2026’s Top 10 Web Development Company Trends You Can’t Ignore
The world of web development is evolving faster than ever. In 2026, companies are no longer just building websites, they’re creating experiences. As technology advances and user expectations rise, web development companies need to stay ahead of the curve to deliver fast, interactive, and secure digital solutions. Here’s a look at the top trends shaping the industry this year.
1. AI-Powered Web Development
Artificial Intelligence is no longer optional. Web development companies are using AI to automate coding, optimize user experience, and even personalize content for visitors. From chatbots to predictive analytics, AI is helping websites become smarter and more responsive.
2. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
PWAs combine the best of web and mobile apps. They load quickly, work offline, and provide app-like experiences without users needing to download anything. Companies are investing in PWAs to improve engagement and retention.
3. Voice Search Optimization
With voice assistants becoming mainstream, websites need to be optimized for voice search. Web development companies are designing sites with conversational search queries in mind, making it easier for users to find information quickly.
4. Motion UI and Interactive Elements
Static websites are becoming a thing of the past. In 2026, trends lean towards interactive design, animations, and motion UI elements that guide users and make websites more engaging. A well-designed interface can significantly improve user retention.
5. Mobile-First Development
Mobile traffic continues to dominate the internet. Web development companies are focusing on mobile-first strategies, ensuring websites look great and function seamlessly on any device. Fast load times, easy navigation, and responsive layouts are now must-haves.
6. Cybersecurity as a Priority
With cyber threats increasing, security is no longer an afterthought. Web development companies are integrating advanced security measures, including SSL certificates, multi-factor authentication, and proactive threat monitoring to keep user data safe.
7. API-First Development
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) allow different software systems to communicate seamlessly. Companies are adopting API-first approaches to build flexible, scalable, and easily upgradable web applications that integrate well with third-party tools.
8. Low-Code and No-Code Platforms
To speed up development, many companies are using low-code and no-code platforms. These tools allow developers and even non-developers to build functional websites quickly, reducing time-to-market and improving innovation.
9. Sustainable Web Development
Sustainability is becoming a key consideration. Web development companies are focusing on energy-efficient websites, optimized hosting, and reducing digital carbon footprints while maintaining high performance.
10. Blockchain Integration
Blockchain is no longer limited to cryptocurrency. In 2026, web development companies are exploring blockchain for secure transactions, decentralized apps, and transparent data management, offering clients cutting-edge solutions for complex digital needs.
Conclusion
The web development landscape is dynamic and rapidly changing. Companies that embrace these trends will deliver better user experiences, faster websites, and more secure, scalable solutions. Whether you’re a startup or an established business, staying updated with these trends is essential to thrive in a competitive digital world.
Web development companies that combine innovation, technology, and user-focused design are the ones leading the way in 2026. If your website isn’t evolving, it’s likely falling behind but the right partner can ensure you’re always ahead of the curve.
Best and Live Shopify Development Course in Rajkot – Learn Shopify Development in Gujarat
E-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses operate, and Shopify has emerged as one of the most powerful platforms for building professional online stores. With its user-friendly interface, advanced features, and scalability, Shopify is the go-to choice for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and IT professionals. To stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce market, it is crucial to gain practical skills and expert knowledge. Devweb Technology offers the best and live Shopify development course in Rajkot, providing learners with hands-on experience and advanced training to become Shopify experts.
Why Choose a Live Shopify Development Course?
Live online courses offer the benefit of real-time interaction with instructors, allowing students to ask questions, get feedback, and gain practical insights. Enrolling in a live Shopify development course in Rajkot provides:
Interactive Learning: Engage with experienced Shopify developers and clarify doubts instantly.
Hands-On Projects: Work on live Shopify stores to implement real-world solutions.
Updated Curriculum: Learn the latest tools, apps, and techniques in Shopify development.
Certification: Earn a recognized certificate to boost career opportunities.
This approach ensures learners gain both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise, making them industry-ready.
Learn Shopify Development in Gujarat
For students and professionals in Gujarat, Devweb Technology offers comprehensive programs designed to teach Shopify development from scratch. The course covers essential aspects of building, managing, and optimizing Shopify stores. Learners will gain:
Knowledge of Shopify store setup, theme selection, and layout customization.
Skills in product management, inventory handling, and order tracking.
Expertise in integrating payment gateways and shipping options.
Techniques for optimizing store speed, SEO, and conversion rates.
Advanced skills in Shopify apps, automation, and analytics.
With this training, students can confidently create fully functional and optimized Shopify stores for personal use, clients, or businesses.
Best Shopify Course in Rajkot
Devweb Technology is recognized as the best Shopify course in Rajkot due to its practical, high-quality training programs. The curriculum is structured to cater to beginners, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and IT professionals who want to specialize in Shopify development and e-commerce growth. Key highlights include:
Shopify Store Development: Learn to build professional stores, including theme customization and app integration.
Advanced Shopify Features: Explore AI-powered tools, automation, and app optimization for better store performance.
SEO & Marketing: Implement search engine optimization, social media campaigns, and email marketing strategies.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Apply techniques to improve sales and enhance user experience.
Hands-On Projects: Gain practical experience by working on live Shopify projects.
Certification & Career Guidance: Receive recognized certification and guidance for freelancing, internships, or corporate roles.
Advance Shopify Expert Training in Gujarat
For those aiming to become Shopify experts, Advanced Shopify expert training in Rajkot, Gujarat, focuses on mastering advanced features, optimization strategies, and marketing techniques. This training includes:
Customizing Shopify themes and scripts for personalized user experiences.
Implementing AI and analytics tools for data-driven decision-making.
Optimizing store performance for speed, conversions, and mobile responsiveness.
Learning dropshipping, inventory automation, and e-commerce scaling strategies.
By completing this advanced program, learners gain the expertise to manage complex Shopify stores and deliver measurable results for businesses.
Who Can Enroll?
The live Shopify development course is ideal for:
Beginners aspiring to start a career in e-commerce.
Entrepreneurs wanting to launch or improve Shopify stores.
Freelancers offering Shopify solutions to clients.
IT professionals seeking advanced skills in e-commerce development.
Benefits of Completing the Course
Upon completing the best live Shopify development course in Rajkot, learners will be able to:
Build fully functional Shopify stores with advanced features.
