Web development trends for 2023
How you can stay up to date with new aspects of web development that will become mainstream
The new year is approaching quickly, which means it is time to start thinking about your 2023 web projects, and fast! As we know, tech trends move rapidly, and website trends are no different - which is why we believe it is important to stay agile in this ever changing and fast paced environment.
To prevent 2023 taking your business by surprise, we are sharing our top web development trends for 2023. Keep reading for more of an insight:
Our UX optimization for Concern.net has resulted in increased user engagement and donations
User experience (UX)
User experience (UX) and user friendly designs are important aspects to consider when designing a website. UX describes how website visitors feel and react when they interact with your website. Then there is the trend for minimalist and user-friendly website designs which have become increasingly popular (think a minimalist approach to branding, strong fonts, and concise messaging). It’s about keeping it concise and straight to the point, but executing well, to create a positive user experience. According to the folks at Google, it only takes a visitor five seconds to form an opinion of your website. This is why it is important that your website must be user friendly, quick, and attention grabbing. Otherwise, visitors will bounce straight out again! Combining user experience with user friendly website designs, will make for an engaged audience.
27% of the online Google population uses voice search on mobile
Voice Optimisation and voice search
We have already seen a rising trend of voice notes over direct messages, for both personal use and for marketing/sales. Voice search optimization is the process of streamlining your website page information to appear in voice searches. Voice search optimization aims to optimize your website to answer questions for users who conduct a voice search. According to Google, 27% of the online Google population uses voice search on mobile. So, as voice search grows in popularity, why not bring this time-saving feature to your website?
Dark mode
Who prefers using dark mode for their emails or social media channels? We do! Although it may be against the norm, when done well, using dark colours for your website can convey a premium and professional look and feel to users. In addition, dark mode has been shown to drastically reduce blue light, limit eye strain and save on battery life.
Mobile responsive sites, Progressive Web Apps (PWA) and mobile apps are different things
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
A large percentage of your website users will prefer using smartphones over desktops, and with the number of smartphone users increasing every day, it is important that your website is mobile responsive. There are many benefits of adding AMP when developing your website as it speeds up your website for mobile users, and over 90% (Source: Statista) of the global internet population use a mobile device to go online, it makes sense to utilise this to further improve user experience. This also brings us to the topic of progressive web apps (PWA), which are websites that work like an app on a mobile device. Like AMP, PWAs are designed to improve the user experience when using websites via a mobile device. Read more about Enterprise Mobile Apps & PWA here.
Augmented Reality is typically used to overlay additional graphics or visuals on top of your surroundings
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
Augmented reality and virtual reality has already brought significant change across the globe to many different industries, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Augmented reality can be a great tool to enhance your website users’ experience. This can be done in many ways, and for many different industries, by enhancing customisation and personalisation for users. There are lots of examples of how not-for-profits have benefited from using augmented reality, such as the UK National Health Service (NHS), who created an out-of-home digital campaign to encourage people to donate blood.Through virtual reality insight of how giving blood would help patients in need, this augmented campaign helped boost blood donors in Birmingham and London. How incredible is that?
Some site users need tools like screen readers and braille keyboards so your website must account for that
Accessibility
Website accessibility ensures inclusive access for all websites by all users, regardless of the user’s access needs. It focuses on eliminating any barriers that could potentially block a user’s access to a website or stop them doing what they want to do when they get there. Web accessibility is no longer a “should have” option, but it’s a “must have” for all websites. At SystemSeed, we are seeing an increase in clients requesting accessible sites, and the right way to do this is to build accessibility into your designs and UX from the start, rather than 'doing accessibility' as an add-on at the end.
A final note...
Web trends are moving fast, which is why it is important to stay up-to-date and agile. At SystemSeed, we can help you stay ahead of the curve. SystemSeed services include digital strategy, UX (user experience), interface design, software development, support, DevOps, and hosting.
If you need the help of a dedicated team to carry out website development for your business, please contact us - we would love to help.