In 2018 expect...
- Nothing will change or slow the usage or popularity of React for many years to come.
- GraphQL will replace a lot of REST API's this year.
- The web will continue to become more native-like with offline capabilities and seamless mobile experiences.
- HTML 5.3 is coming.
- Keep an eye on turbo, a blazing fast NPM client.
- Expect to learn and use CSS transforms 3d, CSS transitions, CSS flexbox, CSS filters, CSS grid
- JavaScript usage will continue to grow with no slowdown in sight.
- Still waiting on Web Assembly to peak. This will likely require tooling.
- Universal/isomorphic JavaScript solutions continue to evolve e.g. next.js and Sapper.
- Web components still lurk and wait for significant traction from developers.
- I believe the end is in sight for CSS pre-processors as PostCSS, CSSnext, and CSS in JS take over.
- Older server centric application patterns show up again but with a new spin. The pendulum could start to swinging away from strict SPA applications. People will begin to pull back on the complexity of single page applications and return to things like pjax (A mix of SPA and Server-side Rendering. See https://stimulusjs.org).
- Progressive Web Applications hopefully will catch fire. If they don't, I fear they never will. At least not in their current form.
- "Chatbots created on the basis of artificial intelligence and neural networks will continue to evolve helping to increase communication online. I wonder what it will lead to, but this is unconditional web development trends 2018". Nods.
- Vue.js usage will likely overtake all Angular usage.
- AR/AV, AI, and chat bots will continue to evolve and find their sweet spot.
- JavaScript Symbol and Generators will likely go unnoticed by most front-end developers.
- More developers will divorce themselves from plain JavaScript and try to marry another. But, just like in marital divorce one always takes most of the same problems with them to the greener grass and little actually changes. Preferences and values just get re-prioritized and history will repeat itself.
- Webpack 4 will happen, and be better, due to competition!
- Continued exploration for the ideal CSS solution for a tree of UI components will not cease.
- State management gets a reset and people start to simplify. Hopefully, this will be the year for solutions like mobx to shine.