November has been packed with interesting developments in the web world, and we’re excited to share what’s been on our radar. From performance breakthroughs to accessibility milestones, this month highlighted how quickly our industry adapts and innovates. Keeping up with these changes helps all of us build better, more inclusive web experiences.
We’ve gathered some of the most significant topics and resources that caught our attention. Let’s dive in.
TOON
Token-Oriented Object Notation (TOON) is emerging as one of those “why didn’t I think of this” technologies. Essentially, every time we interact with a large language model (LLM) and provide a set of data in JSON format, we are wasting a number of tokens since every curly brace, every bracket and every quote counts as a token. Plus, JSON is not exactly human friendly on the readability front. TOON allows for more human readable data stores. That being said, it does not seem to work well with deeply nested structures. If you would like to learn more, consider the code repository on GitHub.
WebAssembly
WebAssembly has matured significantly in 2025, and it’s no longer just about making things faster—though it certainly does that. Think of WebAssembly as a way to run almost any programming language in your web browser at speeds that rival native desktop applications. The official release of WebAssembly 3.0 in September brought some game-changing capabilities that make it easier for developers to use familiar languages like Java, Python, and Ruby directly in web applications.
What’s particularly exciting is the Component Model, which lets different programming languages work together smoothly. Imagine building an application where parts written in Rust, Go, and JavaScript all communicate effortlessly—that’s the kind of flexibility WebAssembly now offers.
You’re probably already using WebAssembly without realizing it. Figma’s design tool runs entirely in your browser thanks to WebAssembly, Unity WebGL delivers console-quality games without any downloads, and Adobe’s Creative Cloud tools let you edit videos right in your browser. This comprehensive overview of WebAssembly’s capabilities shows how it’s being used for everything from CAD applications to scientific computing and even serverless applications running at the network edge.
For developers interested in exploring WebAssembly, the ecosystem now includes mature toolchains like Emscripten for C/C++, excellent Rust support via wasm-bindgen, and frameworks like Spin for building serverless WebAssembly applications.
TypeScript
TypeScript 5.7, released in November 2024, introduced several improvements that make catching bugs easier. One of the most useful additions is better detection of variables that never get properly set up before being used—even when they’re accessed deep within nested functions, which previous versions would miss.
If you’ve ever been frustrated by having to write .js in your import statements even though you’re working with .ts files, the new –rewriteRelativeImportExtensions option fixes that annoyance. It automatically handles the conversion for you when working with modern tools like ts-node, Deno, and Bun.
This version also adds support for the latest JavaScript features from ECMAScript 2024, including handy new methods like Object.groupBy() and Map.groupBy() that make organizing data much cleaner. Plus, performance improvements mean large TypeScript projects now build noticeably faster.
The official announcement from Microsoft walks through these improvements with practical examples. TypeScript 5.8, which came out in February 2025, continued adding refinements that make the language even more reliable and easier to work with.
Accessibility and WCAG 2.2
Accessibility took a major step forward in October 2025 when WCAG 2.2 was approved as ISO/IEC 40500:2025. This ISO certification transforms WCAG 2.2 from a best practice guideline into a formal international standard with legal and regulatory weight across borders.
The nine new success criteria in WCAG 2.2 focus on areas that previous versions didn’t adequately address. Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11) ensures keyboard users can always see what element has focus. Dragging Movements (2.5.7) requires alternatives to drag-and-drop interactions for users with motor impairments. Accessible Authentication (3.3.8) demands that authentication mechanisms don’t rely solely on cognitive tests or memory challenges.
For US public entities, the ADA Title II regulations now explicitly require WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance for state and local government websites, with deadlines in 2026 for entities serving over 50,000 people and 2027 for smaller entities. The European Accessibility Act has similar requirements taking effect in June 2025.
This detailed analysis of WCAG 2.2’s ISO approval explains the implications for procurement, compliance, and strategy. Organizations should begin updating their accessibility policies now, as many procurement frameworks will start requiring ISO/IEC 40500:2025 compliance in vendor contracts throughout 2026.
Headless CMS
The headless CMS market is experiencing explosive growth, projected to reach $7.1 billion by 2035 from $973.8 million in 2025, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 22.6%. This surge is driven by the increasing demand for omnichannel content delivery and the flexibility that comes from separating content management from presentation.
