January 18, 2017 | Marissa Noble | PR + Account Executive

Four WordPress Trends to Watch for in 2017

Since its release nearly 14 years ago, WordPress has become the most user-friendly content management system in it’s class, which is one of the many reasons we love it here at Westwerk. Each year that passes since its original release, WordPress manages to get bigger and better, boasting impressive improvements and shiney new features. So what can we expect from WordPress in 2017? Below are four trends the Westwerk dev team recommends watching for this year:

  1. More Mobile-First Sites – Mobile responsive sites have topped the charts of web trends for years now, especially after Google’s release of their mobile friendly algorithm in the spring of 2015. Skip ahead a few years and we think it’s safe to say that mobile-first sites are here to stay! This year WordPress developers will need to focus on designing for mobile first and foremost to be in the favors of Google and their growing market of mobile consumers.
  2. Video Headers – Video headers and video backgrounds aren’t necessarily groundbreaking trends in the web design industry, however they weren’t always popular with WordPress users until the recent release of the theme Twenty Seventeen. Now that Twenty Seventeen has WordPress developers hooked on the trend, we’ll hopefully see more themes that support video headers and also offer performance optimization!
  3. VR Optimized Themes – 2016 was the year of virtual reality. VR was spotted everywhere from video games and movie trailers to the release of multiple new headsets. Now that it is more accessible to all, it’s predicted that soon enough people will be browsing the web on their VR devices. When that does happen, we believe WordPress will be looking to take advantage with a variety of VR Optimized Themes.
  4. HTTPS for WordPress With Google’s recent push towards secure websites in the hope to kill the unencrypted internet, WordPress users are now forced to use HTTPS to avoid being deemed “unsafe.” Starting in 2017, HTTPS is mandatory for all websites, including the sites powered by WordPress. Developers building websites this year and in the years moving forward will need to be sure to implement HTTPS to steer clear of being shamed!

Enjoy knowing what’s #trending? Check out the first post in this series, Four Web Design Trends to Watch for in 2017!

 

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