Since the introduction of the WordPress system for the first time as a tool for publishing blogs by its founding developers, the American Matt Mulling and the Englishman Mike Little, in 2003, that is, more than 20 years ago, the WordPress system has continued to develop to meet the changes and needs of website owners until it has now become a content management system that allows the creation of all types of websites. Almost the web.
It is expected that the year 2024 will witness many new developments related to the WordPress system, its plugins, and its tools. It is necessary to know the new trends in system development if you aspire to create a website using WordPress, or if you currently manage a website using it, so that you can quickly adapt to them and achieve competitive advantages that make you superior to your competitors. Therefore, in this article, we will introduce you to the most important new trends in the WordPress system in 2024.
1. Facilitating cooperation among work team members
So far, the WordPress system is weak in enhancing the process of cooperation between work team members, especially with regard to cooperation in editing the same article or page at the same time, compared to online document editing tools, such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word, unlike the latter two, which provide powerful features. To encourage more than one person to collaborate on the same document, WordPress prevents more than one person from accessing the editing page.
In 2024, WordPress will undergo radical improvements that will make collaboration easier through the Gutenberg editor . This will be within the framework of the third phase of the editor’s development process, where it is expected that the editor will be supported with powerful collaborative features, the most important of which include the ability to:
- Editing of the same article or page by more than one user at the same time, similar to Google Docs.
- Write notes on the editing page and respond to them, in addition to suggesting modifications to the content.
- Create discussions between multiple people on the same editing page.
- Make it easier to work on, review, and publish content by creating sections to clarify editorial requirements and goals, locking publishing until certain conditions are met, etc.
The development process of enhancing and facilitating collaboration in WordPress will also include many other collaborative features, such as the ability to designate more than one person as the author of the article without the need to use add-ons, and it is expected that these features, or at least part of them, will be presented in the upcoming WordPress updates in 2024.
2. Integration with artificial intelligence
In the past two years, people have become increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence, as it is currently being used to help carry out various tasks, from preparing content and translation, to obtaining answers to technical and non-technical questions, and not ending with writing code for WordPress and others.
Currently, there are no projects to integrate artificial intelligence into the WordPress core by default, because the development team is adamant that it will not integrate artificial intelligence into WordPress until it is completely ready. However, many plugin development teams have recently integrated artificial intelligence features into their plugins, and it is certain that These features will be developed and new ones added in the coming months.
Among the most prominent additions that currently use artificial intelligence and are expected to continue developing its advantages in the near future are:
- AI Engine : It includes many AI tools, adding a chatbot, AI content generator, and more to WordPress.
- Rank Math SEO : Offers dedicated AI features to improve on-page SEO, helping with link and title writing, keyword suggestions, and more.
- WordLift : It adds structured data to the website pages after analyzing the content based on artificial intelligence.
- Voicer : This add-on helps convert text into speech based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, and supports more than 275 voices and 45 languages.
3. Increase reliance on the WooCommerce system to build online stores
WooCommerce is the most popular e-commerce solution of all time, ahead of all other online store creation and management tools, including Shopify and Squarespace, and its market share amounts to approximately 9% of the total number of websites, not just online stores.
The number of online stores that rely on WooCommerce is likely to increase in the near future for two basic reasons. The first is that the number of online stores in general is increasing over time, and the second is that WooCommerce’s share of these stores is also increasing.
The reasons for the increased reliance on WooCommerce over the past few years and months, as well as during the coming months at least, are due to many reasons, the most important of which are the high customization capabilities provided by the system in addition to its integration with payment gateways , and the existence of an integrated and powerful system for managing the online store.
4. Support multilingual websites by default
Currently, you need to use custom plugins to make your website multilingual, such as Polylang , as WordPress does not support multilingual sites by default. Not all of the features of these add-ons are free, and you may need to purchase an add-on and pay money to get professional features that enable you to create an integrated multilingual website.
The developers of the WordPress system aim to make the system support the creation of multilingual websites and content in the future, and the first features in this framework will be released at the beginning of the development of the fourth phase of the Gutenberg editor, where it is expected that you will be able to translate the content of your articles and pages manually first, and then later it will be added Other features further help to make the site multilingual.
5. Headless WordPress
Headless WordPress, or what can be translated to WordPress without a front end, is a technology that combines the backend of WordPress with other technologies to design the front end of the site, where the work team manages the site through the backend and its tools, but instead of using WordPress templates to determine the appearance and design of the site, they rely on Other techniques.
