Here are five predictions in the world of web development for the coming year:
AI
At the top of the list, unsurprisingly, is the continued rise of AI. Here at Lake Solutions, we do utilise its strengths, particularly in terms of coding. We have also looked at vibe coding – the new approach to creating software where a developer will give a prompt to a large language model (LLM), which then generates code which can then be improved by the LLM if needed.
According to Wikipedia: Unlike traditional AI-assisted coding or pair programming, the human developer avoids examination of the code, accepts AI-suggested completions without human review, and focuses more on iterative experimentation than code correctness or structure.
Herein lies the problem… and indeed, one of our more specific predictions when it comes to AI in 2026 is the fact that the use of vibe coding will start to see some casualties. We have many years’ experience in coding and our competence and expertise means that, while we might utilise AI to deliver change efficiently for our customers, we are skilled in amending and debugging any resultant code before we let it lose into the world.
This is the same issue faced by myriad different industries; along the line, there has to be somebody with the skill to sign-off whatever has been created by AI. If you ask it to write copy for your new company brochure, there’s no way the head of marketing won’t need to fact check that content or rewrite it to reflect the organisation’s brand.
Interestingly, we were listening to the podcast ‘The Rest is Entertainment’ just before Christmas and Richard Osman (who presents it with Marina Hyde) summed it up saying that it will be somebody’s job to ‘mark AI’s homework’. Indeed, AI is like an over-enthusiastic student who churns out the goods on time and with a smile but doesn’t always read it properly.
We honestly don’t think it will be long until an app developed with vibe coding is compromised, due to it not being wielded correctly and someone not taking accountability.
Looking to the future, as web developers it is likely we will use AI to assist with further with code generation, testing, and optimisation – but there still needs to be human skill to oversee what’s happening and to drive strategy and innovation.
Hyper-personalised user experiences
The goal with any website is to make the journey experienced by a visitor as personalised as possible. Previously, data would be collected on each visit to make the next arrival more tailored. Now, however personalisation is improving so much that websites are now adapting in real time with personalised content, recommendations and navigation based on user behaviour and data.
AI is obviously helping to improve this on websites and with chat-bots as well, making them more intuitive and, at the end of the day, more ‘human’.
Accessibility
During this coming year, we anticipate – and certainly hope – that designing websites to be accessible for all will become a core requirement and not simply an afterthought. In fact, making your website accessible is something which should be considered at the very start of the process, when a company is thinking about branding and the colours it selects.
While it’s something we probably all accept that we need to do, public sector bodies now have a legal duty to make sure their websites and apps meet accessibility requirements, primarily for those with impaired vision, motor difficulties, cognitive impairments or learning disabilities, and deafness or impaired hearing
As the Government states: Accessibility means more than putting things online. It means making your content and design clear and simple enough so that most people can use it without needing to adapt it, while supporting those who do need to adapt things.
Whether your business is in the public sector, or not, it is still worth making your website accessible. To help, there is a set of guidelines for making websites accessible known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.
WCAG (which is currently at version 2.2, launched on 5 October 2023, with WCAG 3 currently under development) has 13 guidelines, which are organised under four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust.
Sustainable design
Over the past few years, web developers have embraced practices to make website design more sustainable and this will doubtless continue over the next few years. This is being achieved by building lighter and faster websites eliminating, for instance, unnecessary animations and third-party scripts and compressing images, as well as utilising formats, such as WebP and AVIF.
Sustainability is also encouraged by choosing energy-efficient hosting and infrastructure and reducing unnecessary data collection.
Here at Lake Solutions, we are also working with our clients to create websites that last. It is amazing how much value can be built up in a website over time – including any third-party integrations (with a CRM for instance), content, accessibility features, security, bug fixing, architecture and sheer time. If you build your next website with us at Lake Solutions, then you’ll be future-proofing this investment and you won’t need to start all over again.
The way we build websites allows us to enhance and re-skin the site, without going back to the drawing board. If you’ve got the tech right, your website can simply continue to evolve and you don’t need to start again from scratch, which is a tick for sustainability.
If you have the platform, the tech, the accessibility and the security right, then you are in a position to take a longer view. You can refresh your branding perhaps every three to five years but the main elements of your website – if built correctly and securely in the first place – can remain in place for a longer period.
Continually working on the website and making incremental improvements as and when can prove more cost-effective over time, particularly when compared with the cost of a full-scale rebuild. Often this can maintain customer experience as well, as they are used to navigating your existing website.
Colour
Finally, we are looking at what colours to expect on websites during 2026. Interestingly, a quick Google told us to expect ‘bold aesthetics’ and a ‘move away from muted minimalism towards bolder colours’. As web developers, we know that the use of colour on a website very much depends on a company’s branding. If that business has a bright and colourful branding, then its website will reflect that; and if its branding is more muted, the website will typically be muted as well.
We decided to see what Pantone had unveiled as its ‘Colour of the Year’ for 2026. After pastel themes of Peach Fuzz in 2025 and Mocha Mousse in 2025, would the shade for this year be brighter? The answer is ‘no’. Its 2026 shade is called Cloud Dancer and it is white or as Pantone describes it ‘lofty white’. Cloud Dancer is described as ‘a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity’, which is meant to provide a ‘calming influence in a frenetic society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection’.
As we head into 2026, we probably all need a little ‘calming influence’. If you need support to make your website ready for any challenges a new year can bring, then get in touch with our team at Lake Solutions on tel: 020 3397 3222.