Additionally, we’re going to assess the current state of PHP and JavaScript, two of the industry leaders in programming languages for web development. Afterward, we’ll go over the best frameworks for each language so you get a concrete idea of the pieces on the board in 2022.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the greatest and most easily recognizable benefits AI has to offer is instant communication with customers and end users. The power of AI-driven chatbots and other communication tools can be harnessed to engage and respond to customers’ pressing questions and concerns. Many web developers are ramping up the power of their AI communication tools with no slow down in sight.

AI is also being used to shape unique user experiences for individual website visitors and users. Similar to Youtube’s recommended tab or eBay’s suggested item results, more websites are being designed to better leverage user interactions as a means of reflecting user input.

Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)

Progressive web applications are becoming one of the most important fixtures on the internet. They will soon supplant native apps largely due to their superior capabilities and the glowing results they boast, including up to 10 times faster web page load speeds and a 36% conversion rate increase among mobile users1.

With mobile users making up a little over half of global internet traffic2, and a projected growth of 4.4 times the current user base size3, PWAs will be valuable for catering to this segment of users. The great part about PWAs is that while they will improve nearly every aspect of web development, they run on websites using typical browsers, and can be programmed using existing languages, i.e. JavaScript.

Blockchain

The growth and potential of blockchain has become undeniable. A shared ledger system for tracking transactions and assets, the blockchain beckons highly sophisticated information storage and delivery. The advantages of implementing blockchain via web development include secure data storage and transactions.

A couple of the most prominent examples of blockchain applications in the professional space include the IBM Blockchain platform and Amazon Web Services’ Amazon Managed Blockchain.

Voice Search Optimization

The voice recognition market size is predicted to surpass over $27 billion by 20264. And it’s little wonder why: the speed and convenience of using voice-based technologies such as Alexa, Siri, and Google mean smoother experiences for the people using them.

Web development is shifting focus toward optimizing pages for voice search by leveraging better information entry and the use of Web Speech API to enhance speech recognition.

Cybersecurity

The last several years have exposed an urgent need to bolster cybersecurity measures against the very real threats of cyber attacks that lead to such problems as data breaches and ransomware attacks.

Thankfully, we’re seeing more widespread adoption of multi-factor authentication and the formation of security operations centers (SOC) among other cybersecurity measures.

The Current State of PHP

Still the reigning scripting language of the world, PHP and its frameworks are mainstays in web development. Frameworks streamline web development thanks to valuable resources and large, knowledgeable communities.

PHP is currently at version 8.1, released on November 25, 2021. Along with the improvements in performance you might expect, PHP 8.1 also delivers new features: enums, fibers, and promoted properties to name a few. The ecosystem is the largest it's ever been, with Packagist eyeing over 3 million registered versions and over 300,000 packages.

Laravel

A favorite among the majority of engineers according to Sitepoint–and for good reason. Laravel provides a straightforward user experience that’s great for beginners, yet with the functionality for coding complicated applications as well. Features including educational screencasts (cleverly titled “Laracasts”), intuitive syntax, and robust security components make Laravel a top PHP framework.

Symfony

Touting itself as being “designed by professionals for professionals,” Symfony is a standard for developers with scaling in mind. In addition to being a framework, Symfony Components offers interchangeable PHP libraries that are used in such high-profile projects as Google APIs Client Library.

Phalcon

With its low-level architecture and MCV design, Phalcon is well known for its speed. Interestingly enough, Phalcon isn’t coded in PHP—it’s written in C and doesn’t require knowledge of C. Popularly utilized for full stacking, it is highly efficient in its use of resources and execution of file operations while remaining fully featured. Phalcon is widely used by large companies.

The Current State of JavaScript

JavaScript is a staple coding language in web development, responsible for over 97% of web page behavior for clients. As the annual ECMAScript update approaches, set for approval in July 2022, proposals for features that include Top-Level Await, class field declarations, error cause, and Record & Tuple are on the horizon.

Last year, React.js (of Facebook and Instagram development fame) took the top spot as the most used web framework, while a few fresh and promising frameworks grew in adoption. Here’s a look at a few of the best JavaScript frameworks for 2022.

React

Dominant in the JavaScript sphere, React is a high-quality framework that allows for the development of premier, intuitive user interfaces. React’s brilliant concept of components helps it to proficiently support enterprise applications and high-performing apps. React.js’ declarative UI makes it an ideal choice for building user interfaces.

Node

While not technically a framework, Node.js is a cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment for building scalable network applications. As such, it’s perfect for large-scale, back-end development and is designed for smooth integration with other frameworks. Hosting features such as Node Package Manager, an extensive directory of JavaScript libraries, and convenient integration of languages with APIs, Node.js is an excellent web development tool.

Svelte

Wielding an innovative approach to how its framework functions, Svelte has quickly risen to the front of the pack for satisfaction among developers in the State of JavaScript survey. Enabling code to update the DOM instead of a reliance on virtual DOM diffing, Svelte efficiently converts declarative components into clean code. Svelte will likely continue to grow in adoption as a framework due to its time-saving processes.

References

https://www.beezer.com/important-pwa-statistics/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/277125/share-of-website-traffic-coming-from-mobile-devices/

https://www.ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report/dataforecasts/mobile-traffic-forecast

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1133875/global-voice-recognition-market-size/

Web Development Trends in 2022