The Five Year Plan: 3 Major Web Design Trends You’ll See by 2024

February 16th 2019 | By Steve Grant

Over the last five years we have witnessed a host of significant changes in the realm of web design. From the introduction of mobile-friendly responsive sites to the adoption of video and the evolution of the importance of user experience, the web design landscape really has traversed a vast mountain of revolution.

So it has to make you think, if the past five years have been truly transformational, what lies ahead for the next five years? How will web design continue to change over the next half-decade? It’s an interesting question, so let’s take a look at some of the top predicted trends for website design from now to 2024.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the method by which machines learn by experience. AI is becoming ever-more intellectual. It’s the driving force behind autonomous cars; it has revolutionised manufacturing; it’s playing a vital role in the world of sports by delivering vital analytics to coaches; in healthcare it’s behind the personal assistants that remind patients to take medication, get mobile and eat a better diet and in retail, AI is powering personalised marketing and stock management.

In website circles, one of the most popular uses of AI is the chatbot. It is reckoned that 30 per cent of our online chat conversations with service providers and retailers now run through chatbots. Chatbots greatly assist with ecommerce challenges. Online retailers are open 24/7, and with this comes the consumer expectation that customer service operates the same hours. And it can; with AI and the chatbot, it is possible to respond to everyday customer queries and guide shoppers through the checkout round the clock.

There is a prediction that by 2020, 80 per cent of businesses will use a chatbot system in some form, and by 2022, banks will be automating up to 90 per cent of their interactions via chatbots.

So if you are planning a new website that is to stand the test of the next five years of technological revolution, artificial intelligence is going to need to feature in some form.

Voice Search

How can I help you? It’s normal these days to ask Google or Alexa rather than go to the trouble of typing a query into a search engine.

Over the next five years, the voice interface is set to take precedence as internet users demand a more natural way of engaging with a website. Content and SEO strategies are already changing in response to the voice search boom in line with the prediction that by 2020, 50 per cent of all internet searches will be voice-based. FAQs are making the questions people want answers to ready to be delivered by a voice assistant rather than hidden away in the depths of wordy articles. Keyword phrases are becoming more specific. And content is turning into something far more conversational: the sort of thing you’d hear rather than read.

So, your web design plans really need to factor in voice search strategies if your new site is going to be five-year future proof.

Augmented Reality

Quite possibly, augmented reality (AR) is set to become one of the greatest evolutions in web design over the next five years.

Virtual reality has launched itself into the realms of mainstream thanks to products like Oculus Go or Rift, HTC Vive and the Samsung Gear VR. But AR takes the virtual world to the next level, and the prediction is that the market will be worth £116 billion by 2020.

The main crux for the web designer is that with massive sales of VR headsets and VR-ready smartphones comes a huge demand for virtual content. Here we have a hungry audience, all ready to combine their real worlds with a virtual one courtesy of interactive, location-based overlays that educate and entertain to a degree that was never thought possible just a few years back. This is augmented reality, and the marketing possibilities for it are, without a doubt, endless. Imagine the power at the marketer’s fingertips as wearable or portable devices deliver offers, promotions and information to users as they pass a store or restaurant.

As a result of the integration of AR, websites will become more of a simplistic, blank canvas, ready to deliver information as an overlay on the world around the user.

The Future is Almost Here

Five years is a fairly short time in the scheme of things. Web design strategies need to start changing now in order to keep up with the evolution of user demands and expectations. The way we interact with technology is going through major changes so, if you are planning a website that stands a good chance of delivering what the user of the future is set to demand, you’ll need to factor in today’s emerging technologies.

If you’re seeking a forward-thinking web design agency to create a future proof website for your business, talk to Figment!