Any developer needs to follow web development trends 2021 to stay relevant and solicited. According to Internet Live Stats, there are around 1.9 billion websites that are active today. Most users will never even see 90% of them. But each site makes its contribution to web development trends 2021. In addition, the number of IT workers has been growing like crazy in recent decades, which brings everyone to follow web development trends to stay competitive and skillful.
Quality web technologies can take your business to another level. Applying new technologies and approaches is an opportunity to increase page load speed, improve user experience, attract more attention, and increase indexing rank.
The developers must be aware of the trends to create up-to-date products that will bring joy to the users. However, the client also needs to be aware of the latest web technology to understand the final result.
So, what are the latest web development technologies that are popular in 2021?
What Is Web Technology
Web technologies generally include markup languages, programming languages, databases, CMS systems and platforms, and other technologies that help developers to create websites, applications, and stores. There are two types of web technologies: front-end and back-end.
The front-end is responsible for the appearance of the website and is visible in the browser. It includes technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript.
Back-end runs on a server and is used to process data. Its actions are usually invisible to the user. However, when the user enters any data, the response comes exactly from the server. Thus, the whole process of execution goes beyond the scope of the browser.
Artificial intelligence
Obviously, the first and most popular software industry trend is artificial intelligence implementation. AI develops very quickly and it’s a huge mistake to ignore it. Soon, it will become an important part of any business niche and life sphere. And even now, as a regular chatbot, it can ease life and help many people.
Here's a shortlist of AI capabilities for websites:
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studying and understanding client behavior;
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assisting the client in real-time;
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creating individual recommendations;
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collecting the necessary client’s data.
For example, Starbucks uses AI to deliver a personalized shopping experience. So, AI studies the customer's transaction history to form appropriate recommendations in the form of a digital menu.
Two years ago, artificial intelligence technology seemed like a distant future. But now we see that it is implemented in many everyday things and simple businesses. And the next step is to make sure you use AI in the web technology to create a business product.
Single Page Application
The traditional way of developing websites is to create a separate page for every idea. This has always made it easier to navigate the website, allowing users to quickly find the information they need.
This concept will remain applicable to online stores, companies that provide software development services, and news portals. But in many cases, it is worth paying attention to the development of SPA (single page applications). This is one of many newest technology trends that speaks for itself – people are tired of lots of information and they just want to get as little as possible but the most qualified content. We can only agree with that.
Firstly, SPA doesn't have complex navigation or expanded menus. Secondly, this approach allows the user to quickly understand what the website is about. Thirdly, the design of one-page sites works significantly better on mobile devices. The latter is an important advantage since today the majority of users prefer to visit sites through smartphones. This is not one of the newest programming trends, but it is worth attention.
Services like Facebook and Gmail are very good examples of SPA. This concept eliminates the need to reload the web page while using. It loads the updated content with the help of JavaScript. SPA runs inside the browser and shows the natural behaviour of the site. It is convenient since users don’t need to wait to see the content.
Push Notifications Optimizing
Push notifications have appeared on websites for a long time. But recently they’ve become the latest technology trend because of smartphone popularity. Today it is one of the most powerful tools that can be used in mobile applications. Push notifications will help you to notify the users about releasing new content, action, or a new video.
The main advantage of push notifications is that they can be used to bypass email. Notifications appear on the user's home screen that keeps the user notified and up-to-date. In other words, push notifications are an additional marketing channel. In particular, you will always remind the user of your brand.
Besides, the user tends to click on push notifications significantly more often than on links in the email. So optimizing them can increase your conversions.
It is very important not to overuse them. Remember that users have dozens or even hundreds of messages every day (in addition to push notifications from websites, there are also instant messengers and native applications). Notifications from your site should always contain useful information so that there is no desire to cancel the subscription.
AMP
Since about 2015, responsive design has been one of the newest web technologies. Since that time, Google has paid more attention to websites that display content perfectly on mobile devices. But now we need to provide an even faster page load speed.
And for this, the Google team developed the newest web technology of accelerated mobile pages. It can improve performance up to 10 times. Thus, the user does not have to wait to see the page when he or she checks the website via the phone. The only obstacle to download speed can be the quality of the Internet connection. But, as a developer, you can affect it.
Browser Extensions Creation
People often criticize Google Chrome for the fact that it loads the core memory very intensively. However, this is the most popular browser that people use on both PCs and mobile phones. The first reason for the intensive load is that it works very fast. And the second is that it provides each user with the ability to install any extensions – Chrome browser supports the most extensions today.
Even though they can slow down the browser and the device as a whole, users are actively installing extensions for various web services. In addition, some extensions help replace standard computer programs (for example, VPN or software for processing screenshots).
Even though this is not the newest website technology, it surely needs more attention. You can start with creating a browser extension for your product.
Horizontal Scrolling
Web page horizontal scrolling is not very popular today. But, as already mentioned, the active use of smartphones greatly influences web development trends. The main problem with displaying a web page and its individual elements on a mobile device is a small screen width.
In addition, this website development technology provides a new user experience. In many cases, the implementation of horizontal scrolling allows you to make the web page more compact. This trend is not only an opportunity to improve the display of information but also to be extraordinary.
TypeScript Development
Over the past two years, TypeScript has been a sudden breakthrough. It appeared in the top 10 most popular programming languages according to the Octoverse report from Github and is also gaining tremendous attention among front-end developers.
TypeScript was created to fix some inaccuracies in JavaScript and as statistics show, the goal has been achieved. You can often find forum conversations that TypeScript is becoming the basic coding language for creating a front-end:
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it generates fewer errors;
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it is easier to understand;
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installs faster;
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requires less boilerplate code.
