Ever since the inception of the internet, website designs have advanced at an exponentially increasing rate. Year by year, and even month by month, new web design and development trends are identified; and just as quickly, most of them are surpassed—staying on top of that constant evolution can be a full-time job in and of itself.

There are some trends that we are seeing this year, however, that should stand the test of time. Here is our overview of the trends in web design and development that we think are here to stay.

Chatbots

Yes—the bane of the consumer is here to stay. Of course, chatbots have been around for a few years now, so why is this part of our list of 2022 trends? Because the artificial intelligence that underpins the chatbot has grown in leaps and bounds and is now significantly more sophisticated than it was even twelve months ago.

That means that while chatbots have historically been hated by end-users, the functionality is now so much improved that it is as close to being in conversation with a human operator as can be. This evolution is a direct result of concurrent advances in machine learning, language processing, artificial intelligence, and data retrieval speeds—all of which are still being improved on right now.

Security

Cybercrime is on the rise, so you can expect to see some changes to the way that webpages are structured to incorporate security. Users can already see these changes in the uptick in retailers using two-factor authentication to ensure that a purchase is genuine, and this is something that will grow throughout 2022 and beyond.

SPAs

The SPA, or single-page application, is a fundamental change to the way that your website is delivered. Essentially, a java-based application is used to load your web page on the visitor’s browser. That page can then be updated and changed without having to reload the page. SPAs are good for both sides of the website equation—webmasters need less storage space to host their web content, and visitors can access all the information they need quickly and easily.

User experience, of course, drives most innovation when it comes to web development and design. So the increased speed and ease of navigation that come with single-page applications means that they are here to stay for the long term.

Full Site Editing

WordPress is an extremely popular content management system, with an impressive 39% of the market. Earlier this year, WordPress released a new update for 2022 that includes what is being called ‘Full Site Editing,’ which allows users to create and edit entire sites using the ‘block’ style of editing that was previously only used for certain content boxes.

What does this actually mean? It means that creating and updating websites just got a lot easier and a lot quicker. We can expect to see more websites being updated with fresh themes, as well as more small businesses finally dipping their toes into the digital world.

Mobile-first

Mobile-first web design has been on its way for a few years now, with sites being designed to work well on different device types. In 2022, we expect to see the next iteration—truly leveraging the physical hardware to improve the web experience. This means allowing users to log into sites using fingerprints or retina scans, using the GPS in the device to accurately locate the user, and taking into account the idiosyncrasies of voice searches.

This is a definite trend that will be here for a while, and as smartphones and tablets evolve, so too can you expect the way that web pages are designed to evolve.

Dark mode

Dark mode is a feature that changes the color scheme of a device, application, or page to a darker palette. This is supposed to be better for the user (it reduces blue light, which can damage the eye), it uses less battery, and it makes the content easier to access and engage with for everyone.

The adoption of dark mode by developers, designers, and, ultimately, users, has been one of the more surprising trends of recent months, but one that is likely to continue, with users being given the option to quickly and easily transition between standard/light mode and dark.

Hardware

Serverless architecture, or cloud-based technology, has become widespread and more user-friendly over the last few years. This means big changes for web development and design—now, instead of being encumbered by the limitations of the server hardware available, they have unlimited potential power thanks to the cloud. Additionally, it is more affordable for those at the entry-level end of the spectrum to rent some power from AWS or another cloud provider and launch their site, app, or program, and all upgrades, updates, and maintenance for the hardware will be taken care of for them.

So with serverless architecture the web developer can run the required code without having to even think about the server—no provisioning, no upgrading, no downtime worries, just a seamless, easily up- or down-scaled service.

PWAs

A PWA, or a progressive web application, is a way of improving the user experience for a particular application. This technology, which has really seen a massive increase in use over the last twelve months, improves the speed with which a website loads as well as reduces the amount of space taken up by the application on the user’s device.

This can help with a number of performance metrics—time on site, conversions, visit frequency, bounce rate, and page visits can all be improved with a PWA. As a result, expect more websites to be designed and developed in this format as the year progresses.

Pranjal Bora is the Head of Product Management at Digital Authority Partners, a Las Vegas Web Development Agency. For help deploying any of the design and development trends discussed in this article, or any other digital marketing strategy, get in touch with the agency today.