The Future of the Web: Performance, SEO and Accessibility

In 2025, does it still make sense to develop platforms for the web? We believe yes, but only with the right approach to follow today’s trends and needs.

We live in a fast-changing world: every day we see new technologies, new devices, and new user habits that we must adapt to. Nevertheless, the sunset of the web, in our view at Mabiloft, is still far away. So what are the challenges ahead for the web?

Web vs. Mobile: Why Build a Web App in 2025

For at least a decade now, even our grandparents’ generation has had a smartphone in their pockets. The same cannot be said for personal computers: according to a CENSIS analysis, as early as 2021 there were more smartphones than computers in Italian households.

This might suggest that it would be more convenient to focus on app development rather than web platforms. However, the web still offers unique characteristics that don’t always make apps the best choice.

The web works on any screen.

Web platforms are accessible even for those who only own a smartphone, from any browser and on any screen. They are responsive, meaning they adapt with small (and large) adjustments to remain usable regardless of the device being used.

No downloads required.

If a user is unsure whether a product is right for them, they may hesitate to download an app just to try it out. On the web, however, nothing needs to be installed: the product works immediately, and updates are instantly available without requiring downloads or app store approval.

In any case, the choice between a mobile app and a web platform should always depend on the specific characteristics of the product. If you are working on a project and can’t decide between the two formats, you can find more information in this dedicated article.

The Challenges for the Future of the Web

If in 2025 you choose to build platforms for the web, it’s essential to do it the right way, paying attention to future challenges. It is not enough to “just be online”: for a platform to truly work, it must also meet user expectations.

So what challenges do we face as web developers today? Let’s take a look at what really matters.

Improving Web Performance: Faster on Desktop, Optimized for Mobile

If your platform is slow, unintuitive, or not optimized for different devices, users will quickly abandon it.

Users do not want to wait through endless loading times – they expect pages to respond almost instantly to their clicks.

There are various tools, even free ones, to monitor page performance. One of the best-known is Google Lighthouse, available in Chrome DevTools. This tool measures factors such as:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): the time it takes to load the largest visible element on the page.
• First Input Delay (FID): the responsiveness of the page when the user first interacts with it.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): the visual stability of the page as elements load and move around.

Tools like Google Lighthouse provide valuable insights for improving your product.

Making the Product Pleasant to Use: The Role of User Experience

User Experience (UX) refers to how users interact with a digital product, including their impressions and preferences.

A good digital product must not only be fast, but also enjoyable to use. Text that is too small, hidden functions, or interactive elements that are difficult to access (for example, because they’re too small or blocked by other content) are all examples of poor UX.

How can we optimize from this perspective? First and foremost, by putting ourselves in the user’s shoes. Developers, project managers, founders: before we hold these roles, we are all users of the very services we build.

But simply imagining ourselves as the “typical user” is not always enough. To achieve better results, other methods can help, such as:

• User testing: interviewing real users of the product to ask them directly which features work well and which do not.
• Usage data analysis: tracking what users do, where they get stuck, and what features they use most, to better understand what to improve and where to invest resources.

SEO as a Must-Have for a Successful Platform

While word of mouth is a good way to get noticed, it is not enough to determine the success of a digital product. It is useless to have an excellent platform that almost no one knows about.

To solve this, you must focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization), a set of techniques that make your platform appear more frequently and in better positions in search engine results.

Many aspects contribute to strong SEO, including:

• Technical elements such as loading speed and mobile usability.
• Correct use of keywords, links, alt texts, and hierarchical titles.
• Using a robots.txt file to guide crawlers in correctly interpreting site content.

To monitor how your platform ranks and receive SEO recommendations, there are many tools available – one of the most important is Google Search Console, which can also explain why your site may not be indexed.

Accessibility as a Mantra: Making the Web Usable for Everyone

Another aspect gaining increasing importance is accessibility. Making a platform accessible is not only ethical – it also expands your potential user base.

With a population that is aging every day, it’s crucial to consider the challenges users may face due to personal characteristics – not only disabilities such as blindness or deafness, but also the natural cognitive and physical decline that comes with age.

To improve accessibility, it’s essential to refer to official W3C guidelines – specifically the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

Looking Ahead: The Role of Artificial Intelligence

In the future, the web will be asked to do even more. In particular, the rise of artificial intelligence opens new paths to explore, such as creating highly personalized user experiences. For example, platforms may suggest tailored content or adapt layouts to match individual preferences.

Another possibility is the integration of chatbots to support users – saving time and resources for customer service while making the overall experience smoother. Chatbots offer clear advantages: 24/7 availability and the complete knowledge on the project.

There are countless opportunities being unlocked – or soon to be unlocked – thanks to artificial intelligence. At Mabiloft, we look forward to seeing how this innovation will shape our clients’ needs and inspire new features in our future projects.

So, do you have a project in mind to propose, or a question you think we can answer?