There are currently over 1.4 billion websites on the web, and WordPress powers more than 43% of them. The WordPress family is growing. 2023 will undoubtedly be an essential year for the web creation tool and CMS. WordPress offers so many features and tools that it’s difficult to know where to start and which style to adopt. It’s essential to pay attention to the latest development and design trends. These can help you figure out what works and what doesn’t, with time.
Read on to find out the eight WordPress web development trends that are worth keeping an eye on in 2023.
WordPress 6.1
The first WordPress trend is a big one and one you’ve probably heard about all over the place. But that’s for good reason.
Officially released in November 2022, WordPress 6.1 “Misha” is jam-packed with performance upgrades, but it’s the ability to support ReactJS that will have people taking the most. ReactJS is an open-source javascript library for developing interactive user interfaces. Available for use as a frontend technology, ReactJS is particularly beneficial when you’re strapped for time and need to compose robust elements quickly.
ReactJS also offers virtual DOM and server-side rendering, which makes complex apps run extremely fast. Finally, a truly optimized web-building experience is coming your way in 2023.
Text to Speech
The days of a website only attracting visitors who can read comfortably are long gone. Thanks to WordPress’s text-to-speech plugins, it’s now possible to open up your content to an even broader audience. Here are three plugins worth considering in that regard:
- Responsive Voice Text to Speech. With this plugin, you can choose from 168 voices in over 50 languages. It’s incredibly easy to set up, too.
- BeyondWords. This one automatically adds a text-to-voice player to posts and pages, plus you can pick from over 720 voices and 64 languages.
- Play.ht. What sets this plugin apart is that it gives you more control over the voice can choose. You can go beyond gender and accents to choose formal, casual, and even “customer service” voices for text-to-speech.
While some users with disabilities might have access to screen-reader software, not all of them will. In that case, having built-in text-to-speech functionality will ensure more visitors can benefit from this accessibility.
WordPress VIP
While it was initially considered a platform for small and medium-sized businesses, WordPress is now starting to pull large-scale and high-traffic websites on its way, thanks to WordPress VIP. A managed hosting service at its core, WordPress VIP claims it can help you generate a return on investment (ROI) of 415%. Its features are exactly what you’d expect of a high-end hosting service, including:
- Dedicated training and planning
- Optimal performance and blazing-fast speed
- Custom-built enterprise-level security
- World-class support
WordPress VIP has been in existence since 2006. However, it’s only recently that it has started to dominate discussions, with more than 14,000 websites have already joined the service. We expect that trend to continue into 2023 and beyond.
Headless WordPress
Simply put, a headless WordPress site uses WordPress for managing content and some other custom frontend stack to display that content to a visitor.
While a site built with headless WordPress has many benefits, one of the primary perks of this approach is increased website performance. WordPress sites that use decoupled front ends are incredibly responsible and smooth and load in milliseconds, improving the user experience and search engine presence. On top of that, the hosting resources are significantly fewer.
With that in mind, hiring a web development company with expertise in custom WordPress development services would certainly be a good move heading into 2023. 64% of enterprise organizations were already using headless technology in 2021. You certainly wouldn’t want to fall further behind.
Page Builder Techniques
Page builders are an emerging WordPress development trend, allowing you to build functional, fully customized web pages without writing any code. Often, you can drag and drop elements to compose different web designs in mere minutes and without any prior technical knowledge.
At their core, page builders can be plugins or themes. Some of the latest drag-and-drop plugins for WordPress include:
- Elementor. This visual builder replaces the basic WordPress editor with a live frontend editor, so you can easily create complex layouts without having to switch between the editor and the preview mode.
- Divi. Originating from Elegant Themes, Divi presents an endless number of layout possibilities. You can use this builder on any theme you want by taking advantage of the 46 built-in content modules, including Portfolio, Divider, Comments, and Audio player.
- Beaver. This builder gives you the option of starting with a template, with over 30 professionally-designed templates available. A template allows you to create a webpage even faster by simply replacing the sample content with your own content and images.
If you’re not using a page builder on your website, now is the perfect time to start.
WooCommerce
If there was ever any doubt regarding the popularity or significance of eCommerce, the global pandemic put it to rest. Around 76% of U.S. adults shop online, and this big eCommerce boom will only gain momentum.
If you’re currently selling a product or service on your WordPress website, or aspire to own an online store, adding eCommerce functionality to any WordPress is now possible through the platform’s most popular plugin, WooCommerce. For context, 93.7% of online stores built with WordPress use WooCommerce.
Just like WordPress, the WooCommerce plugin is free, open-source, and a highly customizable and flexible solution. From shipping and taxes to payments and inventory, it covers all realms of eCommerce. To supercharge the overall appearance and experience of your online store, you will need high-quality WooCommerce themes and plugins, which you can integrate seamlessly into your WordPress website.
All things considered, there’s never been a better time to invest in eCommerce website development services than now.
Chatbot Integration
Chatbots are fast becoming mainstream, and it’s easy to see why. Not only are they capable of addressing customer queries accurately and in real-time, but they also allow you to save the precious dollars you’d spend on hiring, training, and retention of employees.
If you’re wondering whether chatbot integration is possible in WordPress, the answer is a resounding yes. It all starts with custom WordPress development.
Voice Search
Step aside from typing. It’s voice search’s time to reign. 41% of the US population use voice search features daily, and that number will likely spike in the months and years to come.
Your WordPress website should be accessible to as many people as possible. Among other things, accessibility ensures that vision-impaired users can also navigate and enjoy your site. With voice search integration, you can help your audience find the content they want faster and without having to lift a finger. It’s this level of convenience that will make them buy from your online store again and again.
Wrapping Up
It’s worth noting that many of these website design and development trends won’t seem that novel for 2023. But that’s not a bad thing. In reality, the fact that we’ve gotten to a point where we no longer need to recreate the wheel and find completely new ways to develop or design in WordPress is a good thing. It doesn’t mean we’re lacking in innovation or creativity. We simply have caught up with how fast things move and are better equipped to keep pace now.
At Practical Logix, we provide custom WordPress development services that result in heart-winning websites and human-friendly interfaces. We can customize WordPress CMS in a way that fits your goals and workflows, and we’ll do it right the first time. The future starts right here, right now, and this is your opportunity to be in the driving seat.
To find out if our content management system development services are the right fit for you, contact us.