Unlike traditional CMSs where content and presentation are tightly coupled, headless architecture stores content in a backend system and delivers it via APIs to any frontend or device. This approach enables businesses to publish content simultaneously to websites, mobile apps, IoT devices, digital signage, and platforms that haven’t been invented yet.
The integration of AI-powered features has become table stakes for modern CMSs. Native AI functionality now helps with content generation, automatic tagging, and smart recommendations, removing bottlenecks and accelerating content workflows. This market overview from Storyblok reveals that 69% of headless CMS users report improved time-to-market and productivity, while traditional WordPress users cite delays of over an hour to publish content.
Edge Computing
Edge computing is revolutionizing web performance by processing data closer to where users actually are, rather than routing every request to distant centralized servers. Research indicates that 75% of enterprise data will be processed at the edge by 2025, up dramatically from just 10% in 2018.
The performance benefits are substantial: edge computing can reduce latency to under 5 milliseconds compared to 20-40 milliseconds typical of traditional cloud computing. For e-commerce sites, where a one-second delay can cause a 7% drop in conversions, this speed improvement translates directly into revenue. Studies show edge implementation can reduce website load times by 50% or more.
The integration of 5G networks with edge computing is enabling new applications that require split-second responses—autonomous vehicles, real-time gaming, and augmented reality experiences. This practical guide to edge computing provides implementation patterns and best practices for developers looking to leverage edge architecture in their applications.
Core Web Vitals
Google’s Core Web Vitals continue to evolve as a critical ranking factor and user experience benchmark. The most significant recent change was the replacement of First Input Delay (FID) with Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as a Core Web Vital. Unlike FID, which only measures the first interaction, INP provides a comprehensive view of a page’s responsiveness throughout the entire user session.
Google has also introduced a new metric for 2025 called Engagement Reliability (ER), which measures how consistently users can interact with a website without encountering obstacles. This addition emphasizes that Google isn’t just looking for fast sites—it wants sites that provide frustration-free experiences where buttons respond reliably and forms submit without issues.
Mobile performance now carries even more weight in rankings, reflecting the reality that over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Poor mobile Core Web Vitals can severely impact engagement metrics like bounce rates and session duration. This comprehensive guide to Core Web Vitals optimization provides actionable strategies for improving your scores, including image optimization, efficient JavaScript execution, and proper resource loading techniques.
Serverless Architecture
Serverless computing continues to reshape how applications are built and deployed by eliminating infrastructure management overhead and enabling automatic scaling. The serverless architecture market is projected to reach $17.78 billion in 2025, with major cloud providers like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions leading adoption.
The key advantage of serverless is that developers can focus entirely on writing business logic while the cloud provider handles scaling, maintenance, and security. Applications automatically scale from zero to thousands of concurrent executions based on demand, and you only pay for actual compute time rather than provisioning capacity in advance.
The serverless paradigm works particularly well for applications with variable traffic patterns, event-driven workloads, and microservices architectures. Common use cases include API backends, image processing, data transformation pipelines, and scheduled tasks. Digital Silk’s analysis of web development trends highlights how serverless, combined with edge computing and instant-loading strategies, is defining the future of high-performance web applications.
Voice Search Optimization
Voice search continues its rapid growth, with projections indicating that 75% of US households will have voice-activated smart speakers by the end of 2025. This shift is fundamentally changing how users interact with the web, requiring developers and content creators to optimize for natural language queries rather than traditional keyword phrases.
Technical implementation includes using schema markup to help search engines understand your content structure, ensuring fast mobile loading times (since most voice searches happen on mobile devices), and optimizing for local SEO with accurate business information. Natural language processing capabilities in modern CMSs are evolving to better support voice-friendly content creation.
From an accessibility perspective, voice interfaces also benefit users with visual impairments or motor disabilities, making voice optimization not just an SEO strategy but an inclusive design practice. Websites that successfully adapt to voice search see improvements in overall discoverability and user engagement across all interaction modes.
Looking Ahead
As we approach the end of 2025, several themes are clear: performance optimization through technologies like WebAssembly and edge computing is becoming essential rather than optional, accessibility is transitioning from best practice to legal requirement, and the tools we use are becoming more sophisticated while often easier to deploy. The separation of content from presentation through headless architectures provides the flexibility modern applications demand, while Core Web Vitals ensure we’re delivering experiences that meet user expectations.
What articles or developments caught your attention this month? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. As always, feel free to reach out to us anytime to learn more about Web Professionals Global and our mission of Community, Education, Certification. If you are not yet a member, join us today.
