To remain relevant and successful as an online business, you need to be aware of the trends that are driving sales and boosting brands. Web development is always evolving as teams conceive of new ways to apply technology or shift a vertical to increase product diversity.
In 2023, the following 15 top trends are powering online businesses and driving success. Take a closer look and see how your eCommerce could benefit from these web developments.
Progressive web apps (PWA)
Progressive Web App (PWA) technology is a web application that is similar to a native mobile app experience but works like a site. It runs independently of the browser, and the users interact with the PWA similar to a native app.
PWA offers users and business owners:
- High speeds
- Easy distribution
- Quick launch to market
- Reduced development and support costs
- Offline app usage
- Boosted website engagement and conversion
- Seamless maintenance and updating
- Smooth installation
- Device power-saving and storage
Many people now use their phones as primary devices for internet access. For this reason, it is important that businesses recognize how PWA development is an advantage.
The power of PWA is the emphasis on user experience. A progressive web app should be as close as possible to native apps in their look and feel and must provide an intuitive UX (user experience) and visually-appealing UI (user interface) design.
Augmented reality (WebAR)
Augmented reality (AR) technology has attracted much attention in the past few years, and marketers are normalizing the technologies to transform eCommerce.
AR technologies are used in mobile devices, healthcare, games, and education. The global AR, VR (virtual reality), and MR (mixed reality) market is expected to increase from its current $28 billion to $250 billion by 2028.
Some of the biggest global brands to adopt AR technology include IKEA, Amazon, and Sephora. Using an augmented reality app, customers can experience a product prior to purchase with more reliable and compelling purchasing data than static photos and customer testimonials common to eCommerce sites. When the technology is available on a website via a browser, it is called WebAR.
AR solutions for eCommerce websites help to:
- Allow customers to try goods before buying;
- Address customer pain points and push customers through the funnel;
- Reduce time for service;
- Make online shopping more tangible.
Using virtual showrooms created by AR technology gives customers a more authentic real-store experience. This is especially true for furniture stores that allow customers to upload a room and then experiment with the store furniture to determine exact dimensions and plan a space using 3D products.
The technology is especially useful for people who cannot go to physical locations but who want to try a product before making a final purchasing decision.
Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants
AI assistants are programmed to learn, collect data, and solve complex issues. It is one of the most useful and influential technologies of current web development. AI virtual assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana are increasing in popularity as the technology becomes more sophisticated.
AI technologies are a great way for online businesses to provide instant interaction with site traffic using chatbots. These assistants help online businesses enhance the customer experience. According to research, AI in retail has increased customer satisfaction and decreased user churn rates.
AI assistants perform operations faster than humans by using text or voice chats and can answer multiple queries at the same time, making operations more efficient. This means that fast customer engagement is possible because computers can respond to any number of queries simultaneously.
Voice search
Voice search is one of the most rapidly emerging web development trends. The voice assistant is a program based on AI and produces results based on the user’s request. The automatic system recognizes the voice and converts the request to text, matching the result with the words in an existing database.
The voice search research shows that 51% of consumers use voice-enabled devices to research products.
Voice search optimization benefits include:
- Time-saving for users who then often purchase more products;
- Provides rich customer behavior analytics.
To optimize your website for voice search, you need to ensure that your website;
- Apply schema markup and rich snippets for better search engine indexing.
- Use natural language processing with direct answers to specific questions.
- Control the domain authority of your website and other traditional search rankings.
- Optimize your website content by eliminating duplicate pages and updating important information.
Voice search and navigation are changing the way people use the internet, and it is anticipated to continue to be important for the future of internet interaction.
Content personalization
Personalization continues to be one of the most important marketing developments. It means creating relevant, value-adding content for users.
A recent report shows that 62% of those surveyed would not remain loyal to a brand that doesn’t offer a personalized experience. The pandemic is largely responsible for the rise in personalization expectations on behalf of customers.
During the pandemic, people who had never shopped online were using eCommerce sites, home delivery services, and online grocery sites. Customers needed accessible and easy answers from websites and those retailers who delivered during the pandemic with targeted advertising and well-designed UX.
Machine learning
Machine learning has been adapted to deliver targeted content to the right audiences. ML analyzes all user actions on your site, such as items they add to the product cart to pages they spend the most time browsing. ML uses this data to offer users relevant content or send push notifications regarding users’ interests. The longer users interacted with the site the content easier it becomes for automatic adjustments to customer preferences. When the user next visits your site, provided they have accepted cookies, all site pages, including the home page, will be personalized.
Some of the biggest online providers, such as Netflix and Prime, use ML technology to personalize search results for users. It is an expensive addition to a website’s functionality, however, as it becomes more common it will become more available and even expected. It is possible that in the coming few years, ML will be expected by customers browsing all sites.
Cookies are the more cost-effective solution that most businesses use. Cookies harvest user data and track people across sites. Most people are now aware of how that data can be used and opt out of data tracking.
Smart eCommerce web development
Mobile devices are the primary device used to access the internet worldwide, so your site must be responsive to provide the UX expected by users. Developers are creating new features, moving away from standard designs, and developing creative sites. Websites are significantly more intelligent and more adaptive than in the past.
For marketers, novel new targeting, like push notifications sent when people pass a physical shop, is changing how creative marketing can be. This technology mixes digital and real-world marketing seamlessly and is called beacon technology.
Motion UI
Your brand identity needs to be clearly communicated on your website, using elements that are engaging. Customers want a site that is intuitive and responsive. Motion UI is a category of UI design that includes simple animation and elements such as transitions, fade out, and other forms of motion.
Motion UI allows you to include modular scrolling, background animations, or animated charts on your site. This allows your designers to express your brand voice in multiple ways online. However, the Motion UI can also be used in progressive web app design.
Single-page applications
Single-page apps (SPA) is a JavaScript-based web application. SPA loads only markup and data to dynamically render them on a single web page, so loading separate HTML pages from a server to show a specific page to a visitor is unnecessary.
This allows site visitors to a single page to access everything they need. Single-page applications most people use every day include Gmail, Google Drive, and Facebook.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) has become such a normalized concept that in 2023, we take it for granted that everything will be connected. When you get in your car, you expect the sound to link through your phone. When you make a payment, you flash your watch to complete the transaction.
IoT is one of the most powerful web development. IoT-connected devices create constant data transfer, allowing for a fast and personalized experience. For smaller businesses, access to this technology can be intimidating. However, exploring options such as advertising, push notifications, and data tracking through apps used by connected device development companies is a real option for start-ups and app developers.
This Year…
The most important elements of web development for online businesses in 2023 are focused on personalization and connection with audiences. There are many ways that technology has been developed to empower businesses to make connections with their customers based on customer data and insights. For the developers that choose to use the latest tools to explore lead generation and customer engagement, successful business growth is the reward.