The final part in our series looking at what the year ahead has in store for the world of WordPress. As we hit the last instalment, here are some of the theme, collaboration and VR trends we’ve identified for 2020.
King of WordPress Themes
In our first WordPress trends post we mentioned that Gutenberg introduced a block-based web design editor which allows developers to build sites by dragging and dropping elements, intuitively. The new editor will bring new levels of customisation for developers, democratising the build process, but we anticipate that it’ll also herald another big change. Multipurpose themes.
Pre-Gutenberg, themes created by WordPress developers were for one type of site or application. An eCommerce store, a blog or a bookings platform all required a separate development process. However, with the advent of Gutenberg, developers will be able to create collections of blocks that will to accommodate whole ecosystems and different types of website. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to design a WordPress theme that facilitates this flexibility. Check out Neve and Genesis Framework, which are examples of highly customisable and multi-purpose themes that can be utilised for a ton of different sites.
WordPress collaboration
In the spirit of collaboration, we wanted share this great article by Leonardo Losovitz about…real-time collaboration. Google Docs is a great example of tool which allows teams to work on a single document and collaborate at the same time. Soon, we expect that Gutenberg will have the same capabilities. The plan is that the initial mechanism will introduce a traditional locking system, similar to the current WordPress editor, but per block.
The introduction of this feature will bring WordPress development the upgrade it needs. For example, an online magazine could easily have designers, editors, proofreaders, journalists, content specialists and any other job description in the modern web game, working together and collab-ing on a single article. It’s a great development, not just for collaboration, but productivity too.
WordPress VR
It’s been around for a while in the WordPress ecosystem, but until recently, only as a bit of a gimmick. Virtual reality and its lesser known cousin augmented reality, have started to become far more popular in recent times, and we think that this trend will only become more popular.
When we say AR or VR we don’t necessarily mean Tron style immersion, but rather a better consumer experience with smart, 360-degree images and videos. It might not be a trend relevant to a lot of businesses, but for those with media rich websites or very visual products, it might be something consider. Google Maps Street View is probably the most popular example out there of web-based virtual reality, but check out this incredible experience put together by Sotheby’s International Realty too.
Right, that’s your lot! Thanks for following our WordPress Trends in 2020 series, we hope you’ve enjoyed the analysis and insights for the year ahead.