If you are a software development company or a business that is planning to commission your next software project, you risk lagging behind competitors if you do not stay abreast of the newest tools and technologies available in the market. The IT industry grows at a breakneck pace, continuously evolves, and the best software developers must be willing to learn something new and upgrade their tools. To help you stay ahead of the rest, this article explains the five trends that you should closely monitor or add to your development cycle.
WebAssembly
JavaScript has been one of the most popular languages during the past decade and rightly so, it offers many great frameworks and libraries that are tried and tested. It is the top choice when it comes to programming languages for front-end in the present business landscape. However, WebAssembly a relatively new language is growing rapidly. IT is not a standalone language but rather a low-level assembly language with a compact binary format that supports languages like C/C++, Rust, and Python, among others. The language works with major web browsers which makes it useful and accessible to web developers.
Static Websites
Dynamic websites almost put static websites out of fashion, but they are coming back into fashion as they perform better in terms of search engine optimization. They are cheaper to build safer. And load quicker than dynamic websites, and these factors are vital for good search rankings. They do not require back-end development, databases and could be changed with a few edits to the HTML markup.
Progressive Web Applications
This is an exploding trend in front-end development and looks like it is here to stay. They are created to provide excellent user experience and increase conversions. They are built with a single code base, and third party APIs are used to deliver functionality. They load quickly as the critical data is stored in and delivered through the cache. This also provides offline functionality.
Single Page Apps
These applications are gaining popularity fast in the front-end development space as they are cheaper and faster. They do not include complex navigation and content. All you have to do is scroll. This may have some SEO limitations, but, with the best practices, your SEO should not be too bad when compared with larger sites. In addition, single-page apps are mobile-friendly, mobile is the future and going mobile is a no-brainer.
Motion Design
Motion user interfaces are an excellent way of communicating with a target audience. Seamless and engaging animations make the website more attractive and improve the user experience. The first impression is where you need to impress as customers judge your company in the first few seconds of interacting with the website. Quality visuals not only help attract attention but can also convey a large amount of information quickly and effectively.
Each of the trends described above is definitely worth paying close attention to. They are poised for growth over the next five to ten years and may soon become the norm. Update your products, development methodologies in line with the trends described above to stay ahead of the curve.
Jeff Morgan is currently associated with NetworksGrid as a technical content writer. Through his long years of experience in the IT industry, he has mastered the art of writing quality, engaging and unique content related to IT solutions used by businesses.