The Future of Web Development: 2022 Trends and Beyond

Ok, this might be a little premature, but we’re going to see the integration of virtual worlds and websites… soon! We’re not quite at the Oasis / Metaverse level yet, but COVID has accelerated the process. A tool like Gather.Town creates a scenario where we can interact (shop, network, conduct business) in an entirely new way. Consider shopping. It used to be two choices — shop with your friends by going to the store in person together, or shop by yourself through a store’s website. Why not merge those worlds and shop together virtually through Gather.Town? Looking for more evidence that this is on the horizon? Look at Facebook’s investment of, well, Horizon workspaces. Virtual reality is finally becoming a true option. On the new Ironistic website’s Contact Us page, we invite people to visit us in our virtual Gather offices already. This blending of websites (content and functionality) and virtual platforms (real-life engagement and interaction) will increase significantly in 2022 even as COVID fears and restrictions diminish.

– Chris Foss, Co-Founder & President

Real-time chatbots and communication tools on websites have been just one of the upward trends I have seen an increase over time and will likely continue. This is especially helpful in more customer-focused portals like banks and online stores where frequently asked questions can be catered and directed towards to assist navigation. With the automated chatbots as well it encourages the site to be used more as a resource with additional focus on getting the customer right to where they need quickly vs searching around aimlessly and avoiding frustration.

– Josh Hall, Development Manager

I think web development is trending towards no-code/low-code where development can be done with software reducing: the time of the project, the number of technical resources, and stress, which all relates to cost. Much of the no-code/low-code is powered by AI. For example, even for developers, GitHub Copilot autocompletes coding and Microsoft Power Apps builds apps without having to code.

– Justin Trevorrow, Technical Manager

As VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) costs drop, I can see VR development coming to the entry-level development realm. I can also see AR soon replacing Mobile as the new main interface for users, which means AR will take on a higher priority during QA (Quality Assurance) and auditing.

– The Ironistic Team