Implement marketing and SEO strategies to attract traffic and boost sales.
Optimize store performance, user experience, and conversion rates.
Gain practical experience through live projects and mentorship.
Receive certification to enhance career prospects in e-commerce, freelancing, or IT roles.
Conclusion
Whether you are a beginner, entrepreneur, freelancer, or IT professional, Devweb Technology’s live Shopify development course in Rajkot provides the knowledge, skills, and certification needed to excel in e-commerce. With practical projects, advanced training, and expert guidance, learners from across Gujarat can become Shopify experts capable of creating high-performing, optimized, and profitable online stores.
Enroll today at Devweb Technology to experience the best Shopify course in Rajkot and master Shopify development in Rajkot, Gujarat, achieving success in the dynamic world of e-commerce.
Choose a specialisation (Frontend, Backend, Full-Stack, Mobile, etc.)
💡 Final Note
A Software Developer is a problem-solver at heart. By mastering coding, architecture, and deployment, you’ll build impactful solutions that shape the digital world.
📌 Next Episode Teaser
👉 Roadmap to Mastery: UI/UX Designer
My cousin's wife is working from home as an ESL teacher (we are in Europe), teaching Chinese students. The pay is good and as far as I've been told, there is a good amount of demand from the Chinese job market for ESL teachers and, while having a degree in linguistics (foreign languages) or teaching is a plus for an applicant, it's not really demanded. You only need to have a good grasp of the English language and preferably have a document/certificate that proves your English level (either TOEFL or IELTS).
Another suggestion I'd give is learning and mastering a programming language if you manage to land a job as an ESL. Decide whether you want to be a front-end developer (basically developing/designing/maintaining the user interface) or a back-end developer (if you want to bother with maintaining the server side of things) and the area you want to focus on. If you go for web development then, considering your experience with HTML, CSS and Javascript, you could go with Node.js or Django/Flask if you want to learn something new for back-end development and go with React.js for front-end development. Otherwise go for mobile apps development using android studio. It's in very high demand, at least in Europe, but you have to be good at it. Create a good portfolio of programming projects which e.g are useful as a solution for a problem you or someone might have encountered in their daily life if you go for app development, or create user-friendly (this is very important) websites.
As for my last advice, is actually creating an account on Linkedin. You'll be able to connect with various professionals and companies throughout the world , gather information for various topics and see job listings for your preferred field of work, but most importantly, it will serve as a boost to the visibility/exposure of your skills or simply as a CV. It will increase your chances of finding a remote job.
A little question: When are you planning to take commissions?
Oh damn. Thank you so much for the advice and the suggestions, anon. I'll put it up for consideration, and see if I'll be able to do that
For the commissions though, I don't have a set date yet, since I'll have to rework what stuff I will and I will not write and up the prices a bit. Thinking $3-$5 with pay how you want from the initial $1 commissions, because needs have changed now. I am planning to take in 3 commissions, since this will be my first time using kofi to take them.
I will inform you all when I'll be taking commissions through an announcement post, don't worry!
Unlike web browsers, mobile apps increasingly make it difficult or impossible to see what companies are really doing with your data. The ans
In today’s digital world, injustice lurks in the shadows of the Facebook post that’s delivered to certain groups of people at the exclusion of others, the hidden algorithm used to profile candidates during job interviews, and the risk-assessment algorithms used for criminal sentencing and welfare fraud detention. As algorithmic systems are integrated into every aspect of society, regulatory mechanisms struggle to keep up.
Over the past decade, researchers and journalists have found ways to unveil and scrutinize these discriminatory systems, developing their own data collection tools. As the internet has moved from browsers to mobile apps, however, this crucial transparency is quickly disappearing.
Third-party analysis of digital systems has largely been made possible by two seemingly banal tools that are commonly used to inspect what’s happening on a webpage: browser add-ons and browser developer tools.
Browser add-ons are small programs that can be installed directly onto a web browser, allowing users to augment how they interact with a given website. While add-ons are commonly used to operate tools like password managers and ad-blockers, they are also incredibly useful for enabling people to collect their own data within a tech platform’s walled garden.
Similarly, browser developer tools were made to allow web developers to test and debug their websites’ user interfaces. As the internet evolved and websites became more complex, these tools evolved too, adding features like the ability to inspect and change source code, monitor network activity, and even detect when a website is accessing your location or microphone. These are powerful mechanisms for investigating how companies track, profile, and target their users.
I have put these tools to use as a data journalist to show how a marketing company logged users’ personal data even before they clicked “submit” on a form and, more recently, how the Meta Pixel tool (formerly the Facebook Pixel tool) tracks users without their explicit knowledge in sensitive places such as hospital websites, federal student loan applications, and the websites of tax-filing tools.
In addition to exposing surveillance, browser inspection tools provide a powerful way to crowdsource data to study discrimination, the spread of misinformation, and other types of harms tech companies cause or facilitate. But in spite of these tools’ powerful capabilities, their reach is limited. In 2023, Kepios reported that 92 percent of global users accessed the internet through their smartphones, whereas only 65 percent of global users did so using a desktop or laptop computer.
Though the vast majority of internet traffic has moved to smartphones, we don’t have tools for the smartphone ecosystem that afford the same level of “inspectability” as browser add-ons and developer tools. This is because web browsers are implicitly transparent, while mobile phone operating systems are not.
If you want to view a website in your web browser, the server has to send you the source code. Mobile apps, on the other hand, are compiled, executable files that you usually download from places such as Apple’s iOS App Store or Google Play. App developers don’t need to publish the source code for people to use them.
Similarly, monitoring network traffic on web browsers is trivial. This technique is often more useful than inspecting source code to see what data a company is collecting on users. Want to know which companies a website shares your data with? You’ll want to monitor the network traffic, not inspect the source code. On smartphones, network monitoring is possible, but it usually requires the installation of root certificates that make users’ devices less secure and more vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks from bad actors. And these are just some of the differences that make collecting data securely from smartphones much harder than from browsers.
The need for independent collection is more pressing than ever. Previously, company-provided tools such as the Twitter API and Facebook’s CrowdTangle, a tool for monitoring what’s trending on Facebook, were the infrastructure that powered a large portion of research and reporting on social media. However, as these tools become less useful and accessible, new methods of independent data collection are needed to understand what these companies are doing and how people are using their platforms.