This allows the editorial team to work with the regular WordPress dashboard , and enables developers to design and modify the front-end that appears to the visitor with the technology they want (such as React, GraphQL, etc.) for more advanced and professional customization features, and communicates with WordPress to obtain data for the front-end display Relying on REST API .
It is expected that reliance on Headless WordPress technology will increase in the near future, because this technology provides many benefits, including:
- The ability to publish content on multiple platforms easier, as you can publish the content of your site on your mobile application or otherwise through the WordPress backend..
- The ability to make the website faster if you use advanced technologies that help speed up the website for front-end design, such as Gatsby.
- Because the front-end of the website will be separate from the back-end, the database or website files will be more difficult to access by hackers, and the website will be more secure.
Headless WordPress technology also has many other features that can help make websites more efficient, powerful, and personalized, which is why its use will increase in 2024.
6. Optimize WordPress to lead searches by voice
This is not a trend related to the development of the WordPress system itself, but rather to the websites that operate through it. Voice searches have become common on smartphones, and audio devices that rely on voice search have spread widely in recent years. Therefore, it is necessary to work on improving your WordPress site to be at the forefront of searches. Search by voice.
You can improve your WordPress site to rank high in voice search results by following a set of tips, the most important of which are:
- Target question-type keywords as well as other long-tail keywords.
- Using structured data to make it easier for search engines to understand content.
- Add a FAQ section related to the topic you’re talking about in your content.
- Make sure to make your site fast by following WordPress website acceleration practices .
It is also useful to ensure that your site and its content are compatible with the general SEO rules that we explained in the article ( Explanation of SEO for Beginners and Your Guide to Understanding the Basics of Search Engine Optimization ).
7. Mobile-first design dominates
Because a large and increasing number of users rely on smart devices to visit and browse websites, it is expected that in 2024 the dominance of the mobile-first design philosophy will increase, as WordPress developers will care about how the elements they design appear on smart devices first and then on other devices such as computers.
WordPress website owners must ensure that their sites are in line with this philosophy, not only because they will make their sites more compatible with developed plugins and templates, but also because adopting this philosophy contributes to improving the user experience, because the consequences of adopting it:
- It makes the website compatible with various types of screens, so that the site is responsive and smooth regardless of the device and screen size used.
- It contributes to making the site faster, as the site designed based on the mobile-first design philosophy has higher loading times on smartphones.
- It helps improve the order in which content is displayed on the page, as the most important content is displayed first to suit smart device users.
8. Integration with augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) reality
Augmented reality means adding elements to the user’s reality to create an experience that is part imaginary and part realistic, and depends on the variables of the user’s reality, such as adding appropriate images and characters to the video produced by the camera in real time, while in virtual reality an integrated imaginary world is simulated by relying on computers and devices. Sensors and other devices.
Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies can be used on WordPress sites in various fields, especially in educational platforms, real estate sites, and e-stores, where they can be used, for example, for:
- Create virtual tours of real estate, as in the WPVR add-on .
- Help customers decide to purchase products by providing them with the ability to see them in specific conditions that suit them.
In addition to many other applications in other fields. It is expected that reliance on augmented and virtual reality technologies will increase in the future in WordPress as a result of the increasing spread of hardware and software that supports them, as well as in response to market requirements and to achieve competitive advantages.
9. Using Blockchain technology to enhance security
Security is one of the aspects that must be paid close attention to in websites, especially with the increasing number of cyber attacks and the development of new ways to carry them out. Blockchain technology – a technology that enables data to be stored in an encrypted manner and is highly tamper-resistant – allows for enhancing the security of websites in general, including WordPress sites, in many ways, the most important of which include:
- Smart Contracts : Make the process of sending money when executing contracts automated, safe and reliable, for example, paying for the goods when they arrive in your online store’s warehouse automatically based on the terms specified in the agreement between you and the supplier.
- Monitoring supply chains : Since blockchain technology allows data to be stored in a way that cannot be tampered with, it can be used to create a trusted record that tracks products from manufacturer to consumer.
- Digital identity management : By relying on Blockchain, digital identities can be created and verified when needed securely, and this can be relied upon to enhance security on the website or online store.
Blockchain can also be used to enhance the security of websites in other ways, and since it is a technology that has proven its effectiveness in the various fields in which it has been applied, it is expected that WordPress developers will work in the future to integrate it into their tools to improve them and enhance their security.
Thus, dear reader, we have finished introducing you to the most important WordPress trends in 2024, and in conclusion we advise you to prepare your website to adapt to it or to what is related to your site so that you do not lag behind your competitors, by preparing business plans that are compatible with them, and adding features that help in this.
