In web development, design and programming merge more and more as mobile, internet delivery, and data technologies advance. While keeping in mind the continual blurring of traditional technology lines (programming, design, hardware, PC, big data, etc.), here are some development trends to watch in the coming years.

1. Continued Development of Web-Based Programming - One of Info World's hot topics for the year, technological advancements have made it practical to create fully functional apps to be delivered via a web-browser. This reduces OS specific programming costs, and the marketing issues faced with various app marketplaces.
2. Big Enterprise Goes Open - "Just one day after Big Data firm Pivotal Software Inc. revamped its business model and open sourced core technologies," Microsoft Azure announced an open source integration to be used on Linux. Microsoft follows Google's Android which is leading the way. Today, watch for innovative ways open source technologies are going to be integrated with enterprise systems.
3. Data Management - With the last holiday season's queuing issues, data speed in web development is once again a significant issue.
4. Simplified Designs - With mobile development increasingly using websites over apps, web based applications need to be simple and easy to use. Modern trends are to use less color, less images and longer pages to produce aesthetically pleasing, minimalist designs.
5. Agile Development - According to TechRadar, a trend continuing to grow in 2015 is agile development processes. In the past, software development teams spent intense amounts of time building the foundations of their programs, then they worked on the functional aspects. With so much open source or cheap programming frameworks available, programming and design teams are using agile to cheaply and efficiently produce programs.
6. Smart Production Will Slow - With high-turnover technological products already integrated in the mobile-web driven world, new "smart" products will slow as they are worked into long-lived product cycles, according to Web Designer Depot.
7. Increasing Screen Diversity - As companies are releasing watches, glasses, and more wearable technology, interfaces are getting increasingly complex. Web development will increasingly use Responsive Design to optimize across multiple platforms.
8. Single Page Applications - To reduce screen problems, to manage data, and to simplify the user experience, single page web applications will become more common.
9. Data Processing on the Front End - Web applications have traditionally done most of their processing via servers. As more content is delivered via browser based programs, responsive programming languages take away the heavy lifting from the server and rely on each user's processing capabilities. This presents businesses the opportunity to develop large systems without extensive server presences.
10. Images are Big - When Grace and Lace appeared on ABC's Shark Tank, none of the sharks could believe a company could have pulled in as much money as they did off socks, with minimal advertising. Until the owner said her photograph was one of the most shared pictures on Pinterest. One well-done image can make a company, and with high definition screens the standard for mobile technology, expect high quality images to continue to be a part of web design and development.
11. Continued Use of Games - Many apps have been using the functionality, feel, and reward/consequence aspects of the gaming universe, even when creating serious commercial software. With online gaming itself becoming a huge industry, organizations will continue to use the feel of games to increase marketing of their web programs.
12. Cloud Infrastructure - The cloud is not just changing the way we access data, it is changing the way we think about information and business processes. Web design and development will include increasingly more powerful apps as high speed fiber connections, cloud hosting services, and colocation providers bring big data closer to consumers. These data processes will change the way businesses access data: employees anywhere, management everywhere, and systems available for any constituent.

We offer web development, creative processes, app management and software engineering services using Agile processes. Please contact us for more information about keeping your web development current. 

Responsive web design--

What's worse than Armageddon? Well, If you've listened to some marketers recently, the answer may just be "Mobilegeddon." That's the nickname the industry has given to Google's newest algorithm update, one that has the potential to be more wide-reaching than any of the search engine's algorithms since the introduction of PageRank.

To say it came out of nowhere would be an exaggeration. For months, Google has emphasized the importance of a mobile-friendly website, and for good reason. The search engine's stated goal is to show the most relevant and accessible content to its users. And because the majority of internet users now browse on a mobile device, it only made sense for Google to emphasize mobile-friendliness - for the same reason that ALT text became so important a few years ago, when not all browsers could display images.

Still, the news came as a shock. On February 26, Google announced that beginning on April 21, a new algorithm update would begin to penalize websites that weren't optimized for mobile devices in its search results. As the blog post put it,

This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices

The message is clear: If your website isn't optimized for mobile devices, then beginning on April 21, you will have a serious SEO problem. The only problem with the announcement was that Google didn't specify just how your website should be optimized. So allow us to help.

1) Responsive Web Design is a Must

Google did not explicitly mention responsive web design as the perfect way to make your site compliant with its new algorithm, but that's because they didn't have to. For a few months now, Google has been pounding the responsive design drum, rightfully emphasizing that a responsive website is the best and only way to make sure your site functions properly on all mobile devices. If your website is not responsive, you should probably make the update as soon as possible to be sure your SEO doesn't suffer.

2) Complying with Google Beyond Responsive Design

Of course, it doesn't stop there. While responsive design is essential for success, it is not a cure-all for your website and SEO needs. Accessibility matters beyond the basics; currently, the rumor is spreading among marketers that Mobilegeddon will include a way for Google to determine just how well and intuitively your navigation functions, meaning you should ensure that there are no hiccups or dead links within your navigation.

Chances are, Google's update will also heavily draw on its mobile guide to determine what sites are optimized for mobile devices. You can find these guidelines on Google's website, and the checklist includes a free mobile-friendly test as well as several tutorials to ensure you comply with Google before April 21. Which brings us to the final point:

3) Prepare for Mobilegeddon

In preparing for any of Google's algorithm updates, from Panda to Penguin and now Mobilegeddon, being proactive is key. The internet is littered with stories of businesses who failed to see what was coming, only to suffer severely in search results and sometimes never recover. On the other hand, knowing what to expect can be the key to ensure that once April 21 rolls around, your website won't be blindsided (and downgraded).

Reading through Google's Mobile Guide and checking your website for mobile optimization with the search engine's free tool is a great start. Another is to contact us. We specialize in responsive design, and would be happy to help you ensure that your website is ready for Mobilegeddon.