To meaningfully report on the impact digital systems have on society, we need to be able to observe what’s taking place on our devices without asking a company for permission. As someone who has spent the past decade building tools that crowdsource data to expose algorithmic harms, I believe the public should have the ability to peek under the hood of their mobile apps and smart devices, just as they can on their browsers. And it’s not just me: The Integrity Institute, a nonprofit working to protect the social internet, recently released a report that lays bare the importance of transparency as a lever to achieve public interest goals like accountability, collaboration, understanding, and trust.
To demand transparency from tech platforms, we need a platform-independent transparency framework, something that I like to call an inspectability API. Such a framework would empower even the most vulnerable populations to capture evidence of harm from their devices while minimizing the risk of their data being used in research or reporting without their consent.
An application programming interface (API) is a way for companies to make their services or data available to other developers. For example, if you’re building a mobile app and want to use the phone’s camera for a specific feature, you would use the iOS or Android Camera API. Another common example is an accessibility API, which allows developers to make their applications accessible to people with disabilities by making the user interface legible to screen readers and other accessibility tools commonly found on modern smartphones and computers. An inspectability API would allow individuals to export data from the apps they use every day and share it with researchers, journalists, and advocates in their communities. Companies could be required to implement this API to adhere to transparency best practices, much as they are required to implement accessibility features to make their apps and websites usable for people with disabilities.
In the US, residents of some states can request the data companies collect on them, thanks to state-level privacy laws. While these laws are well-intentioned, the data that companies share to comply with them is usually structured in a way that obfuscates crucial details that would expose harm. For example, Facebook has a fairly granular data export service that allows individuals to see, amongst other things, their “Off-Facebook activity.” However, as the Markup found during a series of investigations into the use of Pixel, even though Facebook told users which websites were sharing data, it did not reveal just how invasive the information being shared was. Doctor appointments, tax filing information, and student loan information were just some of the things that were being sent to Facebook. An inspectability API would make it easy for people to monitor their devices and see how the apps they use track them in real time.
Some promising work is already being done: Apple’s introduction of the App Privacy Report in iOS 15 marked the first time iPhone users could see detailed privacy information to understand each app’s data collection practices and even answer questions such as, “Is Instagram listening to my microphone?”
But we cannot rely on companies to do this at their discretion—we need a clear framework to define what sort of data should be inspectable and exportable by users, and we need regulation that penalizes companies for not implementing it. Such a framework would not only empower users to expose harms, but also ensure that their privacy is not violated. Individuals could choose what data to share, when, and with whom.
An inspectability API will empower individuals to fight for their rights by sharing the evidence of harm they have been exposed to with people who can raise public awareness and advocate for change. It would enable organizations such as Princeton’s Digital Witness Lab, which I cofounded and lead, to conduct data-driven investigations by collaborating closely with vulnerable communities, instead of relying on tech companies for access. This framework would allow researchers and others to conduct this work in a way that is safe, precise, and, most importantly, prioritizes the consent of the people being harmed.
Writing A Blind/Visually Impaired Character: Canes, Guide Dogs, O&M
Wow, back in June I decided to take a few months break from blogging to recharge and focus on my mental health. About a month ago I began writing this specific post, slowly and in stages because of how demanding, detailed, and long it is.
I’m not sure when I planned to come back. I have about 200 posts with tags and image description in my drafts folder, waiting to be queued, but I wanted to finish this guide before I fully came back.
Come back with a bang, right?
But this blog, and specifically, my Writing a Blind or Visually Impaired Character guide, has gotten so much traffic and support that I felt incredibly motivated to come back now.
So I finished the guide, and now here it is. It’s been a year+ in the making. Since the very beginning of this writing advice series about writing blind characters, I’ve promised to write a guide specifically about canes, guide dogs, O&M, and other accessibility measures the blind community relies on.
In fact, if you look at my master post for this guide (now pinned at the first post on my blog) you’ll find that it was reserved as Part Four, even as other guides and additions were added over the last year.
In this post I’ll be explaining
What Orientation and Mobility (O&M) is
How one learns O&M
About canes, from different types of canes and their parts, as well as how to use a cane.
I will be explaining the sensory experiences of using a cane and how to describe it in narrative.
I will include small mannerisms long-time cane uses might develop.
At the very end will be a section on guide dogs, but this will be limited to research because I have no personal experience with guide dogs, being a cane user.
Disclaimer: I am an actual visually impaired person who has been using a cane for nearly three years and has been experiencing vision loss symptoms for a few years longer than that. This guide is based on both my experiences and my research. My experiences are not universal however because every blind person has a unique experience with their blindness
What Is Orientation & Mobility
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) is the specific skill of understanding and navigating the world safely and confidently with vision loss.
I’m going to quote Vision Aware’s specific definition [link]
"Orientation" refers to the ability to know where you are and where you want to go, whether you're moving from one room to another or walking downtown for a shopping trip.
"Mobility" refers to the ability to move safely, efficiently, and effectively from one place to another, such as being able to walk without tripping or falling on steps or elevation changes, crossing streets, and using public transportation
O&M can involve :
-learning how to use a cane, as well as what cane works best for you
-safely navigating obstacles with your cane, including stairs, ramps, elevators, uneven or curved sidewalks, through crowds, around furniture
-learning safe strategies for crossing the street
-planning routes to new or recurring locations
-using technology enroute, including GPS and apps like Uber and Lyft
-safely accessing public transportation
-how to ask for help when needed
-working with human sighted guides
A Note on the Blind Community and Their Relationship with Canes
The Perkins School for the Blind estimates that only 2-8% of the blind community rely on canes for navigation. The rest rely on remaining vision, guide dogs, and sighted guides. Only about 2% of the blind community relies on guide dogs however, and to get a guide dog in the first place, a person must go through O&M classes and use a cane for six months before they can sign up for a guide dog.
What this means is that 90% of the blind community don’t use a cane.
I didn’t know this fact until I begun research for this guide, and that number astounds me.
Truth be told, while I have navigated my life without a cane before, I can’t imagine going back to the way it was before I got it. Even if I only need my cane some of the time, I can’t bear to not use it in the situations I need it. Having a cane made my life a lot easier, a lot safer.
