Top 10 Interesting WordPress Features to Use in 2024
WordPress web development has gained immense popularity since its release in 2003. It is considered one of the best website-building tools even today and has evolved a lot in recent past years to serve the diverse needs of digital and business ecosystems. Another fantastic fact about WordPress is that a large segment of the people using this tool are neither designers nor WordPress web developers only because the interface and functionality are accessible for a non-technical individual to understand. In addition, it’s free to use and provides many templates, and themes to choose from.
Also, the themes are not standard and can be customized per the user’s requirements. Plugins are another exciting utility of this CMS to recognize custom functionality in your site. Some advanced features that can be added via plugins are analytics, sign-up forms, memberships forms, etc. Other highlighting characteristics of this platform are listed below.
Let’s see some interesting stats on WordPress which will further prove its popularity
WordPress Market Position
Percentages of websites using various subcategories of WordPress
Basic Characteristics of WordPress:
- Easy to manage
- Safe and secure
- Reliable and flexible
- SEO friendly
- Multilingual
- Simple integrations
- Cost-effective
- Open-source
Now let’s move on to discover the interesting features of WordPress Web Development in 2024. It would be exciting to see the new buzz around.
So, let’s have a look!
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Table of contents
10 Exciting WordPress Features for Web Development
1. Dark Mode
Dark mode has become a trend these days all over the internet. Most significant applications now allow users to engage in the dark mode feature. It also helps to cause less harm to the eyes because this feature activates a black background and puts lighter elements in front. When it comes to WordPress, we cannot overlook its dark mode feature. Using this feature, you can enjoy your website browsing experience with a dark color scheme using multiple WordPress themes. Simply adding a dark mode to your WordPress website, you can enjoy a seamless experience. Although there is no rocket science behind the dark method, you can use it by following some steps.
Follow these steps if you want to enjoy the Dark Mode feature.
- First of all, install and activate the WP Dark Mode plugin.
- Upon activation, go to the Settings » WP Dark Mode page in your WordPress admin and click on the General Settings tab.
- Here, the setting Enable OS aware Dark Mode has been switched ON for you. It means that visitors will automatically see the dark mode version of your site when their device is set to dark mode.
- The setting ‘Show Floating Switch’ has also been switched ON. It means users can switch their view of the site to dark mode at any time, even if they haven’t enabled a Dark Mode option on their device.
By performing these steps, you can enjoy dark mode.
If you have any doubt about the steps outlined above, then watch this video below :
2. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is an excellent WordPress feature for web development. This technology allows users to test and try the products virtually. For example, an online store selling sunglasses can use Augmented Reality to help users check and try whether the sunglasses suit them. It is a great way to elevate the user experience and customer interaction to drive sales. If we dive deeper, then AR is equally essential in WordPress websites. AR for WordPress plugin is a one-stop solution to allow you to present 3D models of your products in an interactive Augmented Reality view via a smartphone or tablet. And luckily, it’s too simple to use.
If you want to give AR plugins a try, then visit this site and choose the one that meets your site requirements: https://augmentedrealityplugins.com
Installing the plugin on your WordPress website and uploading 3D models of your products allows users to view them in an interactive AR experience. It will enhance their user experience and enable you to meet your customers’ varying needs using technology.
3. Custom Design
The latest version of WordPress now allows it to go beyond the scope of existing themes. In simple words, now it is possible to customize the website design without using existing specialized themes available on the platform. In this rapidly evolving digital age, it is great to have a feature that allows us to develop as per specific requirements. It doesn’t matter what type of website you are interested in designing; WordPress custom design features will accommodate your particular needs. Leveraging custom themes and millions of plugins, you will get unlimited options. Hire a dedicated WordPress developer who will create a website to fit the demands of your business so that it can expand its reach beyond boundaries. By providing a robust and visually appealing user experience for visitors, you will help customers with an improved customer journey.
4. Voice Search
Voice search is also gaining momentum because of the popularity of smartphones and the wide availability of speedy internet connections. Now more people have access to smartphones, which helps them search for their needs online by providing relevant voice commands.
As smartphones continue to grow, so will the chances for businesses to gain more popularity, provided that they have recognized and supported voice search commands in their applications. The WordPress web development also provides a plugin, i.e., “Voice Assistant Dialog Navigation,” to integrate the voice search command. Hence, we have another reason to use this tool in 2024 to build the foundation of digital success today.
If you want to know more about how to make use of this ultimate plugin, then click on this link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/voice-dialog-navigation
5. Live Chat & Chatbots
Live chat and chatbots help engage visitors so that no business opportunity is ever lost. It also helps to address the concerns of the customers quickly and efficiently. If you browse multiple websites, you will observe that most of them have an option that provides a chance to chat with the customer support executive. Live chat alone helps to enhance engagement, activity, user experience, and even conversions. So, skipping this feature is not a great idea in 2024 and beyond. The good news is that you can now activate the plugin in WordPress development to implement a live chat option.
