The emergence of new technologies and the elimination of old technologies require front-end developers to constantly learn and update their knowledge. Especially in the case of a bad economy, whether you master new technologies largely determines whether you will be eliminated.
While apps are trying to replace websites, the front-end web development business is still changing and growing rapidly, and the role of a front-end developer hasn't disappeared. Here are some front-end web development trends to watch out for in 2023.
Microservice framework and monolithic framework
Adopting a microservices architecture rather than a monolithic architecture is becoming a trend in web development, according to an IBM report.
A key takeaway from this is that microservices users want to increase their trust in the technology over time, with 77% of users viewing microservices as a "time-tested application development architecture." There is also a new approach to integrating microservices into the frontend called the "microfrontend approach". The front end of this approach consists of several microservices, which can be freely deployed by the team responsible for the service.
Autocoding Platform
Since the introduction of GitHub Copilot, the heavy lifting of coding has begun to remove the need for developers to rely on AI.
Web development is no exception, as seen in this survey, with 66% of web developers agreeing that their jobs are not at risk of being taken over by AI.
In line with this forward thinking, 65% agree that they want to use GitHub Copilot at work because it reduces the amount of work developers need to do. This is also an important trend to follow, as it can change the way the typical web developer approaches his process.
Popular Trends in Programming Languages
In website development, JavaScript and Python, NodeJS are the most popular programming languages for front-end and back-end development.
- Express.js: A free, open-source web application framework for Node.js that helps build beautiful web applications quickly and easily.
- Nest.js: An Angular-inspired framework widely used in web application design, especially good at scalability.
- Next.js: Next.js is a lightweight React-based framework designed to simplify the development of React applications. Its main goal is to help developers build highly scalable applications with fast load times and great performance. Next.js provides a simple yet powerful model that enables developers to quickly build static and dynamic applications. It includes many useful features such as automatic code splitting, server-side rendering, static file serving, API routing and more.
- Nuxt.js: A framework inspired by Next.js and React.js, ideal for managing complex aspects such as asynchronous data, middleware and routing. If SEO is a must for website design, Nuxt.js can also be very helpful, as Nuxt.js optimization can easily generate multiple SEO-friendly HTML pages.
render on the server
While SSR is known as back-end development, front-end developers also have to adapt to this old and new trend.
When all pages were created using HTML, all websites were rendered on the server side, but with the advent of JavaScript websites, this system fell out of favor.
SSR is mainly used for fast delivery of large web applications, with the benefit of being more SEO-friendly than client-side pages created with JS.
mobile first
With most browsing now happening on mobile devices, this trend must be taken seriously. It’s not just about developing a website that looks good on a smartphone, it’s about creating a responsive website that looks good on mobile devices of different screen sizes. Responsive website design is one of the most important web development trends, and the following rules can help make it happen:
- Emphasize vertical orientation over landscape orientation and design interfaces for touch interactions
- Implement the meta viewport tag to help the browser adjust how the page is scaled
- Adapt the layout to the viewport by utilizing different layout methods such as grid, multi-column or flexbox etc.
- Use CSS queries to resize elements according to the capabilities of the device.
low code development
Low-code development is a trend that has received much attention in the web development field in recent years. Low-code development refers to developing applications or business logic using minimal programming codes, which allows even beginners with no IT or programming experience to quickly create the required functionality.
While low-code development has not yet threatened the role of traditional developers, there is no denying that the trend is moving towards low-code (or no-code) development. According to the forecast of the American research company Gartner, by 2024, about 65% of application development projects will be developed through low-code platforms. This trend cannot be ignored for developers, and it is expected that the way developers work will gradually change in the next few years.
FUNCTION12 is not a low-code development tool, but it is a solution that can improve developer productivity, especially in UI view coding. You might consider trying this design-to-code tool to get ready for the new year.
Headless Content Management Architecture
Headless CMS is a way of organizing content that became popular after Netflix adopted it. Compared to a traditional CMS, a Headless CMS separates the front end from the back end, meaning they are two different systems, one for content authoring and storage, and the other for presenting them. The purpose of using a Headless CMS is to make content delivery fast and easy so that content creators don't need to wrestle with code.
In a traditional CMS, all content such as images, videos, text, and codes are stored together. This means that the front-end and back-end are tightly coupled, making it difficult to update content. As people consume information on multiple devices simultaneously, content must look good on all devices, which is why headless content management architectures are becoming more and more popular. That's not to say traditional CMSs are bad, but the way people consume content has changed, and so has web development.
Once the content is created, the headless architecture uses APIs to serve the content and make it look good on any device. This way, the front-end and back-end can be optimized independently, making content delivery faster and more reliable. This approach can not only make the performance of the website more efficient, but also allow developers to focus more on other aspects of development, such as UI/UX design and function implementation.
Accelerate mobile web page loading speed
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP for short) is an open source project developed by Google to accelerate the loading of web pages for users on mobile devices. Statistics show that people are increasingly using smartphones and tablets to access websites. In 2019, 63.3% of website visits came from mobile devices, and this number is expected to grow.
AMP uses a simplified version of HTML and a lightweight version of CSS to accelerate mobile pages, enabling content-rich pages such as videos, animations and graphics to load instantly alongside smart ads.
It should be noted that the desktop version, mobile version, and AMP version are all different versions of the website, and they cannot be replaced by each other. AMP is designed to optimize the user experience on mobile devices, especially when the network speed is slow, to provide users with a faster and smoother web browsing experience. AMP also provides some special HTML tags and JavaScript libraries to enhance the functionality of mobile pages. For example, it can help pages be optimized for display on mobile devices and provide a better reading experience.
single page application
With the increase in Internet connections around the world, users expect web pages to load extremely fast. Single Page Applications (SPAs) not only reduce the time it takes for web pages to load, but also reduce the number of page reloads required to run web-based applications.
Frameworks for creating single-page applications such as Angular.JS, React, and Vue have grown in popularity in recent years, with React.js topping the list of the most popular web frameworks used by developers.
Progressive Web Apps
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website that functions like an app. PWAs are built using specific technologies and delivered over the web. They are designed to run on any platform, be it a desktop computer or a tablet, that uses a standards-compliant browser. PWAs have many native app-like features, including:
- Ability to operate offline
- Access hardware features such as camera, microphone or GPS
- Reliable installation for owners and fast loading for visitors
To build a PWA, the technology stack includes HTML, JS, and CSS. Technologies used include Service Workers, HTTPS, Application Shell, Web Application Manifest, and Push Notifications. According to Google, PWAs are fast, reliable, engaging, load instantly even under uncertain network conditions, respond quickly to user interactions, and provide an immersive user experience that feels like a natural app on the device
Apps such as Tinder, Pinterest, YouTube Music, and Trivago Hotel Booking have already been developed in this way, and the trend will likely continue in 2023.
Final words!
Many people feel that web development is dead, but it's clear that the field is still growing. While auto-coding platforms can take over part of the job, there will always be a need for good front-end web developers to tackle UI and UX issues and keep up with industry trends.
Whether you are a professional engaged in front-end development or a beginner interested in this field, you must always maintain a learning and updating mentality, so that you can continue to advance in this field full of changes, constantly break through yourself, and become an excellent front-end developer.