I don’t know what to attribute this number to.
I might attribute it to the concepts of invisible vs. visible disability, internalized ableism, or the feeling of ‘not being blind enough’ for a cane, as well as accessibility to the blind community and knowledge, and access to buying a cane in the first place. I could write a thing about it, but if I try it’s gonna be its own post.
Onward~
How Do You Learn O&M? How Will My Character Learn?
You will have to find an Orientation and Mobility instructor and have them personally teach you O&M skills.
The O&M Instructor is a sighted adult who has gone to school for a bachelor’s degree and gone through O&M training themselves while blindfolded, usually fulfilling a certain requirement of hours (one program required 400 hours of O&M practice blindfolded before you could become certified), and apply for certification to teach O&M.
(Or, as is the process to become an instructor in the United States, where I am from. Becoming an instructor would vary in other countries, I’m sure)
To find an O&M instructor, you would reach out to your local school or foundation for the blind. Finding your nearest school for the blind could be done through…
Google search
Your Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) referring you to a school for the blind
A Social Service Worker reaching out to you and helping you contact the school
Possibly your school (as in grade/primary school, high school, university) reaching out to the nearest school for the blind on your behalf.
Unfortunately, there is not an abundance of schools and foundations, so your nearest might still be a far travel distance. My local school is a 45 minute drive away. For some it might a few hours away.
This is, again, a U.S. experience, because our land mass is spaced out, and something like a six hour drive feels like nothing to most people (although is highly impractical and very difficult to a blind person who cannot drive themselves), but in other countries a six hour drive would mean crossing several borders, and other countries have different social programs.
There is not a full and complete database of every available school for the blind either, no one website to find every possible option. For example, the school I went to wasn’t listed in most of the website resources I found, even though it has seven branches and locations.
This is more a complaint at the real life struggle to find disabled services, that there are few comprehensive resources out there. If you ask me, it should be made significantly easier to find and access your local blind communities. Accessibility and disabled services should be easily available everywhere.
If your story is based in a real world location, googling ‘school for the blind (city/county/country)’ should suffice in finding the one most local to your setting.
What might a school for the blind provide for your character?
Well, on top of helping your character connect to an O&M instructor, a school for the blind might provide other rehabilitation classes and access to additional resources.
Those rehabilitation classes could include lessons on:
-Reading/Writing Braille & using brailling machines
-Technology classes for screen readers, magnifiers, etc on your computer and smart phone.
My local school has separate classes specific to Andriod, iOS, JAWS, Zoomtext Fusion
-Independent Living skills (cooking, cleaning, organizing, planning how to get groceries and medications)
-Self Improvement (dancing, art, music, self defense. These were classes my school taught)
The additional resources form these schools might include-
Referrals to counselors for coping with vision loss
Access to their audio-book and braille library
Access to magnifier devices, brailler machines (think of a typewriter for writing braille)
Some schools also offer grade-school or high-school education, meaning blind children/teens learn there instead of a mainstream school.
Some schools have lodgings for clients to stay at while going through rehabilitation, especially if the vision loss is sudden and severe. They live on-campus and take part in classes. Other schools only have day classes offered and you need to find transportation for every visit. Many schools might have a rehabilitation specialist or O&M instructor visit you in your home.
My local school did the last two. They had on site classes, but the school is a 45 minute drive from me, so I only visited a few times. They were able to send an O&M instructor to me.
On Wednesdays at 3 pm she would drive to my house and give me lessons on using my cane. Those included her driving me to different locations to practice certain skills (like using stairs and escalators at the mall, or crossing a moderately busy intersection, or visiting a bus station to practice boarding a bus safely and communication with a bus driver where my stop was).
She also brought multiple different types of canes for new students to try out and determine which felt best for them.
The Many Types of Canes
Long Canes are used to sweep the immediate area in front of the cane user as they’re walking. This is the cane type that the general public is most familiar with seeing. There are several sub-types of long canes. They can also be called white canes or probing canes.
[Image Description: Man in business clothes traveling on the side walk with a white and red cane. End Image Description]
White cane can be a misnomer for two reasons: One, the concept of the standard cane for the blind can look different in different countries. In America, the standard is white with a red tip. In some countries the standard is an all-white cane. In some countries an all white cane might mean the user is blind while a white cane with a red tip means the user is deaf-blind.
Two, some companies like Ambutech allow customers to customize their cane colors and tips. Example: Molly Burke’s hot pink cane. My white cane with a purple tip. An all black or all sky blue or all red or all purple cane. A black cane with a blue or purple tip. Ambutech also allows customers to request neon-colored reflective tape to make their canes more visible at night.
Probing cane is not a term I’ve personally heard before, but it is a term Vision Aware uses on their website.
There are three main types of long canes:
Non-folding Canes: a cane that has no sections, cannot be folded or collapsed.
[Image Description: stock photo of man in business suit with a non-folding all white cane. End Image Description]
Folding Canes: The cane has 3-6 sections depending on its height. The taller the cane, the more sections it has. The sections are separate pieces that are made to snap together and are held together by a strong elastic rope inside the sections.
[Image Description: a folding cane with four sections, white with a red tip, and a rolling marshmallow tip. End Image Description]
Telescopic Canes: in which the sections slide into each other, similar to a telescope/spyglass, rather than pulling apart and folding. The handle is the widest section, and the tip section is the thinnest.
[Image Description: Three stacked images of a blue telescopic cane. First is of the cane completely collapsed. Second is of the sections partially sliding out. Third is the cane sections completely out and locked.]
Beyond that is also the Identification Cane. The function of this cane is to visibly identify the user as blind. It’s not used for O&M the way long canes are, there is no sweeping out the next two steps. It can be used as a support cane, however.
It’s appeals most to the elderly who not only make up a huge percentage of the blind community, but might also benefit most from having both a support cane and an identifier for their blindness, in case they need assistance.
[Image Description: identification cane with curved handle. All white with red tip. End Image Description]
A note: From what I’ve heard in the blind community, some people prefer solid/non-folding canes over folding or telescopic canes. The reason for this is that solid canes transfer vibration better than folding or telescopic canes. It’s said that the more sections a cane has, the less precise the vibrations are.