Since this language is still new software technology, there are many arguments against it such as:
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it is harder to develop compile files before launching when working with Node.js;
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harder to customize;
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developers need time to adapt.
All these arguments are hard to argue with. TypeScript isn't perfect. As with everything else, this web development tool is ad-hoc. But the main thing is that now it is the latest softwares technology that developers use pretty often in 2021.
Progressive Web Applications
PWAs use the latest website technologies to bring together the best web and mobile apps. And the thing here is that they look like regular websites when in reality they are simple apps. Here are some key features of PWA:
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receiving push notifications;
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installing of the home screen;
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working offline.
Some may ask, what is the difference between PWA and native apps? The fact that it is hosted on the network via HTTPS. This approach provides a higher level of security.
Voice Control Development
Many users use their voices to communicate with the computer or specific applications. Likewise, very often we use this feature in the web browser and it is still considered as the newest technology. Today, the introduction of voice search is a universally recognized customers requirement.
Among the advantages of voice search we want to highlight the following:
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reducing the search time;
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simplifying navigation;
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improving user experience.
Assistants such as Siri or Bixby play a very important role in the development of voice control. Apple and Samsung users, respectively, are using assistants to control their smartphones. And it comes in handy when the users have their mobile phone in their pocket and walk around in their headphones.
Users are getting used to voice control and now want to see it on all websites. Therefore, one of the upcoming trends in new web technologies is the introduction of high-quality voice search.
WebAssembly
The first thing that should never degrade in web development is performance. But JavaScript slows down the product. This degrades the user experience significantly.
This was one of the reasons for the emergence of WebAssembly. This technology allows you to compile the programming language code into bytecode, which is executed directly in the browser.
Some of the WebAssembly benefits:
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provides a high level of security;
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hardware independent;
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programming language and platform-independent;
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executes the code quickly.
It all comes down to three: small size, cross-platform, and speed. And all of them are key to modern web development.
Mixed Reality
Mixed reality (MR) is a symbiosis of augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR). As a result, a visualization combines real and digital objects. With the help of virtual reality, the user is immersed in a simulation where virtual objects affect the real world. The technology is ideal for enterprise applications. New software technologies aim to create interactive environments for commercial and entertainment purposes.
Mixed reality can be used in architecture, construction, tourism, games. Technology helps to represent the values of the company. Devices that allow you to immerse yourself in an interactive environment include helmets and virtual reality glasses, projection rooms, windshields, smartphones, and tablets.
Applying Hybrid Reality:
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Training. Businesses in any industry can leverage technology to train employees in complex processes and programs.
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Business. An innovative tool for increasing goods and services sales. The user has the opportunity to try the product, see how it works in a real environment.
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Entertainment and media. MR allows creating truly engaging content.
Websites and apps will actively implement hybrid reality in 2021 and for the foreseeable future. There are many uses for the technology. For example, the IKEA website is successfully using this tool to increase furniture sales: the user sees how the piece of furniture will look in the room. In fact, mixed reality has unlimited possibilities for use, it is enough to use fantasy.
MEAN (MERN) Stack
There couldn’t be a list of “what are web technologies in 2021” without mentioning this stack. A robust technology stack is needed to drive trends. At the moment, coders have a large number of frameworks and libraries at their disposal. They are all just different tools to achieve the same goal.
MEAN is an acronym for three JavaScript frameworks and a NoSQL document database. MEAN includes only the most popular web frameworks 2021:
(M) MongoDB is a free, document-based database, organized to provide both scalability and development flexibility. Data in MongoDB is not written in tables and columns as in other databases. Instead, MongoDB stores JSON-like documents with dynamic schemes. (E) Express.js is the best framework for web development for a Node.js application server. It is designed for building single-page, multi-page, and hybrid web applications. It is the standard server-side framework for Node.js. (A) AngularJS is a structural framework for dynamic web applications. It can use HTML as a templating language and extend the HTML syntax to clearly and concisely describe the components of your application. Angular helps to get rid of a ton of extra code. (N) Node.js is a free cross-platform runtime environment for developing server-side web applications. Node.js applications are written in JavaScript and can run in the Node.js runtime on OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, NonStop, IBM AIX, IBM System z, and IBM.
In terms of the MERN stack, it is very similar to MEAN, except that Angular.js is replaced by React.js.
Owlab Stack
When mentioning new technologies development, we couldn’t omit to talk about our tools.
For years we’ve been creating our own tools pack to perform and create the best products that you can check in our Portfolio. Everything you’ll see is done with the help of:
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Python
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ReactJS
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Django
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NestJs
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PostgreSQL
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WebSockets
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iOS (Swift)
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Android (Java, Kotlin)
Each of them allows us to create a superb product in 2021 and follow the current trends. We’ve developed many web projects among which WarHold online gaming service, event organization service AUX, I Deliver Food food delivery service and many more.
Final Thoughts
The web development trends 2021 are mostly focused on improving the user experience. Customer acquisition and retention are a priority and will stay the same in the future. At the same time, it is important to ensure reliable data protection and uninterrupted operation of the technical side.
Web development trends are numerous and fleeting. You don't have to tackle everything at once. Some of them won’t stay for a long time, while others will become a must-have in the development.
The skilled developer should be aware of trends to identify new opportunities for the implementation of ideas. The use of innovative approaches helps to take web products to a higher level, befriend new consumers, and increase the website’s rating. However, the implementation of software industry trends should be dosed so that the product remains understandable and convenient for the user.
