Web Application Development Trends

Last Updated on 2024-10-11

The IT industry is constantly evolving. You have to keep up-to-date with the latest web application development trends. Here’s a comprehensive list of trends you should know about in the coming year. 

As a tech startup owner, you would always want to be updated with current technology trends. Competition can be tight, and customers are pickier than usual. Therefore, it is always good to prioritize what your users want and need. 

So how can you provide them with the best service possible? By keeping yourself updated with the latest web development trends. Doing so will allow you to create applications that are best suited for your users. Here, we’ll cover the top 11 web application trends you need to look out for.

• Single Page Websites/Applications
• Progressive Web Applications
• Machine Learning and AI
• Chatbots
• JavaScript
• WebAssembly
• Serverless Architecture
• Containers
• Increased Use of TypeScript 
• Drag and Drop Technologies
• Horizontal Scrolling

In this entry, we’ll detail how each trend can give you an advantage in building your company website or product. Let’s get started!

Top 11 Web Application Development Trends Today

Development trends dynamically change throughout the years. Most websites today are a product of years of innovation in providing the best user experience possible. Subsequently, this is why web application trends are always changing with each passing year. Here are the top 11 most popular web application trends today.

1. Single Page Websites/Applications

Single Page Applications are web applications with one page. They have menus and page navigations, but the main goal is to display relevant content. SPAs don’t load everything altogether.

Continuous action requests trigger new data to be downloaded. Thus, this web app development trend shows the requested content only when the user intends to.

This concept is based on JavaScript, and the development process is based on Angular and React frameworks. It is mostly used in e-commerce product information pages, catalogs, and product information cards. Making use of SPAs provides the following benefits:

• More straightforward navigation compared to an extensive menu page
• It helps users navigate through the contents of the site quickly
• Better user experience on mobile devices

Single Page Applications include a much-improved overall UX and performance due to fewer full-page reloads because less bandwidth is needed. They are also cheap to develop and easy to deploy.

2. Progressive Web Applications

PWAs are web-based applications that use the latest technologies to provide an application-like experience on a web browser. In other words, these are web applications with the UX and feel of a real application. This front-end technology is designed to deliver high-level performance for any device.

PWAs combine the best development technologies of application development. Also, it includes features like push notifications; acting as if you have the app right on your web browser. 

Some companies that have integrated Progressive Web Application development into their sites are Alibaba, Forbes, Fandango, and Twitter. Alibaba saw a 76% increase in mobile conversions, and Twitter experienced a 20% decrease in bounce rate. 

Despite PWA’s immaturity in web development, it shows promising aspects that will be helpful in building better web applications. These are some of the advantages that Progressive Web Applications offer:

• Wider reach — Web apps are accessible with any device. Startups can invest in building PWAs to reach a wider audience since they are not specific to any operating system. 

• No app store requirement — App stores tend to reject apps. With PWAs, you are free to deploy or update your application online independent of any app store service. App stores have review procedures that could take time before approval. Using PWAs, you can update your product anytime you want.

• Lightweight and fast — Installing native apps may take lots of space. PWAs take what is needed and make browsing faster for the users.

3. Machine Learning and AI

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are among the latest marvels of technology. We have seen them in various industries, and web app development reaps the benefits of this trend. JavaScript-based machine learning libraries are useful in web application development.

With this, it is much easier to incorporate AI-based features so users can have a better website experience. As an example, YouTube has recommended content based on previously watched videos. This feature uses AI to provide suggestions the users are more likely to watch based on their viewing history. 

Another example is the Amazon website that uses item-based collaborative filtering of their products. They suggest products that users have liked or are related to their previously purchased items. 

4. Chatbots

E-commerce has become one of the most active spaces of the World Wide Web. As a result, application support has never been more important to the merchants, middlemen, and of course, the customers. This is why chatbots have become more important for businesses.

Customer support may not always be reliable or wasteful if customers only ask basic and frequently asked questions. However, with the advancement of technology, chatbots have become an excellent solution for customer support. 

Chatbots are designed and built to do the following:

• Make use of existing data (FAQs for example) and provide predefined answers to questions asked. 
• Provide great customer support with little to no effort. Furthermore, you don’t have to keep customer support lines open 24/7.
• Understand and learn context to continually answer new questions.

Chatbots can work with the user to choose problems they want to address, and resolve. Additionally, they use natural language processing or NLP. It’s the same technology used in Google Now, Siri, and Cortana. Some notable applications that use chatbots are Facebook’s Messenger and Slack. 

5. JavaScript will become stronger than ever

JavaScript is the most preferred programming language by StackOverflow’s user base for the ninth year in a row. JavaScript’s evolution has been a wonder for many programmers, especially with its Angular, React, and Vue frameworks. Its capabilities for building basic to complex web functionalities are unstoppable. 