Some cane users train themselves to understand the vibrations of the surfaces their canes are touching. It tells them what kind of surface they’re on (wood vs. marble vs. concrete), if there are nearby objects to their cane. While I rely somewhat on cane vibrations to tell me what surface I’m walking on (more on that later), it is beyond my current O&M abilities to use cane vibrations to sense nearby walls or objects.
Cane vibrations are just an additional information-sense to add to the others in use, and extra bit of data input.
Parts of the Cane: Materials, Handle, Tips, Sections, Elastic Band
Material
The three most common types of materials used to make canes are aluminum, carbon-fiber, and fiberglass. Each material has some drawbacks and benefits.
The ideal cane is lightweight and durable. It should be strong enough to withstand hitting something solid without bending or splintering.
Aluminum is strong and durable, but heavy. If it’s damage, it’s more likely to bend than break entirely. A bend can be straightened out, but it takes considerable strength.
Carbon-fiber is lightweight and durable. It’s stronger than fiberglass, and it can bend out of shape rather than splintering.
Fiberglass is lightweight but a bit rigid. If it breaks, it splinters.
Handles and Elastic Bands
While some canes can have specialized grips (plastic, wood, corkboard) the most common handle material is a black rubber handle that is about ten inches long, give or take. In the previous photos you’ve seen, the canes have had black rubber handles.
Here is an example of a cane with a wood-mesh material used as the handle.
[Image Description: a four section white cane with a red tip and a orange wood mesh handle, with black elastic band attached. End Image Description]
The benefits of black rubber handles over others are that it’s easier to hold onto, especially if your palms are wet or sweaty, than a plastic or polished wood handle. It also wouldn’t show the indents or scratches from wear and tear daily use. I’m guessing that is cheaper to make on the manufacturing standpoint, and thus is conveniently the standard.
Pay attention to the black elastic band attached to the handle in the above photo. Notice how it has a tied off loop? That is so that when the cane is folded, that loop can be stretched over the folded sections to hold it together.
[Image Description: a four section folding cane folded up with the black band around them. End Image Description]
Additional benefits or functions of the elastic could be to use it as a wrist strap while using the cane, or hanging it up on a hook while not in use. I tend to have my cane folded up and tuck my wrist under the strap to hold it more securely while carrying it. Images of that ahead in my cane-isms section.
Cane Height
Ideal cane heights depend on the user. For most users, you want your cane height to be to your shoulder, give or take a few inches. You might need a longer cane if you are a fast walker with long strides, or a shorter cane if you prefer to hold your cane at a lower angle than is traditional.
What I mean when I talk about holding your cane at a certain angle is that the standard is to hold your cane handle in your dominant hand and position it in front of your belly button, moving it side to side with each step. Traditional grip methods are holding your hand palm side up with your cane in hand, or to hold the cane at the section joint closest to the handle with what is called the pencil grip, holding the cane like a fat pencil.
Depending on the height, a cane can have anywhere between three and six sections. Longer canes have more sections. The top section includes the handle, and the last section includes the stripe color (traditionally red, unless customized) and the tip.
The sections of the cane are generally slightly reflective, regardless of color. If you hold a cane up to the light you’ll see tiny specks of light reflected back, almost like very fine, tiny particle glitter paint. This detail is important in cane production because it makes the cane more visible at night, especially if something like car headlights reflect off it while someone is crossing.
Additional visibility at night can be added by wrapping stripes of reflective tape along the shaft.
Cane Tips
There are several different tip options for canes.
[Image Description: four different types of cane tips on a blue background with labels. From left to right: marshmallow tip, ball tip, pencil tip, glide tip.]
[Image Description: a rolling marshmallow tip with a blue background. End Image Description]
[Image Description: Bandu basher tip with a white background. For anyone not familiar with the name, the long, curved cane tip that looks like a hockey stick. End Image Description]
Some of these tips are better for the tap-tap method of cane travel, as in tapping the spots where you plan to step. They can also be used to feel out the shapes of objects, stairs, etc.
marshmallow tip, pencil tip,
They should not be scraped over surfaces, the tips will wear down much faster than they should. There are better tips for rolling over surface
Some tips are better for the rolling method of cane travel, which is the method I use. They aren’t great for tapping, but it can be done in a pinch.
rolling marshmallow tip, ball tip, glide tip
The Bandu Basher tip, the hockey stick shaped tip, is best for hovering an inch off the ground and lightly tapping objects. It could be tapped. It should not be scraped over the ground like a rolling tip. It hovers.
After enough use, the tips will wear down and need to be replaced. The part of the tip that has the most contact with the ground, usually the edge of the shape, gets scrapes, sands down, and eventually begins to look like it was shaved off while still having bits of plastic still gripped to it.
Never fear, cane tips can be removed and replaced when they wear out, replacing the whole cane is not necessary.
Some tips slip on or twist on. Others hook on. By hook on I mean that the elastic that keeps the cane sections together also has a loop at the tip end that a hook onto and stay held into place. Look back at the photo of the rolling marshmallow tip and you will see the hook that attaches to the black elastic.
Cane tips sell for about 5 - 10 U.S. dollars, plus shipping, so it’s advised to buy several back up tips with your cane. I replace my rolling marshmallow tips once every six to twelve months. I don’t know if that’s considered too much or too often. The last time I needed to replace mine was June 2019 (It’s July 2020 at the date of writing this, but I’ve hardly left my home for the last six months because of COVID-virus related quarantine/social distancing.)
Sensory Details/Describing What Using a Cane Feels Like
Every surface type feels and sounds different when tapping or rolling a cane over it. It’s this difference that tells us a lot about our environment.
It tells us when we stepped off the side walk onto the grass, when we’ve walked inside because the concrete changes to wood or carpet flooring. These little details become trail markers too, useful for places we anticipate traveling to a lot.
Example: A week before every semester in college, I would travel to each of the classrooms and learn necessary routes. I learned that certain paths had giant cracks in the sidewalk that would be distinct enough to use as a trail marker to where I was on a path, or that certain paths went from cement to gravel, or cement to brick.
