The beginning of the year is all about trends and what they can bring us. I’m not surprised I got caught, where the tech industry authority and our partner predicted the future.
As someone who lives and breathes web hosting, I’ve taken the liberty of giving some thoughts on TechRadar’s insights. I recommend reading TR’s article by section and returning to this page for my comments.
First, about domains and Web3
I think we are moving from “One world. An Internet”. (as the slogan of the ) in “Multiple worlds. Multiple Internets.
People are beginning to understand Metaverses, domains based on NFTs. For example, you have already registered 2 million NFT domains in a short time. Many new ways to create an online presence are emerging.
With the next one around the corner sometime, it will be interesting to see if deep-pocketed crypto registrars try to protect their current Web3 extensions as gTLDs for Web2.
On the other hand, the good old-fashioned .coms and country-level ccTLDs still have prestige and aren’t going anywhere. But as businesses start to see potential in Web3, we will see more converged services that will allow domains to be owned by the same entity and resolve to both DNS and ENS (Ethereum Name Service). Perfect resolution through a cross connection point between Web2 and Web3 would be a good start for a new decentralized hosting switch.
Cloudflare already proposed one that provides access to IPFS (Interplanetary File System) and Ethereum blockchain. This way you can retrieve the content from Web3 and serve it over HTTPS on a classic domain.
Second, about the content
My most considerable discomfort is that we are still very late with the mobile versions of the websites. Website speed on mobile is still statistically 2-3x slower than desktop and is typically not optimized for viewing, let alone shopping or interaction.
The shift from desktop to mobile happened a long time ago and we need to start accepting it. I bet we will see more and more sites with Apple Pay, Google Pay integrations, simplified websites and mobile UX based, screaming mobile first. Automatic login with iCloud or Google Auth, directly from the browser, could also be new this year.
How many of you remember when websites had a “Best View in Internet Explorer” option? It would be fun to see a website labeled “Best Viewed on iPhone.”
If we want this to happen, we must give our customers the tools to create mobile content. At this point, no-code SaaS and website builders (like ) will catch on, making it easier for them to quickly adapt their toolset.
Third, about web hosting
The digital world tends towards convenience. People want to focus on what they do best, and a website is often more of a tool than its goal.
In 2022, as website hosting providers, we will need to focus on layering SaaS providers, agencies, and people who do the work for their clients. In fact, all web hosting providers must prepare, identify and adapt for that. We need to understand that our service will most likely be resold by someone doing the middleman work, for example a developer coding a website or an agency selling WordPress sites.
Fourth, about the threats
I strongly agree with TechRadar’s shared thoughts that cybersecurity is going to be a very important topic. As I pointed out, when the world tends toward convenience, security automatically declines. I think the need for automated website scanning and automated hardening tools will increase.
Finally: sustainability
In 2022, sustainability will be one of the critical factors in selecting a web host provider. Everybody has to start contributing, I guess by doing the basic stuff first. We have already started to audit ourselves on how to become sustainable and cause less damage to the planet. We choose green DCs, we take care of our power consumption and we choose the right hardware suppliers.
Balys Krikščiūnas
CTO at
Carlos is a professional in digital marketing, eCommerce and website builders. He loves helping businesses grow online through his tips. In his free time, he is surely singing or practicing martial arts.
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