THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE WEB
The idea of the metaverse has helped drive significant investment and innovation in immersive technology. From virtual worlds and social experiences to new generations of headsets and AI-powered wearables, companies have spent years exploring how XR could change the way we interact with digital information.
As these technologies continue to develop, the industry is also looking more closely at how immersive experiences fit into the ways people already use technology. For Mike Merchant, founder and CEO of Codazen, that means thinking about how XR can build on the internet we know today, rather than replace it.
Codazen has worked with Meta’s Reality Labs for more than a decade, dating back to the early days of Oculus. Merchant recalls trying one of the company’s earliest VR prototypes and immediately wondering what it would mean for the web. Having spent much of his career developing websites and digital platforms, he saw an opportunity to bring immersive experiences into a medium people were already familiar with.
That question has continued to shape Codazen’s work and its vision for what Merchant calls the immersive web.
Building on Familiar Experiences
As Merchant explained, for thousands of years, people have relied on two-dimensional surfaces to communicate and share information, from cave drawings and scrolls to books, computer screens, and smartphones. The technology has changed considerably, but many of the ways we navigate information have remained familiar.
Merchant believes that familiarity is important to the future of XR. Fully immersive environments offer unique opportunities for gaming, simulation, training, and other experiences where presence matters. But everyday activities like browsing websites, shopping, and reading may not require users to leave traditional interfaces behind.
Instead, he sees an opportunity to combine the two, allowing people to navigate familiar web pages while bringing three-dimensional content into the experience when it adds value.
Codazen has been exploring this approach through research and development focused on browser-based immersive experiences. One example involves real estate, where a user could scroll through a property listing and transition into a virtual walkthrough of the home. As they continue scrolling, they could move between rooms or explore the property in greater detail, all while using the same basic navigation they would on a traditional website.
The experience combines the convenience of web browsing with the ability to explore a space in three dimensions. It also gives users more control over when and how they engage with immersive content.
What Comes Next for the Immersive Web?
Merchant sees the growing availability of lightweight XR display glasses as an important development. Rather than relying exclusively on larger headsets, users could eventually browse websites through glasses that allow digital information and spatial content to appear within their field of view.
But making that possible will also require changes to the web itself. Merchant believes the next step will involve expanding browser capabilities and ensuring XR devices can support these experiences.
He points to the transition from desktop to mobile computing as a useful comparison. As smartphones became more widely adopted, websites evolved to accommodate smaller screens and touch-based navigation. The underlying web remained familiar, but developers adapted how people accessed and interacted with it.
A similar evolution could take place with spatial computing. Websites could continue to provide the information and navigation users expect while incorporating immersive elements where they make sense. For developers and businesses, that could open new possibilities across retail, education, real estate, entertainment, and other industries.
The challenge will be making these experiences practical and accessible across devices. Browser developers, hardware manufacturers, and content providers will all have a role in developing the tools and standards needed to support a more immersive web.
Expanding What’s Possible Online
The immersive web is still taking shape, but Codazen’s work raises an important question for the broader XR industry: How can we make immersive technology a natural part of the digital experiences people already use?
For Merchant, the answer lies in recognizing the value of both traditional interfaces and spatial computing. A fully immersive environment may be the right choice for one application, while another may benefit from adding a three-dimensional element to an otherwise familiar webpage. As a software development company involved in agentic AI and full-stack web experiences, Codazen has explored XR in its research and development.
As XR devices become more accessible and web technologies continue to evolve, the opportunity is to give users more ways to interact with digital content without requiring them to abandon the tools and habits they already know.
The next iteration of the web may look different from the one we use today, but it can build on the same foundation that has made the internet such an important part of everyday life.
To learn more about Codazen, visit codazen.com.