6. Accessibility Mode for Widgets
WordPress comes with a hidden accessibility mode for widgets. This accessibility mode makes it easier to add widgets without dragging and dropping the items. It will ease users’ work as it is challenging to drag and drop things using a mouse or trackpad.
If you want to use this stunning feature, it’s simple to add and use.
- By simply visiting the Appearance » Widgets screen in your WordPress admin area, you can use the accessibility mode hidden under the screen options menu.
- If you tap on the Screen Options menu, then that’s good. However, press the L key if you are using screen reading software and a keyboard.
- It will skip the regular menu and take you directly to the help button just before Screen Options.
- After that, press the tab key to focus on the screen options menu and click enter. It will take you to the screen options menu.
- You will see “Enable accessibility mode”. Activate it by pressing the tab key and hitting Enter.
- Once activated, it will reload the Widgets screen with a new interface.
- This new interface allows you to add widgets. You can add widgets and configure settings using the Add link next to the widget title.
- Once you’re satisfied with adding down all the widgets you want to use, click on the SAVE button. You will be redirected to the widget’s home screen.
7. Integrated News & Blog Posting
WordPress provides built-in blogging and category management by quickly adding/editing/removing content as needed. You can add news articles on an ongoing basis directly from your browser using a new modern block-based editor known as Gutenberg. This stunning interface comes with a clean writing interface that allows you to enter your post’s title, content, images, videos, etc. This WordPress editor also comes with a Gallery block that will enable you to display images in rows and columns with a grid layout. Using this block, you don’t get confused with the photos you want to add and remove from your gallery or the content.
Another great thing you must know is you can also copy and paste the video URL to a paragraph block, and WordPress will automatically convert it into a video embed block. However, it’s not all done. For example, in WordPress, you can also sort your posts into categories and tags. It will further help you organize your content into sections and topics.
8. Custom Content Types
Another exciting feature of WordPress web development is custom content types. You can keep your custom content types away from your regular posts by creating custom post types. However, if you want them to display among your typical posts, you can add a code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.
By default, WordPress already has different post types built into the software, ready for you to use. Here is the list of some of them.
- Blog posts
- Pages
- Attachments
- Navigation menus
- Revisions
You can visit this link to learn more about post types: https://wordpress.org/support/article/post-types
The best part about custom post type is that it allows you to create new and valuable types of content on your website, including a smart and easy way to publish those content types to your site. You may have endless possibilities for custom post types when using this feature, but here are a few ideas that can kick-start your imagination. They are one of the most useful and highly implemented ideas tried by web designing companies on their websites. So let’s have a quick look.
- Photo Gallery
- Podcast or video
- Book reviews
- Coupons and special offers
- Events Calendar
9. Managed Website Security
Website security is the top-notch priority of a site owner. Google blacklists over 20,000 websites for malware and nearly 50,000 for phishing each week. If your website is a business, you must pay extra attention to your WordPress security. Also, if a website is constantly suffering from blackouts or that keeps getting hacked can result in a loss of customer confidence, potential sales, organic search engine ranking, and a negative image for your brand. Would you like to take this challenging task as fun? You shouldn’t, especially when you can have WordPress-managed web hosting services along with you.
Yes, WordPress web hosting service providers such as Bluehost or Siteground and other services like CMS security, backups, core upgrades, and updates will help you ensure you keep track of your website and protect it from hackers. With the help of complete hosting services, you can take extra measures and actions to protect your website against common threats. It helps you continuously monitor your network for suspicious activity and prepares you to deploy disaster recovery and accident plans accordingly. Many managed WordPress hosting companies also offer automatic backups, updates, and more advanced security tips to protect your website. By choosing the best company, you can also reap the security benefits. However, if you want to simply back up and restore your website data, then the Updraftplus WordPress plugin is the best. Download it and restore your data with a single click.
10. Support for PHP 8
WordPress is written with the PHP programming language. Like WordPress, PHP also releases new versions to improve performance, add features, and fix bugs. If you want to reap the benefits of this robust feature, it is highly recommended to use PHP 8.0 with WordPress 5.6 or higher for compatibility. If you’re running an older version of WordPress, make sure you test your site with WordPress 5.6 in a staging environment. If you experience any issues with WordPress 5.6, consult with the best web development company to debug your site before upgrading to PHP 8.0.
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Word From Author
WordPress is a great CMS and website development tool that has covered many unique features to help you design a perfect website to grow your business. In addition, it will continue to provide incredible plugins and updates to help people get the maximum out of it. If you have a WordPress site, then you can reap the benefits of the above-listed features. However, if you don’t have a website and plan to build with WordPress, APPWRK IT Solutions will help you. We have an experienced team of WordPress developers that provide scalable WordPress web development solutions to that one and all looking to design dynamic websites with unique features and functionalities. Start 7 Days Risk-Free Trial (T&C Apply)!
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