Archive for month: January, 2014

There is no better time to go through the latest in web design trends than at the start of the New Year. New trends are becoming popular while many of the old are becoming something to avoid. No matter if you are designer or a client, keeping up to date with these trends can benefit your visitors.

By Muhammad Rafizeldi (MRafizeldi) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

1. Content is still king. It is very important that you focus all your energy in providing the highest quality of content to your visitors. It may be information about your company’s new products, or perhaps it may be a web base tool for users to sort out documents. No matter what your website does, make sure it is high in user useability and contains information that hits the spot. Content should not be copied from elsewhere. One great way to ensure your content is unique is to use a website like Copyscape to check it.

1. HTML5 and CSS3 effects have been buzzing throughout the design community since they were released. The biggest advantage of using them is that they load faster than traditional animated GIFs and are supported in many modern devices including tablets and smartphones. Fortunately for those starting out, many online tools are available to generate HTML5 and CSS5 codes such as using a CSS generator. It is also a good idea to verify your code using a validation service.

1. Full size photos and videos are becoming increasingly popular. In the past, they were used as headers but according to the trends seen this year, many webmasters are also making their backgrounds from large videos. The videos are however not your traditional video. They usually have a darker contrast, lighter images and usually no sound.

1. The popularity of smartphones has led to users being attracted to app style interfaces. One reason why this might be the case is due to the multiple styles of devices that are currently on the market. Many websites can now be accessed via both computer and handheld devices.

1. The last growing trend is the inclination towards responsive design, which relates back to the previous point. Basically it is the usage of CSS to render the display of a website to adjust to the screen in accordance to the device it is displayed on. This means the user does not need to download a separate app or be redirected to another website if they are using a mobile device.