Front-end development has changed so much over the years, the reason being goes beyond technological advancements and is mainly due to the ever-growing demands of users. As a software development company, there’s only one thing you can do when you’re faced with change; embrace it.
As a software service provider, if you’re not getting better, you’re going backward. Paying attention to what’s going on and continuously evolving your development practices is crucial in today's dynamic landscape. Since front-end development is so high in demand today, programmers have made it a key point of focus to stay ahead of the curve.
In this article, we’ll be going over 4 key trends that we’re seeing in front-end development with various tools and frameworks that are shaping the future of web development:
An Emphasis on UX
As businesses continue to shift their operations online, the demand for user-friendly websites and applications rises. This trend has led to the development of new tools and frameworks that enhance the process of creating a great user experience such as:
There are many more but these are just a few of the trending options at the moment.
In addition to this, the emphasis is big on accessibility and inclusivity; businesses must ensure that everyone can easily access and use their digital platforms on any device from just about anywhere.
Today there are AI-driven tools meant to enhance the results of development tools and frameworks by using algorithms to predict user behaviour and identify patterns in user data. By analyzing these interactions among users, software developers can consistently make optimizations.
A hot choice of tool for this right now is Microsoft IntelliTest which enhances the testing phase during development for .NET code. What IntelliTest will do is generate a suite of tests for .NET code, which then allows developers to identify those pesky bugs early and ultimately mitigate high test maintenance costs. With its AI-driven capabilities, IntelliTest can automatically evolve the test suite alongside the evolving code, ensuring overall comprehensive coverage in real-time.
Reactive Programming
This is one everyone’s got their eye on in 2023, mainly because of how scalable and responsive applications materialize with reactive programming. You might have thought of traditional programming like waiting in a never-ending line at the grocery store. Everything has to happen in order, step by step, and if something takes too long, everything gets held up. The draw to reactive programming then, is because it allows front-end developers to handle multiple tasks at once, it’s essentially like juggling. Things can happen independently and simultaneously without blocking each other which allows for a more dynamic user experience.
The kind of applications that benefit most from reactive programming are the ones that need to handle a high volume of concurrent tasks. Imagine you’re running a social media platform, and millions of users are actively posting 24/7. In traditional programming, the influx of user-generated content would be overwhelming. It'd be like trying to read every single book in a library one by one. The benefit of reactive programming is that it lets you handle user interactions simultaneously.
You get the picture, reactive programming can process information in ways traditional programming simply can't match. Reactive X is a great tool for this since it’s flexible and can handle frontend, cross-platform, and backend development. When it comes to frontend development with Reactive X, you can use libraries like RxJS (for JavaScript), RxSwift (for Swift), or Rx.NET (for .NET) to create event-driven applications on the front end.
Performance Tuning
Whether it’s an application or a website, users want speed and responsiveness more than a fancy look. Optimizing performance is a multifaceted topic that must be prioritized to create a well-rounded UI/UX. Here are 3 techniques to make this happen:
1. Caching
Implement caching to store data you access frequently and you’ll avoid redundant calculations. For instance, if you have an API that retrieves data from a remote server, cache the response to avoid making the same request multiple times.
2. Asynchronous Processing
Utilizing this will improve responsiveness by handling multiple tasks concurrently (as we’ve already mentioned with reactive programming). This prevents blocking in the main thread and keeps the UI responsive.
3. Optimize code
Always look for areas in your code that can be optimized. For instance, if you have a loop that iterates over a large collection, think about a data structure that’s more efficient like hash maps opposed to an array. In addition to this, try to minimize unnecessary function calls.
Going Serverless
Serverless architecture is great for developers, though business owners and end-users get their share of benefits as well. For developers, going serverless means less energy is being spent on managing the infrastructure, allowing them to focus on coding and the innovation side of things.
The cloud provider ends up taking care of the management aspect which is great for scalability and maintenance, but monitoring is still a necessity. 5 tools that are great for serverless monitoring include:
Serverless computing is most notable for its ability to scale according to the user demands of the platform. Tools like the ones listed above give users real-time insights into metrics, logs, and events, which proactively identifies issues and ensures a smooth operation of serverless applications all-around.
The Takeaway
With everything considered, it’s clear that today’s landscape demands we emphasize constantly finding new ways to optimize front-end development. Remember, what’s relevant today may soon not be, which is why complacency so often eliminates businesses that don’t look for or accept change.
With software development, complacency can’t be a factor for even one day while running your business. We need to embrace new frameworks, tools, and methodologies that enhance productivity and efficiency while prioritizing agility and adaptability to provide the best product possible.
Written By Ben Brown
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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.
Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to Fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.
