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Front-end or client-side development deals with all the user interface and user interaction attributes. Since they determine the look and feel of any web app, they drive the agenda for the overall web development. This is also why we frequently encounter new and innovative front-end development trends. Are you already thinking about what can be the latest front-end trends presently and for the upcoming year?
Here we explain some of these trends to help you stay in command of the emerging front-end development trends. Here are our top picks.
Cross-platform front-end framework turning full-stack
We all know that the app development world long ago turned to cross-platform development from hybrid and native approaches as it allows them to bring the best of both the “write once, run everywhere” approach and platform-specific development approach.
Now front-end frameworks are also coming with back-end development capabilities and creating more flexibility for the developers. This out-of-the-box back-end development capability is already one of the top front-end development trends. Flutter is an excellent example of a front-end framework that, apart from its cross-platform ability covering iOS, Android, web, and desktop platforms, also provides a dedicated Google Firebase plugin for back-end development.
No wonder, Flutter is increasingly being viewed by many app developers as a full technology stack. When using Flutter for your web project, it is very unlikely that you will hire a full-stack developer instead of opting for the integrated Firebase back-end in your app.
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Progressive Web Applications (PWA)
Progressive Web Applications, or PWAs, offer an innovative approach to bring web development closer to mobile app features and user experience. PWAs allow businesses to make a consolidated digital footprint by combining the best web and mobile apps. PWAs, as a front-end development trend, are going to remain at the forefront as they are agile, reliable, and instantly engaging for the users.
Some key features that make PWAs popular include instant access from the Home Screen through a native app-like icon, offline access to content and specific features, easy access to device features, instant loading with prioritized above-the-fold content, and many others.
Conversational AI
Businesses, for giving their apps some smart-ass features, turned to chatbots for years and rolled out chatbots for everything. From regular customer support to customer onboarding to bill payment and transaction processing to virtual shopping assistants, smart-talking machines have been used by all industries in different measures. Suddenly chatbots have become too commonplace.
Now chatbots are out, and conversational AI is in. While the former is built to answer a set of questions by following a decision tree, the latter takes this capability to the next level by bringing large data models and rigorous data training capability into the mix. Conversational AI will be one of the era-defining front-end development trends in 2023 and the years ahead.
The AI-based data models such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Generation (NLG) and their offshoot tech stacks, such as GPT-3, Bert, and the latest Dale-E, are helping conversational AI to answer deep-probing queries in natural language. This is a feat that was earlier reserved for human support.
Modular development with web components
While modular component-based development is famous for mobile app and web development because of the ease of maintenance and scalability, the web components take this modularity to the next level by offering a set of highly acclaimed web development standards for developers to customize the web app. Building a web with web components will remain a dominant front-end development trend for years.
Web components open the opportunity for the developers to reuse ready-to-render components developed by other web developers and used in other projects. These reusable components will not only help front-end developers to speed up development and reduce instances of coding errors. Still, they will also quickly help a web project adhere to industry standards.
Modular design components
In web development projects, there is increased popularity for everything modular, starting from the coded components to the design templates to modular design elements, all of which can be used like building blocks to shape the interface and end-user experience.
Modular design components ensure optimum flexibility and scalable extension as your business, digital footprints, and traffic grow. You can flexibly replace one design component with another to accommodate more features or user interactions. This flexibility of design innovation with the use of modular components will also bring down the maintenance cost of the web project.
Offline access
Since most people access the web from their smartphone devices, on-the-go browsing and interactions often need to deal with poor network or run-out battery conditions. In such scenarios, offline access to specific content and interactive features allows users to continue with the app. All the changes, interactions, and new content are updated once the network connection is fully restored.
After Apple introduced it with its iCloud and device content syncing, websites and web apps did not embrace this era-defining capability soon. It is only after the popularity of Google apps and their offline access, and after the emergence of PWA offering the same offline accessibility, it became a critical value proposition. Offline access is undoubtedly a significant front-end development trend that will dominate the web app development scene in the coming years.
Summing it up
All the front-end trends we mentioned above showcase the most prominent and leading ones. There is hardly any doubt that several other front-end development trends deserve attention equally. Together, these trends promise a better future for user interactions with the web.
Coming to your web app project, understanding these front-end development trends and putting the most appropriate ones in your app can ultimately showcase their value propositions in the best possible way. As long as the web is there, front-end development will be at the center stage of innovations, buzzes, and expectations. This is why keeping an eye on upcoming front-end development trends is so important.
