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November 30, 2015

Following the Trends in Web Design and Development

Websites have become as integral a part of daily business as the pen and paper once were. We have grown far beyond the basic concept of simply saying that everyone who is serious about their business has to have a website. In today's modern business world, if you don't follow and understand the trends that changing technology brings to web design; you are going to fall behind. So how can anyone hope to keep up with the changes which come with everything from the SEO rules from Google (News - Alert) to what colors the websites should be to reflect the industry you serve? As always, it begins with the design.



Going Beyond Simple Web Design

Does a business owner actually need to understand every aspect of web designing in order to know if the website they have works? Truth is, probably not and in any event unless they are themselves a designer they simply won't. But any smart business owner does need to know and understand the basics of web design principles in order to be able to work with their designer. Beyond that, simple statistics will tell them if the website design holds water. The bottom line is, how well does it work?

There was a time when all any business asked of its site was to generate traffic and in turn give them a new way to show what they can do. For some companies this was enough. If they made cute doggie sweaters and have them in every size and color imaginable, they wanted a site that would show their customers their entire product line and enable them to order it. The catalog site is still a viable option, but today's web designer will probably show that doggie clothing company some interesting ways to bring new customers to his site and entice them to order. How he accomplishes this has changed as the technology that governs websites goes through some changes of its own.

Technology Brings Innovation in Development

Of course, if you want to truly drill down into what makes a good website move beyond and become a great website, you have to look at the role of web development as it is today. This aspect of creating a website goes into the real meat of the situation, as the developer does the actual html coding that renders the site. A good developer will not just follow trends but bring true innovation to a website. They will work with a designer to help find new technologies that do the following:

  1. Support the client's brand by making communication seamless
  2. Deliver the clients message in a way that resonates with their potential customers
  3. Organize the client's information in a visually pleasing way that is easy to understand
  4. Create a site that is a delivery vehicle that can successfully compete with the competition

The Importance of Responsive Design

You may have heard this term lately. It is the single most important innovation in web design and it is all about the smartphone. Because so many of today's consumers are using their smartphones to replace their computers, websites must be able to respond to the size and orientation of the screen no matter how it is viewed. These responsive website designs allow for this to happen in a way that is almost intuitive. This new technology has allowed more and more businesses to consider selling to potential customers directly from their smartphones. With this new design ability and the development of the technology to deliver it seamlessly, websites have become the most important portal to customers today. Many see this as much more than a trend but more as an actual revolution is how smartphones will impact the consumer world.

The Visual Simplicity of Image

The other new trend, brought about because of the rise of smartphones, is the large single image website landing page. The idea that simple is better and fewer choices make for fewer numbers leaving the site is behind this concept. Websites that open up as one big image that link to information make for an easy approach on smartphones and look stunning on big computer screens. This idea, of catching their eye first and then leading them into the site, has been quite successful lately.

A Return to Flat Design

You would think that with all of this crazy technology at hand, web designers would not have any interest in returning to the basics of what is often referred to as "flat design.' But the truth is that no matter how many bells and whistles we add to the design palette, in the end what always works best is simple good design. When a website uses flat color and a minimalist approach, the eye is restful and the viewer relaxes. This is a sign of a design that pleases the viewer and allows them to decide to explore further.

More Trends to Come

As you can see we have barely scratched the surface of the many great ideas that have been generated in the last few years by innovations in web design and the technology behind them. Stay tuned as I am sure there will be even more amazing ways that web design will continue to take business in exciting new directions. The trends and technology can only grow from here. 

Will Hughes (News - Alert) - Indoor geek, loves football and dogs. He spends most of his life blogging, or absorbing other blogs' insights.




Edited by Kyle Piscioniere
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