Carpet: The sound is very soft, and if you’re rolling your cane across carpet it sounds like a quiet swish-swish-swish. Tapping sounds depend on how thick the carpet padding underneath is, the thicker the carpet the softer the sound. If there’s a lot of padding then taps don’t make much sound, but if the padding is thin or underneath the carpet is tile or concrete then you hear a louder thudding tap. It’s still pretty quiet. If you’re rolling the cane you would feel a little bit of drag, the cane moves slower over the carpet. The thicker or shaggier the carpet is, the more drag it has.
Wood floor: Cane tips make rumbling sounds when rolling over wood floors. The smoother the wood, the less it rumbles. There’s a little vibration moving from the cane tip, through the cane and into your hand as you roll over wood planks. Very small. The more sensitive you are to vibrations, the more you feel it. Tapping makes hallow, thudding sounds on the wood. Sometimes they sound a little snappish if you’re tapping harshly. You feel stronger vibrations when tapping. Older wood feels softer, with more give. New wood is stronger, more vibrations in the cane.
Tile:It depends on the size of the tiles and the wideness of the grout lines, but it’s not a pleasant feeling. Tiles have grout lines, which are little divets between the tiles. The smaller the tiles or rougher the grout lines are, the more the cane vibrates in your hands. Every bump is felt running from the cane to your hand. The sound is a little grating too. Imagine fifty sets of stiletto shoes walking on tile, that’s what it sounds like when you roll your cane over rough, small tiles. Larger tiles with smoother grout lines aren’t so bad. Tapping the tile with your cane sounds like one really loud step of a stiletto heal, one step for each tap. Tile floors are usually found in bathrooms, kitchens, and industrial locations where the room is going to have harder walls (more tile, concrete, etc) and few furniture, so the room echoes more.
Linoleum: is a smooth even surface. It feels like your cane is gliding when you roll it, barely feeling any vibrations. The rolling sounds are very soft because of the lack of bumps, however tapping sounds are a bit louder. Not as snappish as tile or marble, but almost.
Marble: is similar to linoleum in its smoothness. Your cane glides when rolling. Tapping sounds are sharp. Because marble floors are common in high end malls, luxury homes, and fancy office building entries, places that usually have high ceilings and hard walls with minimal decorations and minimalist furnishing, those sharp tapping sounds may echo. Assuming there isn’t too much noise and the environment is relatively quiet.
Concrete: (I’m referring to concrete found in parking garages and industrial buildings, not sidewalk) It depends on the age of the concrete and how it’s maintained. Old concrete with lots of cracks and mini-craters feels very different from smooth concrete that was set less than a year ago. With old concrete there’s a rattling sound as your cane tip rolls over the bumps and those vibrations travel up your cane. New concrete can feel similar to marble or linoleum. The taps are loud thuds on dull concrete and sharper on new concrete.
Sidewalks: are made of concrete, but in my experience they feel a little different than the above example. Sidewalks have a grittier surface, they’re slightly rougher, more dry. There’s a bit more rolling cane vibration with sidewalks and the taps have more of a thud sound. And because they’re outside, you’re unlikely to hear any echoes unless you’re walking in an alley or between buildings.
Asphalt: is one of the worst surfaces in my personal opinion. Asphalt is the material used in roads and it’s made to be rough and gritty so that car tires can grip onto it and not lose traction while driving. The older and more damaged it is, the rougher it is. Because it’s rough the vibrations are much stronger, sometimes irritatingly so. I can’t roll my cane over asphalt because the bones in my hand can’t handle those kinds of vibrations, so I almost always use the tapping method instead. The sounds are gritty and dull. Unfortunately, asphalt is an unavoidable surface, unless you can find a way to never need to cross a street or walk through a parking lot.
Note: the white or yellow lines that have been painted into asphalt sometimes feel smoother because of the material they’re made of and because they’re added after the asphalt has been laid down.
Note: There’s something called tarmac which is similar to asphalt, used for a similar purpose, and more common in the U.K. (I believe) but I can’t say that I’ve ever knowingly walked on it so I have no personal experience to give you.
Gravel: Another one of those evil surfaces. Gravel is just loose rocks and they’re common in rural roads, driveways, some landscaping. The looseness of them is what makes them untrustworthy. It makes a crunching sound. If you roll your cane, you’re likely to end up tossing small bits of rock and dust here and there. If you tap, you’ll hear the crunch but your brain might not translate that into “it’s gravel” until you’re walking on it and only realize when you walk over it and the sharp rocks begin digging into your shoes.
Wood Chips: I don’t have any experience with this since vision loss and getting a cane, so I’m using my memories of being on the playground in grade school because the surface on the playground was wood chips. I’d say wood ships are a love child between gravel and wood floors. The surface is loose and rolling your cane over it would kick up loose chips and dust. It would probably sound similar to walking on sand I think, because wood chips are much softer than gravel but not as consistent as wood. If it’s rained recently, then the waterlogged wood chips sound even softer.
Hard Dirt: I’m thinking dirt roads here, which are a lesser evil to asphalt and gravel. They can be rough like all roads, but the material isn’t has hard and solid. Rolling your cane will kick up dust on a dry day, but if it rained a few days ago you might hear a soft crunch as you roll over wet dirt. Tapping will have a very soft thud.
Soft Dirt: Think gardening dirt. Because it’s so soft, it makes very little sound and is easily kicked up. There’s a bit of drag, about the same or slightly more drag than grass or sand. Tapping has almost no sound but you might feel a slight give as your tip lands in the dirt, a slight resistance as it sinks in.
Mud: Yuck. I’m imagining this getting in my cane tip and how gross it would be after. Sound and feeling depend on how wet the mud is. Wet mud sounds slurpy. There’s more squish if you roll or tap your cane. Your character might not identify it right away until their shoes begin slipping as they walk over the mud. This is a personal experience. Drier mud sounds soft and feels almost solid underneath your cane. Wetter mud has more drag for a rolling cane. Muddy areas are also generally uneven because top soil has been displaced, so muddy hills and fields have unexpected but usually subtle changes in elevation.
Puddles: have both a slurpy and splash-splash sound. The slurpy sound is more common with rolling cane techniques. The splash sound is more common with tapping. The deeper the puddle, the louder is sounds and the more drag you experience. I am not fond of this texture/experience.
