We’ve come a long way in sharing information and staying connected. From the old days of inscribing information on parchments, we’ve evolved into a digital age with all kinds of information at our fingertips. And the driving force behind this digital age of global interconnectivity is web development. The internet as we know it is accurately described as the world wide web connecting people all over the world through diverse contents.
What started as static pages with boring content and outlook has morphed into a versatile network of amazing contents such as photos, videos, audios and texts. But the web isn’t slowing down. Now, we have AI tools, contents, and assistants that are as functional as they are beautiful. Gradually, we’re approaching a new era of web development technologies through AI, and there’s more to come.
Emerging Trends and Technologies in Web Development
WIth every passing year, there are new trends and developments that usher us into a new era of digital possibilities. Just as the old days of newspapers have been replaced with real-time news online, emerging trends give us a hint of potential developments. Some of these trends and technologies that we can observe include:
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Year 2023 can arguably be described as the year that introduced AI for mainstream usage. Prior to that, most AI technologies were non-existent or still being developed. But as 2024 progressed, the world has been taken over by a wave of AI software. What started as a text generating tech with limited knowledge has evolved into multiple AI softwares generating text, photos, videos, and even functional lines of codes.
Arguably, the old days of coding line after line of code to create a website is fast fading away with the introduction of AI platforms and software for web development. Now, the average user can simply develop a website by writing a few lines of description for the website, and the AI software would handle the rest. AI can now help with UI, UX, and the actual web coding. While some of these generative AI softwares have botched results, there are premium AI softwares with amazing results that rival traditional web development processes.
Cloud Computing
Since COVID-19, businesses have been forced to go digital, and that meant finding a way of accessing, managing, and storing data online. More cloud computing technologies are being developed and deployed to help businesses and the average internet user manage data online.
Currently, Amazon Web Service stands as the largest cloud computing service provider with about 31% control of the cloud computing market. The average internet user is subscribed to Google Drive to backup their digital data on the cloud. In the coming years, there will be more optimization of cloud computing technologies to deal with existing challenges such as accessibility and interoperability.
IoT (Internet of Things) Is Closer Than Ever
One of the oldest sci-fi dreams is connecting all personal devices together and operating them remotely. This is the idea behind IoT, and it’s closer to being a reality than ever. Thanks to emerging technologies in making “non-smart” things “smart” using tech, the average household electronics e.g. a TV, refrigerator, dishwasher, lights, door cameras, and even windows can be controlled remotely.
With consumer electronics manufacturers partnering with digital service providers, the coming years look promising, as IoT is positioned to give users greater control over their data and devices.
AI Chatbots and Voice Assistants
Siri and Alexa are popular in households for their ability to automate and manage mundane tasks at home. Recently though, more AI chatbots and voice assistants are being deployed to assist with different tasks – especially in web surfing.
Now, rather than simply scrolling through tabs looking for a precise help resource, there’s an AI chatbot that not only welcomes you to a website, but also can help with navigation and accessing helpful resources. Besides regular websites actively adopting AI chatbots, e-commerce platforms have begun implementing voice assistants to help with purchases. Users can now utilize voice search for the web.
Augmented Reality (AR)
The fabled sci-fi dream of tangibly visualizing things as 3D holographic renders is fast becoming a reality with the latest augmented reality technologies. Giants like Meta and Microsoft are developing AR goggles that allow users to interact with digital products rendered onto their physical environment. Although these AR gadgets are not yet mainstream, the successes of Meta’s AR glasses and Microsoft’s Hololens shows that the future is promising.
On web development, new AR technologies allow users to visualize 2D products as live 3D renders. Currently, gaming, fashion and footwear e-commerce platforms are the early adopters of AR technologies on the web, allowing shoppers to see how a product would fit in reality without necessarily visiting a physical store or dressing room.
Final Thoughts
There are amazing new web technologies on the rise. As with all new developments, we have to be positioned to stay ahead of the curve in business and personal dealings. There’s a lot of profitability and efficiency that businesses can enjoy by adopting emerging technologies. However, there’s a need for security.
While these emerging technologies are great, there are also security risks that must be promptly dealt with. Take generative AI softwares for instance; there has been a rise in deep fake videos that are used to execute cyber fraud. What’s more is that different cyber attacks are being executed via phishing links and fake bots more than ever. As such, it’s important to install cybersecurity tools like VPN to secure online activities from hacks and other subtle cyber attacks. There are also location-based VPNs e.g VPN for China that give optimal security.
Ultimately, progress always comes with peculiar challenges. The emerging technologies in web development are great – cyberattacks notwithstanding. In the coming years, just as web technologies keep advancing, there’s a strong chance that we would see new cybersecurity technologies being deployed to help combat new waves of attacks that want to exploit these emerging technologies.
