Is it time for a website redesign or a brand new build? Make sure that your site’s being built using the latest WordPress web development trends and the most up-to-date code. Our website development agency keeps up with the latest WordPress trends so we can continue to deliver amazing websites to our clients. Check out what to expect from the content management titan in 2024!
Why Is WordPress So Commonly Used?
Powering around 43% of all websites, and powering over 70 million ecommerce websites, WordPress dominates over other content management systems. TheeDigital uses WordPress exclusively for all our web design and web development clients. But, why do so many web designers and web development agencies prefer using this platform?
WordPress has numerous strengths as a content management system. It’s user-friendly so even novice site administrators and business owners can make basic updates, add blog posts, or post images and videos. With the Gutenberg editor, it’s even easy to change the page layout and user experience! WordPress also offers a massive library of both free and paid plugins to its users, making it 100% customizable and incredibly powerful. WordPress websites are far less vulnerable to hacking since they get frequent updates with the newest security fixes.
Benefits of WordPress Websites:
- Easy-to-use
- Mobile-ready
- SEO-friendly
- Powerful plugins
- Regular updates and enhanced security
Top WordPress Trends & Updates in 2024
WordPress 6.4
One of the best things about WordPress is that it is continuously improving and adding new features. At the tail end of 2023, WordPress 6.4 has become available and it’s got great new features! New blocks and a streamlined site editor make it easier than ever to edit your WordPress site without custom coding.
- Updated site editor
- Improved writing experience
- Custom categories & global sharing for patterns (we love global patterns!)
- Updated command palette
- Enhanced features in many areas such as Styles, Lightbox, Image Preview and more
- Annotations area for posts and pages
- Block hooks
- Improved performance
WordPress has also been focusing on ADA Accessibility improvements. The latest build is the most comprehensive yet, and the new theme is fully accessible. You can read all the details from WordPress here.
Using WordPress for Ecommerce
Many websites offer items or services for sale on their website, whether it’s an organization adding branded merchandise to a blogger selling an ebook. Having ecommerce capability is a growing necessity on your website, and with WooCommerce, you can turn any WordPress website into an ecommerce site.
WooCommerce marries WordPress’s search engine optimization features and ease of use with the payment gateways, inventory maintenance, and marketing features to help you run your business more effectively and improve customer service. WooCommerce currently powers over 70 million ecommerce shops, including:
- TGI Fridays
- Paula Deen
- Xero Shoes
- Singer Sewing Machines
- Weber Grills
- Airstream
- Farmers’ Almanac
If you decide to use WooCommerce to power your online store, you’ll be in good company! 31% of all online stores are run using WooCommerce Checkout.
Micro Interactions
We’ve seen an uptick in clever, focused and minimal usage of animations that are being called Micro Interactions. These interactions encourage engagement and help communicate the brand to users. Creating engaging websites is a goal for any business. Micro interactions can be in the form of animated gifs, svgs or even LottieFiles. Lottie’s are an up-and-comer in the animation field and are a real winner: 600% smaller when compared to a gif, 5x page speed loads!
Parallax Scrolling
Parallax has been around for awhile, so isn’t “new” exactly; however, we’ve been seeing the use of a zoom-parallax which is highly engaging. When used effectively, a parallax feature can grab the user’s attention and bring them into your site to stay.
Dark Mode User Interface Design
Dark mode has been becoming more and more popular. In fact, a report states that 8 out of 10 users would choose Dark Mode for their user interface if presented with the option. Dark mode does help to reduce eye strain and increases visibility in low-light areas. If you are designer user interfaces, you’ll want to keep this in mind.
Page Speed Optimization
Although there are always a wide variety of plug-ins available to use to help increase your website’s performance and speed, it is recommended to do page speed optimizations natively. The team at TheeDigital knows how to work with WordPress without adding a plugin to get your page speed performing optimally. If your site takes more than three seconds to load, you’ve lost 40% of your users!
Drag-And-Drop Page Builders
While nothing beats the customization and functionality of a professionally built website, drag-and-drop page builders offer computer beginners an opportunity to build their own site without having to use any code. The appeal of drag and drop options is easy to understand for busy business owners. Divi and Elementor are both popular drag-and-drop plugins for WordPress.
Websites built by the talented team at TheeDigital include many drag & drop options and customizations along with training on how to use your new website to make changes.
Final Word: WordPress Web Development Trends
Excited about these web development trends and updates? We are too! With each new WordPress release, users enjoy enhanced usability, more custom functionality, and increased security. If you’re taking on a website redesign or building a new project from scratch, it’s worth looking into using WordPress as your content management system. It’s a user-friendly platform that has top-tier data security, functionality, and customer support.
Think building your own website is too much to take on? No problem. Our web development agency is committed to staying current on the latest WordPress trends and updates so you don’t have to. Let’s work together to build a powerful digital representation of your brand!