Snow: I have zero experience with snow since the development of blindness. So no experience of what it’s like to walk through with a cane. This is something I hope a blind reader can inform me on so I can edit this at a later date. My best guess is that it has a soft crunch, softer than the crunch of shoes in snow. A lot of drag too. Rolling through snow would probably be near impossible, especially if it’s deep snow or hard packed. Again, my best guess. The last time I experienced snow was when I was twelve.
Grass: One of my least favorites personally. Too much drag. Worse than shag carpeting. It’s very soft and doesn’t make much sound either. Like a crisp crunch you can barely hear. If the grass is wet or frosty you hear it a bit more crunch.
Surface with fallen Autumn leaves: Leaves everywhere! This is a bit dependant on whatever surface the leaves are on. It would soften the sound of cement, but there would be a louder crunch on grass. If the leaves are big and very curvy/pocketed then they’re easy to push aside. Smaller, flatter leaves don’t push as easily. The driest ones will crunch under your cane. It’s fun sometimes, if you’re the kind of person who likes stepping on leaves on purpose, but if you can’t see the leaves it might lose some of its fun and be more unexpected.
Sand: I’ve never personally taken my cane to the beach, despite living so close to the coast. The reason is because beach sand is so squishy and loose that it’s already impossible to stay steady on your feet. The sand is always sinking under your feet, unless you’re next to the water line and the dampness has made it firmer. So a cane isn’t very useful to me at the beach. Not to mention that sand isn’t something you want inside your cane joints if you want the cane to last. Sand will erode and damage the joints, regardless of if they’re metal or plastic. If I were to take my cane to the beach, it would make the softest crunching-swishy noise of sand sliding over sand, similar to what your footsteps sound like on sand, but possibly even quieter because canes are lighter.
Side Note: My mother sarcastically asked about rolling your cane through dog poop or gum left on the floor. Can’t say I’ve ever rolled through it, so couldn’t tell you. Use your imagination I guess, Mum
The Invention of Tactile Paving
These are amazing! Tactile Paving are those yellow (or sometimes grey) bumpy squares you see on ramps leading into parking lots or when crossing the street. In 1965, Japanese engineer Seiichi Miyake used his own money to develop a tactile brick that you could feel even when walking over it with shoes, and he designed this because a friend of his was losing their vision and he wanted to help. These are amazing, and accessible to everyone, even the blind who don’t have a cane or guide dog. These are literal life savers. Before I got my cane, if I felt those bumps under my shoes I knew to immediately stop because I was about to walk into the road. Because less than 10% of the blind community uses canes or guide dogs, this is the most accessible form of blind aide available.
[Image Description: a yellow rectangle of tactile paving in front of a ramp leading into a parking lot. End Image Description]
Note: similar detail, most doors in commercial buildings (in my localized experience) have a metal plate on the threshold to hold the door in place so there are no cracks underneath. The metal scraping sound when you roll or tap your cane on it is distinct but temporary and non-repeating, so it’s a good indication that you’ve reached and passed the threshold.
Blind-isms
I have a section in this guide about blind-isms, but these ones are focused specifically on cane use.
-Do. Not. Touch. My. Cane. Don’t. Just fucking don’t.
-The above ism comes from the fact that our cane is our safety net, an extension of our body, our eyes, the one thing that makes sure we’ll get somewhere safely. For that reason, blind people hate having their canes (or their on duty guide dogs) touched by strangers, acquaintances, friends we’re not very close to, some family members.
Important Note: That is a universal thing for disabled people. Don’t. Touch. Their. Mobility Aides. It’s assault. Touching someone’s wheelchair or pushing them around without their expressed permission is assault. Moving their wheelchair while the user is currently standing is assault. (Most wheelchair users are not paralyzed, but they still need the wheelchair because of their medical condition, which is not your business to know). It doesn’t matter if the wheelchair is in the way, the disabled person needs it right there, do not touch it. Touching or grabbing someone’s support cane or their long cane is assault. Touching or moving someone’s walker is assault. Touching, poking at, or tampering with someone’s hearing aids is assault. Touching their oxygen tank or cannula is assault.
Back on topic-
-Idle motions with your cane while waiting in line. I often rest my chin on my cane or lean on it
-twirl my cane like a staff when I’m alone and no one can see. I would not ever do this in front of anyone because I don’t want anyone thinking it’s a toy or they can just touch or grab it. I’m just a little childish and bored sometimes and idle motions are a common thing for people with ADHD.
-When carrying my folded cane inside (like say a store) I hang it from my wrist by the strap.
-Keeping my cane within arms reach at all times, even in situations where I don’t need it currently. Example: if we’re doing a classroom assignment where I need to leave my desk, I know the classroom well enough to not use my cane, but I won’t leave it at my desk, ever. (This does not apply at home. And in the homes of a very few, very trusted friends I will leave it somewhere I deem safe.)
-Having a set, specific place in my home (living with my immediate family, who almost never have guests) for my cane. In my case, it’s the top of an antique dresser in the living room, across from the door. It has a little bowl for my sunglasses as well. If I move out and have roommates, my cane will be in my room.
-Love me a bag or backpack that has enough space to discretely store your cane, but most of my bags cannot do that.
-People with folding canes develop a muscle memory for folding and unfolding their cane, so they can do it without really thinking about it.
-Unfolding my cane: I hold the black handle between my thumb and palm with my other fingers folded over the remaining three sections, cane tip pointing up. I slide the elastic over the tip, loosen my four fingers and roll my wrist to the side. The red colored section unfolds first and snaps into place with its neighboring section. I roll my wrist in the opposite direction so the next white section can unfold and snap into place with it’s neighboring section. Roll it back in the first direction and the third section snaps into place with the handle. My four section cane is now unfolded and straight.
-Sometimes I just grab the black handle and let the sections fall and unfold as they will, but this is less controlled and risks your cane bumping into something or someone.
-Folding my cane: I start with the black handle, lifting it up so the joints unlock. I fold it down, grab both sections in my hand and lift the second section away from the third and fold it over. Wrap my hand over all three sections and unlock it from the red section.
-Because I have a four section folding cane, the cane tip and the handle are on the same side while the metal joints are on the opposite side. Those metal joints are what my elastic slips over.
