Blog of Wahha Design

1. There Will Be a Need to Understand and Optimize for All Form Factors

Now that smart phones are becoming more and more popular developers will have to take the future of web browsing in consideration. Some reports are stating that come 2012 that 60 percent of web browsing will be done through mobile phones. Do I agree with these reports, not at all.

We have phones, and now tablets coming into the market. Each of these products we may have to create different style sheets for and make sure all websites work across these platforms.

Developers will have to consider font size, screen sizes, different coding structures for websites to work correctly. I see a lot more work in our futures just to build one website.

2. There Will Be Breakout, Cross-Platform Mobile Development Tools

Now that the iOS/Android market shares are doing well , the time has never been riper for a great mobile framework, SDK or IDE to come to light.

Maybe, sometime in 2011, we will see some tools come to light with helping us develop apps — including tablet-specific or forked OSes. I am sure Adobe will be coming out with something to help more along the lines, along with other major companies that deal with web building.

3. Investment in Cloud-Based, Collaborative Development Tools

We’ve seen some interesting starts in community-based, online coding. There are a few collaborative code editing apps, some of them with real-time capabilities.

We’re looking forward to seeing more and better apps for cloud-based, collaborative coding in 2011 — something like a better Wave, created specifically with hackers in mind. This will allow for better and faster work to be generated by an increasingly decentralized hacker community. It’ll also pave the way for improved on-the-job learning and open-source hacking.

4. WYSIWYG Tools Get Better and Grow

Besides with WordPress I rarely use a WYSIWYG editor. Now, my clients who I create websites for and have a less understanding of hand coding use it all the time. I know specifically Joomla’s coding is just plain ugly when using an editor.

My hopes for 2011 is that these editors produce a nicer code and are more user friendly and I will not have to have to fix problems all the time that the WYSIWYGs create.

5. We’ll Keep Building “Touchable,” App-like UIs

Everyone loves being able to just touch the screen. Now that we are getting more and more futuristic in technology look to seeing UIs increase. People like seeing Apps like Facebook apps, or CNN apps, football apps, etc.

There are so many websites and app ideas that can currently make money. Now that cell phones and iPads are out on the market look to seeing more useful UIs being developed for people.

6. There Will Be a Higher Standard for Web and Mobile Security

A lot of websites and programs were hacked this year. Some very crucial to our government and businesses. Look for web security to step up.

Mobile Security will probably be stepping up too. Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus will be happy when they can take nude photos of themselves on their phones with no worries of people getting to them.

7. Third-Party App Development Will Plateau

Web apps for big companies have already been built and only small improvements seem to be made only when the site itself is updated.

More people will be creating third party apps to help people out with daily tasks. A large amount of money can be made if you find a good third party app to create. See 2011 to be the year that people really realize this and apps will go wild.

8. Ruby Will Get Some Cool Optimizations and Tools

In my opinion, Ruby is the best for building apps. If you are not already set in a way like using PHP or other coding for your apps, Ruby is the way to go. It’s interface is pretty to use already, but be prepared for it to become even easier to build apps.

9. NoSQL Technologies Will Stake Their Ground

NoSQL will just be getting better and stronger this year. Don’t worry people, MySQL will not be gone or be replaced for a long time. It may be a good time to read up and see what NoSQL can do for you.

10. Open-Source Software Will See Unprecedented Growth

Open-source coding has brought us great things like Facebook and Google. A lot of sites have become more and more open source so people can customize it to their needs. Wait and see as these past few years have only been the beginning.

Watch out for this to be a boom of year in third party open source programs and people coming out with many new start up companies.

So what do you all think that 2011 will bring us? Do you think mobile apps will be a huge focus? Like to see everyone else opinion on the matter.