Among the three frameworks, React is consistently at the top of the list, followed by Angular, while Vue.js gets only 1 to 3 searches per month. Within the developer community, these are only some of the most commonly used frameworks. Aside from being popular, these frameworks have proven their dependability over time.

One of the best parts of JavaScript is its enthusiastic community that creates and shares open-source libraries and documentation. Besides that, learning JavaScript is easy and fun! That is why this language is recommended for beginners and professionals alike.

6. Increased use of WebAssembly technology

Most web-based applications are built using JavaScript. However, if the portal is forced to accommodate large data and full-fledged computations, this affects delivery. It will significantly affect user experience and hinder the promotion of your product or service.

WebAssembly technology is the tool that addresses this issue. This technology allows software developers to write the code in any programming language. WebAssembly compiles it into bytecode when the web application is launched with a browser.

Using this technology will give you the following advantages:

• Use any programming language you like
• Exclude use to a specific type
• High-level security of the portal or application built

Security is a primary concern by many, so using this helps solve that challenge. Using WebAssembly will keep the application secure, have a high user experience, and faster loading speed.

7. Serverless Architecture

Developers can now build and run applications even without relying much on servers. Serverless architecture negates the need for infrastructure management which includes the following:

• Allocation of resources
• Allocation of servers and clusters
• Installation of bug fixes, including maintenance of the OS

Using serverless architecture ensures no overload, eliminates data loss and ensures low downtimes. Therefore, any computations are accessible through cloud resources. This makes it possible for developers to replace the usual standard servers.

In conclusion, this architecture solves problems that involve sending and receiving notifications, downloading backup cookies, and exporting objects.

8. Containers

Since serverless architecture is growing in popularity, so will be the use of containers. Gartner forecasts that there will be strong revenue growth for the use of container management software through 2024. They also predict that in the year 2022, 75% of organizations worldwide will run containerized applications.

Containers provide solutions to a web system that reduces operational costs linked to the development and operation of building applications. Container-based management software is attractive to businesses due to its speed, lightness, and ability to function at high-level abstraction.

9. Increased Use of TypeScript 

As web developers look for ways to improve user experience, they also aim to simplify their workflow. The main purpose of developing the TypeScript programming language was to fix bugs in JavaScript. Software developers use TypeScript for building the front end because of the following features:

• The code is easier to understand
• Faster project implementation
• Lessens the number of errors
• Time-efficient due to lesser time spent on revisions

Today, TypeScript’s use to build out external interfaces will slowly make its way into 2022.

10. Website Development using Drag and Drop technologies

Drag and drop technologies are already a trend today. Building websites is more inclusive and accessible than ever. You might be familiar with Google Pages and Wix. These are only some examples of website builders where you don’t have to write the hard code.

Templates on the platform interface are available. All you need to do is drag and drop the element onto your website. Consequently, this technology saves you a massive amount of time in building and designing a responsive website.

This trend will grow in the years to come as more people acquaint themselves with building their own websites.

11. Horizontal Scrolling for Mobile Devices

Most consumers today use their mobile devices to make purchases and pay their bills online. Mobile internet usage is expected to increase as more smartphones become affordable and available. 

A study by DataReportal found that 64% of internet users shop using their mobile devices. That is why developers make it a point to increase mobile responsiveness for websites. The websites that don’t follow the trend will fall behind. Indeed, web developers need to adapt and enable mobile-responsive pages for horizontal scrolling.

Mobile responsiveness increases user experience and, most importantly, increases engagement. Horizontal scrolling allows you to arrange content sequentially. This is a must because of the following reasons:

• Easier navigation using smartphone gestures
• Better visual perception and user experience
• Better image quality, including small page elements

Software developers need to adapt and create mobile responsive websites that are clean, attractive, and usable for smaller screens.

Web Application Development Trends for Your Business

Traditionally, web application development uses popular frameworks and methods. The spiral and business-oriented approaches are common in the iterative process of application development. Another cycle updates the functionalities while considering the latest technology and trends.

The impact of web application development trends on your business is their relevance and timeliness. Eventually, if you opt to make your services relevant for your customers, applying these trends would improve the user experience.

Recent developments make way to implement better solutions in web application development. Technological enhancements in the past also paved the way for some of the projected trends in software development this year.

Work with Experts Today

These are just some of the myriad trends that will take over the web application development scene. One crucial factor of innovation is just really following the movement of the people. The more people need solutions to problems, the more we can find ways to enhance the technologies we have now.

Following these trends, you should find skilled developers in web application development services for your project. But where can you find one for the job?

One solution is to hire top offshore developers. Because of the IT talent shortage, offshoring has become a common practice for US businesses looking for qualified developers. 

That’s where offshoring companies come in. Full Scale is a company that offers development services from our offshore site in the Philippines. You can hire web developers or create an entire team from us.

At Full Scale, we qualify candidates through a rigorous selection process and assessment. We gauge their current skillset and match them with the right client—you. All you have to do is contact us and let us know what you need for your business.