UX is a fast-developing discipline, incorporating the latest advances in hardware, software, and research to bring smoother and more enjoyable online experiences to ever-wider audiences.

Keeping ahead of the game with UX is important for any developers who want to stay current in a rapidly-changing marketplace.

Here are some key ways to make more of your UX design services in 2019.

1. Conversation design

Conversational design is a concept which takes into account both users natural approach to interaction, and developments in software technology in the form of AI. At its most basic, it can be considered a simulation of a conversational approach to form-filling – something that most users will find easier and more efficient than more traditional box ticking. Incorporating emergent AI technologies and conversation design best practice into your interface is a great way to integrate the latest technology in your product.

2. Gestural interaction

With the ever-increasing size of mobile screens, many devices are getting rid of as many buttons as possible, and changing to gesture-based navigation. This is being mirrored in many site designs, with UX designers finding ever-more innovative ways to smooth the paths their users take. When properly implemented, gestural interaction can make app navigation intuitive and efficient, but a good knowledge of the native gestures different hardware use is important – nothing frustrates like closing an app when trying to scroll through it.

3. Connectivity

Many users now own a host of different devices – perhaps a desktop computer at home, a smartphone for their pocket, and a tablet for when they’re at home. Finding a way to carry use from one to the other is becoming easier thanks to advances in synchronisation and connectivity – think of Apple’s handing-off technology, or the ability to share a Netflix account across several devices. Being able to pick up where you left off somewhere else is a major bonus for many different types of service, and can play a big part in the pathways that UX developers plan for their users. Knowing the different systems that make use of this technology can be key to making the best user experience possible.

4. Powerful browser capabilities

Browsers were once little more than ways to display HTML – words, images, and maybe other media within a frame. Their capabilities have come on leaps and bounds since then, with many now able to carry out processing and communications functions of their own. Software and hardware have advanced hand in hand to make mobile and desktop browsers into small computers in their own right, and with the added functionality come many new options for UX design. On-board processing is one of the most significant, allowing software to inhabit devices which once would reside on servers. This not only speeds up the whole process by eliminating the back and forth of data flow between device and server, but also lets devices dedicate large chunks of memory to these specific tasks. This allows designers to incorporate a host of new functionality into the routes they plot – from chatbots to communications to real-time updates from a host of different sources.