Technology is dynamic and continuously evolving. Web trends last year may be forgotten this year, or what’s popular now may still be the talk of the town after 5 years. When it comes to web trends, nobody exactly knows what’s going to last and what’s going to be thrown in the trash. What we can only conclude is that if a web tool, app, or trend is popular now, it is because many web users have accepted it and allowed it to be part of their daily online routine.

To keep up with the latest web trends, these are what made the headlines this year.

The increase in social media use

From the time they have blossomed, social networking sites are still hot and happening now. Although there are some websites that have disappeared in thin air and were not able to keep up with the trend, such as Friendster, Myspace, and Plurk, a lot are still alive and kicking, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Foursquare. There are also new players in the game, such as Instagram and Pinterest that have easily captured the hearts of web and mobile users.

Videos that gone viral

If you want to make something viral, capture it on video and publish online. Because of the popularity and usage of smartphones with video recording, online videos are becoming a hit, not just on social networking sites, but even on news sites, blogs, and company websites. For webs users who have no time to read the newspaper or watch television, they go online to watch online videos instead.

Taking advantage of user-generated content

For big websites who want to be bigger and more popular, the key to providing endless, updated content – which are always favoured by search engines – is allowing their users to upload their own content, may it be personal photos, jokes, advertisements, news, and the likes. This is what makes Facebook, Amazon, 9gag, and Craigslist a leader in their industry.

Web and mobile integration

Many web users are now shifting to their mobile phones to open their online accounts and profiles. Hence, many websites have created apps or mobile versions of their websites which are more user-friendly and convenient for mobile users. If you have an online business or website, make sure that you have a mobile version of it that users can open using their smart phones whenever they are on the go.

Again, these trends may or may not be with us forever. While it is good to embrace what we have right now, we should also be able to let them go once their time is gone and adjust to new trends and products online.