Practical Techie: New concepts in web design are always over the horizon
Savvy netizens aspire to set up their page on the web, whether for personal use, business, education, entertainment, or cultural purposes. During the web’s origins in the 1990s, there was quite expensive software such as Dreamweaver, Macromedia, and Flash, which took a lot of study and practice to design a webpage.
In 1991, World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee launched the world’s first website. Unfortunately, the original website was not preserved until today, and the link shows only its 1992 copy. By January 1993, there were only 50 web servers across the world. By mid-year, when the WWW was made available for free, 500 servers online lit up. Hundreds of platforms began offering template-based webpage designs in the ensuing years, and it all got easier.
However, the world of web development is constantly changing, and the future promises super dynamic tools for creative minds.
ROPES — Websites have front ends and back ends. Coders do the latter, and page administrators take care of the content and public interfacing, or the back end. Nowadays, web building can be for Internet pages, apps for mobile, or a page for a private network known as an intranet. The code determines things like style, layout, and interactivity.
Frontend development, otherwise known as client-side scripting, encompasses all the elements of a website that the user experiences directly. Things like layout, font, colors, menus, and contact forms are all powered by the front end, explain the experts at Carefree Foundry.
Backend development, or server-side scripting, is all about what goes on behind the scenes. When a user interacts with a website, the front end communicates this action to the backend for appropriate action. A less known third layer of design called the database set contains all the files and content that makes the website work as designed. This layer does the retrieving, organizing, editing, and saving of content.
FUTURE — Web development began to advance in its functions and features into new designs since its inception — and very rapidly. Because user expectations evolve, keeping abreast is advisable for any cybernaut who dreams of setting up its own website. One innovation is the concept of progressive web apps, which has to do with mobile devices.
Many websites are designed as mobile apps but are essential for desktop browser functionality. What the new progressive design does is that as the user continuously builds a relationship with the app, it becomes more and more powerful for mobility. It successfully becomes a mobile app experience in the browser and best of all, can work offline, engaged and load quickly because much of the information is in the cache, not the device.
Unlike most apps, progressive development does not require the installation of a browser. The significance of this advance is that as of 2021, 54.8% of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile devices. In other words, designing websites for mobility is a top priority these days.
FORTHCOMING — While it’s not easy to see where web design is going next month, other advances can be spotted over the horizon. Voice search is one next big thing to consider in any page development. More than 55% of young users and more than 44% of adults rely on voice search. The voice feature does enhance the mobile responsiveness of any business website. What about Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)? It is a technology that optimizes pages to load easily and thus rank better than competing mobile pages.
The loading speed with AMP-designed pages is two seconds compared to the regular 22 seconds in any WiFi field with low internet speeds. The technology was created to encourage small businesses by enabling them to build websites that work smoothly across mobile devices, according to Global Media Insight.
MOTION — There are many development innovations in the high-tech pipelines, but user motion design is another alluring. Motion use interface works in the frontend framework to make websites better noticed by a targeted audience. The technology enables developers to create motion within a native app by adding actions to content. The approach involves custom animation integration and transitions of all animated elements. Motion animations will help guide users to what they seek in a website, alternatively making it an enjoyable experience, somewhat like a videogame.
Also, coming up there is much talk again about single-page design. Today’s users are all about simplicity and speed — exactly what single-page websites provide. As the name suggests, a site will consist of just one long web page, exempt from a traditional menu or complex navigational systems. On one page design, content elements unfurl logically to tell a story.
In summary, web page development might not be for all website owners. Nevertheless, all need to be constantly learning and adapting. And it’s always prudent to keep tabs on all cutting-edge developments and trends to differentiate them from just passing web fads.
