI-Assisted Web Apps:
In a study, “At a CAGR level of 42.2 percent in the forecast period, the market of artificial intelligence is estimated at US$ 39.9 billion in 2019, and by 2025, will probably reach $ 190.61 billion.” That’s a whopping number.
More than 75% of consumers prefer the reputation of a company based on their website design. Users only take 0.5 seconds to make a website opinion. Technology should be interested in the web development environment from now on. Here AI takes the picture of the 2021 trends in web growth.
We are living in a world that is mainly driven by the use of technology and especially artificial intelligence. It would not be wrong to say that the next 4 years hold some great developments and news regarding artificial intelligence.
The Bottom-line:
As previously discussed, web app development is changing at a dynamic pace, and keep up with all the trends at one time is practically not possible. The best way is to keep a close on the latest developments and keep the latest development trends in check so that if you made your mind inn going for that, you will be knowing what specific trend will bring for your company.
Also, people’s choices are kept on changing and you’ll see a mix of everything in their preferences. By following the latest trends in web development you can try your level best to appease your target audience and your business can emerge as a brand that cares for its customers.
About the Author:
The article is written by senior content writer and strategist Mirza Hamza of SoftCircles. I hope you’ll get maximum utility out of this piece and it serves your right purpose. SoftCircles is a web application development company based in the USA that specializes in providing end-to-end and scalable web applications utilizing modern technology stack and best coding practices.
