How Windows 11 Handles Web Design

Windows 11 landed in October with Microsoft’s announcement that a new era for the PC had begun. This proved to be something of an exaggeration, with the changes from Windows 10 being relatively subtle. The huge jump from Windows 8 to Windows 10 makes Windows 11 seem like even more of a non-event. That said, there have been some significant changes.

If you are working on building a website, you may be wondering how Windows 11 handles web design. Of course, for those using a website builder like Wix or WordPress, the experience is not very different on Windows 11. These platforms provide a complete service that does not change depending on the OS you are using. However, if you are in the web design or UX/UI industries, you need to be up to date with every OS potential change.

So let’s take a look at web design on Windows 11 for those who are building websites from scratch. How does Windows 11 handle web design and is it any different than before?

Transparent Web Design

In their blog, Microsoft discusses improving the experience for people designing for Windows and the web. They have updated the Windows Store with more transparency so that developers can have more control over what they provide to their customers. Microsoft focuses on fairness and cooperation in this respect, and they take that into theri description of the web design offerings.

Windows 11 makes WebView2 a part of the operating system for everyone. But aside from that, many of the changes to the web design process seem to be more about performance than features. Yes, there are upgrades to UI features, but for the most part, you will have the same web design experience as you had on Windows 10 – it will just be faster.

There is talk of improving desktop integration for progressive web developers, but the differences are subtle and are the type that may not be noticed by web users until they’re taken away.

The Evolution of Web Design

So maybe Windows 11 is not quite taking web design to the next level. The question remains what the evolution of web design should be. Are there opportunities that Microsoft has failed to grasp by not changing their developer tools all that drastically?

Inevitably, the answer is yes, Microsoft has forfeited a number of opportunities, but not out of negligence. When creating an OS to serve every PC user, developers are not at the forefront of the mind of the company that created the modern UI experience. That is left to us to take care of. Tools are only as good as the crafter who uses them, and there really is not that much to complain about when it comes to the native tools already available for web design.

There is also not much debate as to what the future of web design entails. Incorporation of AI into web pages is already happening, if not quite at the pace sci-fi novels and movies expected it to go. With Chatbots providing everything from on-site customer service to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the future of web design strangely enough resembles Microsoft’s good old Clippy.

Modern web design does not begin and end at AI though. The wheels of VR have been turning for ages, and the advent of the Metaverse will only make developers work faster. It won’t be long before web design requires us to make immersive pages, and every small business website will want visitors to experience their latest offerings in more than two dimensions.

In order for AI and VR to work in a convincing way, we still have to get used to voice interfaces. While there are many who have embraced virtual assistants and speak to them regularly, a lot of people would still rather get tasks done themselves. Reports show that around 40% of internet users in the United States use voice search. Even though this is already a significant number, it would still need to increase if we are to get to a point where immersive experiences are a mainstream thing. But voice interfaces are continually improving and their understanding of human speech and commands is better than ever.

With all of this in mind, you may soon be designing websites with specifications that require not just media, but voice control, VR, and complex chatbots that can actually hold a proper conversation with users and potential customers.

Windows 11 for Web Design

Ultimately, Windows 11 won’t change much for you if you have been creating web pages with Windows 10. The big leap already happened, and now Microsoft is working on improving its offerings. Web design will evolve into the future with the tools at the disposal of developers, rather than through groundbreaking Windows OS features.

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