-A three or five folding cane will have the head of the handle (and its elastic) on the opposite side of the cane tip, and you will be folding the elastic over the cane joints and tip.
-A six section cane has the tip and handle facing the same direction like the four section cane.
-People with non-folding canes like leaning their canes up against walls and other objects when not in use. Corners are popular, the corner of a desk up against a wall too.
-But oh god the frustration when the cane randomly rolls out of place and hits the floor, it’s a combination of “Not again” and “did that really just happen” and “you had one job. one job.”
-Sitting with our cane tucked between our legs. Picture a bit of man spreading, the cane tip leaned against the side of our foot to keep it stable and the cane leaning against our shoulder or opposite knee, possibly also held securely with our fingers too.
-The no-manspreading alternative of that is with the cane leaning against our shoulder, cane tip resting on the toe of our shoe or the outside of it, held securely with our fingers or our arm wrapped around it, elbow hooking it.
(Okay, a while back I was looking for photos of someone using a cane to use as a reference for drawing Ulric. I only found three, and two of them were Daredevil promo photos. Which, no offense to Charlie Cox, but he is not blind and he does not use a cane in his daily life, he does not have that relationship a blind person has with a cane and the concept of a fifth limb, and it shows. So the photos were stiff and unusable, so I had to like use several photo references of different poses and Frankenstein them together to get what I wanted.
And I still haven’t finished the painting... fuck)
-In a car with a non-folding cane:
-Right passenger seat- The cane tip goes all the way into the corner of the foot well to the right of my feet, with the handle resting over my right shoulder or on the seatbelt. It pokes a bit past my headrest. The longer the cane, the harder it is to tuck into a car.
-The U.K. / Austrailian / New Zealand / Japan version of this (because they drive on the left side of the road with their drivers seats on the right side of the car) it’s like this: Cane tip in the foot well to the left of my feet, handle on my left shoulder or on the seatbelt.
Backseat: the absolute worst. There’s less foot well room, and if you’re in a sedan there is almost no room behind your shoulder for the handle. I position my cane diagonally with the handle on the shoulder closest to the door and the tip next to the foot closest to the middle.
-For this reason, no one with a non-folding cane will want to be sitting in the backseat.
About Guide Dogs
While my knowledge of guide dogs is limited only to what I can research and not personal, I will give you some basic facts and practical knowledge from said research.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind estimates that there are 10,000 guide dog teams out there in the world. That makes up 2% of the blind and visually impaired community.
Guide Dog Training
Becoming a guide dog is the most difficult form of dog training there is. The majority of dogs who enter guide dog training wash out and either become family dogs or go into a different type of service dog training, like medical response or PTSD/anxiety response, or possibly become therapy dogs, which is a career altogether different from being a service dog.
Guide dogs go through two or three years of training, which includes puppy training, basic socialization, proper behavior when on duty and actual guide training. Most service dogs only go through a year to a year and a half of training before they are partnered with a disabled handler.
Between the cost of training, the cost of housing and feeding the dog and the cost of vet bills from birth until being partnered with a blind handler, the overall cost of a guide dog is something like 30k to 40k. While most service dog training organizations require handlers to fundraise and pay for the cost of training (usually something like 15-30k), guide dog organizations give their dogs to qualified blind clients for free. These organizations pay for the dog costs through their own fundraising and charities. Fortunately for these organizations, guide dogs are a highly respected field and have a lot more charity directed their way, while other service dog types have less public interest when it comes to charity.
Guide Dog organizations have an application process, requirements, and a wait-list before you can be partnered with a guide dog.
Requirements to get a guide dog are (usually) as follows:
Must be legally blind (as in not visually impaired, but legally blind) and have had at least six months of O&M with a cane and demonstrate enough O&M stills to navigate by oneself. They also require you to be responsible enough to independently care for a dog, able to keep up with training and retraining of the dog, as well as financially able to handle food and vet bills (which are at least a few thousand dollars every year).
The reason for cane training before getting a guide dog is because the dog cannot do everything for you. You, the dog handler, are responsible for knowing where you are and how to get where you need to be.
The dog can’t read stop signs or tell when a light is green or red, nor do they have GPS to find a brand new location nor can they learn that route on the first try, nor will they know exactly where you want to go when you say “Starbucks” or “library” or “school” or “mom’s house” and guide you all by themselves. That falls on you, the dog handler, having enough orientation and mobility skills to know when a street is safe to cross and knowing how to learn new routes and how to keep on route and make sure you make the correct turns. A guide dog can’t communicate with bus drivers for you either, they don’t know which number bus to use or what stop to choose. That falls on the blind person’s own skill.
Other Guide Dog Resources
Molly Burke is a guide dog user and has made several videos about what kind of work guide dogs do, her personal experience being a guide dog user for over ten years, how she got a guide dog, specific commands, unique experiences with things like travel, etc. She has a playlist all about guide dogs, but here are some of my favorite videos.
How Guide Dogs Guide A Blind Person
Guide Dog User Answers the Most Googled Questions about Guide Dogs
How I Met My First Guide Dog
Final Thoughts:
There is a lot more to be said about Orientation and Mobility, such as:
How do you safely cross the street with a cane?
How do you learn new routes?
How does getting a cane significantly change your life?
How do family, friends, and strangers react to you “suddenly” having a cane?
I could also write a ton on other tools the blind community relies on so strongly, such as screen readers, magnifiers, etc. In fact, I originally promised to include those in my master post when Part Four was titled Part Four: What Your Blind Character Needs to Survive and Not Die. However, this guide is ages long and it feels better to focus on this specific topic for here.
Did you like this guide?
Consider checking out my other guides, links of which can be found on the master post here.
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I'm a student at a user experience design (UX) certificate program. For my student project I will be developing a mobile app solution that helps people with disabilities book travel that meets their needs, focusing on booking accommodations and booking travel to and from the airport.
I'm looking to conduct some research and I have a survey of about 15 questions. If you’re an adult with any type of physical, mental or emotional disability or who has particular needs and you travel somewhat regularly (once a year or more pre-covid) it would be extremely helpful if you could take my survey!!
Following that, I would like to schedule a 30-45 minute interview with survey takers, ideally for some time between September 16-21 (although availability after that is fine as well. )
Please DM me if you fit the description and are interested and I can send my survey link!!
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