WordPress is not just another CMS. It is in fact one of the most used and preferred website development platforms of all time. So much so that it is now powering 35% of the top one million websites, thus ruling over other content management systems. Well, why shouldn’t it? Being one of the most user-friendly and flexible CMSs, its popularity with the users as well as the developers is definitely justified.
WordPress for you in a nutshell:
- 70 million new WordPress posts – That’s every month
- It powers 14.7% of the world’s top websites
- WordPress hosted blogs are written in over 120 languages
- 77 million new comments on WordPress posts – That’s every month too
- WordPress 5.2 has been downloaded 16,712,361 times.
- It has a market share of about 60.8% in the CMS market
With WordPress’ popularity on the rise, it becomes all the more important to keep tabs on the latest trends in WordPress web development. As for the upcoming year 2020, a lot of interesting ones are in line, all set to enhance the user experience to a great level.
So, without further ado…
Top WordPress development trends 2020
1. Gutenberg’s drag & drop
Did you know that Gutenberg has had over 19 million active installations since it was first released in 2018? And it ain’t going nowhere in 2020. This WYSIWYG editor has made post designing and layout a piece of cake. Earlier, editors had to toggle between the edit and preview mode to set the perfect layout and format. But with Gutenberg’s drag and drop blocks, it has become easier than ever. There’s a block for almost everything. A heading block, subheading block, code block, quote block, and many more. Just drag a block, drop it at a location and organize your page the way you want. The final post will look exactly how you set the blocks. Easy-peasy!
2. AR/VR is the future
With Augmented reality and Virtual reality paving their way into almost everything, WordPress web development isn’t an exception. WordPress authorizes AR/VR content in the form of videos and 360-degree images. This type of interactive content will gain even more popularity in the coming year and will be the most beneficial for photo/video-based websites.
3. Voice searches
Voice-based digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, etc. are only getting trendier. About 41% of adults and 55% of teens prefer voice searches over typing. Having a voice search integrated with your WordPress website will certainly be a good option. Besides, voice search optimization is one of the primary SEO processes and is a great way to engage more customers. Enhancing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) will be a lot easier with voice search integration.
4. Go single-page with themes and apps
Single page themes and applications, also known as SPAs (Single Page Applications) are already trending and will continue to in 2020. Adding more images and content to your website may initially sound like a good idea. But in reality, too much fluff is harder for the customers to follow. Plus, extra content is mostly irrelevant and eventually ends up hampering the user experience. Getting a single page WordPress theme developed like Kitkat here prevents you from adding unnecessary elements, thus making it easier for your customers to get through it.
It goes the same for WordPress based applications as well. By using Document Object Model elements on a single page with the help of JavaScript coding instead of HTML pages, you can create dynamic SPAs. The best examples for this would be Twitter and Gmail. Designing such websites and applications calls for expert help, which is why it is better outsourced to a WordPress development service provider. Perks? Faster content re-loading and a better interactive interface. You’re welcome.
5. Neural networks for intelligent systems
Embedding AI applications on the WordPress website will gain immense popularity in the coming years. Artificial Neural Network, ANN, is one of the best deep learning technologies that can aid user experience (UX) big time. This will work the best for eCommerce websites where the ANN-powered search engine learns from the user behavior. It draws conclusions based on definite inputs to present the customers with the most relevant search results and suggestions.
6. Parallax scroll for better CX
Parallax scrolling is a newer and easier way to save time scrolling through a website in order to find the relevant information you’ve been looking for. It can also be leveraged to enhance website design. For example, the background images on the site could move at a slower speed than the foreground images to give a 3D effect. This could be quite attractive, as long as it’s subtle and doesn’t distract your users from the main content.
7. Chatbots for better customer service
Dependable customer experience is a paramount requirement for all websites nowadays. Since manual conversations may not be possible at all times, the best time-saving solution to it is a Chatbot, which is nothing but a computer program that makes it possible for a human and a machine to interact via text chat. Making these chatbots stronger and more intelligent will be one of the most notable WordPress development trends in 2020. Integrating them with AI will help chatbots make smarter decisions and hence give relevant replies.
8. Going raw with the design at times
Many developers believe in creating a rich website design with a lot of elements, thanks to the platform’s flexibility. The fancier the better, right? Well, that works just fine. But these days, going raw with a website design seems to appeal more to the users. By raw, we mean a simple design with sophisticated elements. Say, varying font size, a few oversized text elements with not more than 3-4 visuals (picture or a video) could give your website a raw and an upbeat look, and that too with minimum effort.
9. Multipurpose themes
The next big 2020 WordPress development trend would be multipurpose themes. Multipurpose themes will cover a large number of websites and will be customizable. You can even add your choice of plugins and modify the design according to your requirements.
10. Last but not least, Content!
Content has, is, and will always be the king. Relevant and high-quality content paired with perfect visual elements won’t ever go out of style. So, whatever WordPress development trends you choose to apply for your website, don’t forget to include mind-blowing content!
The future of WordPress web development is definitely bright. The top trends listed above will help you build an updated website that won’t miss out on the competition.
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Need professional help with WordPress web development? Well, expert WordPress developers at MarkupChimps can help you make the most of your website by incorporating the upcoming trends. Avail our WordPress development services and watch our developers work their magic. Write to us at info@markupchimps.com to get started at the earliest.