The web world is never static. Big and small changes keep taking place on websites and other web interfaces, day in and day out. The evolution has been quick and innovation has been pushed off its limits to keep ahead of competition. Imagine the rut that the website business owners are living in 24*7!
Can you think what the future would look like? Today, you have concepts like personalization and customization. There are also websites that deploy 3-D technology. Unique experiences like taking visual tours are possible using a website. Where are we headed with technology? Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, the future of websites is quite an amusing one.
What is propelling change and innovation in the website world?
There is no doubt that websites are a result of the need for convenience. Most business websites provide information and also act as selling points. They enable a virtual marketplace on the World Wide Web. It is pleasantly surprising that the need for convenience could take innovation and development to a totally different and higher realm of creativity. Think – Why do people require user friendly, easily navigable websites?
These are all tools for achieving one end objective, which is convenience. Even today, a number of websites that are changing face and functioning are doing so in order to become more ‘convenient’. Value-addition is being made in terms of including features like automatic navigation, audio facilities, making the interface mobile friendly and more.
Isn’t this all being done so as to make things more convenient? To add to it, you have GPS running on your phones and thus on mobile-friendly web pages. Therefore, you can never get lost! And, can even find information to nearby food-joints, clubs, grocery stores and chemists, right there within no time.
Now What?
So much has already happened on the front of technology. Where are we headed next? Well, the experts say there are still miles to go. Till now personalization wasn’t automated. You had to create pages on websites. For example, for Yahoo you had MY YAHOO, etc.
The next step that will be taken in terms of websites is to move out of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ philosophy’. Intuitive websites that work on the mechanism of linking and intelligence will enable interest based websites. Moreover, page less will be the next big thing!
We are shifting towards pageless in terms of design because it is simpler, more elegant, compacter and of course more ‘to-the-point’. This kind of design leaves no scope for beating around the bush with content. It takes the user directly to what is being offered. That said, they offer interactive elements for an emotionally hungry audience. Thus, the experience you get is not at all a mechanical one.
User sentiments are an important element of web design, which can’t be ignored at any cost. The best thing about pageless websites is that they lead to better conversion. Since the iteration is quicker, you don’t have to worry about meaningless navigation. But what’s in pageless interfaces for business owners? What else could they wish for? This one comes at affordable prices and is hence extremely cost-effective for your business.
What Else?
There is a lot more happening on the website development and design front. The developers are working close with the front face providers to compile something unseen before. The power of JavaScript is being recognized by many. Today, one of the most in vogue pairing is between CSS and JavaScript.
A more intelligent feature is COAT. This stands for Cumulative and Open Affinity Tagging. This feature basically checks what a user is regularly reading, doing or using on a website. The affinity of the user acts as an analytical check point for COAT.
One thing to remember when it comes to ‘newer’ design is that semantic classes in the context of content are completely redundant. What designers as well as developers need to target today is the front-end architecture of websites, which hasn’t evolved much since the 2000’s.
It is also a known fact that designers and developers are not always on the same page. Any superfluous design demands need to be curbed. The idea is to align design and development in such a way that the end result is not about fluff.
Last but not the least, the need of the time is to develop responsive websites. A design that is responsive holds the key to search engine optimization. It reduces the chances of on-page errors. However, what should be noted here is that a responsive design is not the same as a design meant for mobiles. The former is more useful for e-commerce site where the competition for selling products and services is higher. The better your responsive design, the higher you will rank in the Google.
To sum it up
Though a lot has already been achieved when it comes to website advancement and architecture, there are various milestones to be further achieved. From mobile landing pages to responsive designs to the use of CSS with JavaScript, there is a lot to be explored yet.
The fact of the matter is that the website world is going to get smarter in every way. Intelligent systems are going to make websites more responsive and technology is going to usher a whole new world of creative pursuits that we will come face to face with in the form of interactive website designs.
Images: ”future, technology, business and people concept – close up of male hand with smartphone and hologram/ Shutterstock.com“
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