As a modern entrepreneur it’s important to be aware of what web design developments lye in the year ahead. In this article we share our expectations and insights to expected web design developments for 2013.
Responsive Web Design
I predict that responsive web design will be in huge demand throughout 2013. Businesses owners are becoming aware that if their websites aren’t user-friendly on mobile or tablet devices then they are missing out on a lot of business. The use of modern mobile devices will continue to soar so more and more businesses will be pressured into developing their websites to be responsive.
Some businesses have considered and invested into mobile sites but these are by no means the most effective solution. Mobile sites are high maintenance. By owning and managing two separate websites you are simply doubling your workload. If your mobile and general website is out of sync you could also potentially damage your brand.
Personally, I lover responsive design, because web designers are being forced into making their websites mobile and tablet friendly they are in fact improving their overall design skills since it’s vital that the sites are neat and clean. Poor quality web designers that produce messy, complicated websites will soon loose customer demand. I predict that responsive web design will be at the top of most business owners checklists for 2013.
Typography
Quality web design companies continuously look into ways to reduce the size of website content such as images, video and javascript and increase web page loading speeds. Google is pressurising web designers to create ultra fast, clean coded web pages to improve users online experience. Websites with fast web page loading times will see their website soar up the SERP’s. There are too many websites that carry too much weight within their web pages. Going forward web developers will need to concentrate on trimming the fat off slow websites. A great way to instantly increase your websites loading time is to compress images and reduce the amount of javascript that you use.
Bon Voyage To Flash
It comes with no surprise that Flash will almost become extinct by the end of 2013. Flash was seen to be a fashionable technology some time ago however search engines are continuously lowering the rankings of websites that contain Flash. Because of this, Flash is being shoved out the door faster than ever.
Tech giants such as ‘Apple’ have never embraced Flash technologies. Apple products are used by millions of people and if Flash technology does not work on their devices, it play a key role as to whether search engines accept websites that contain it.
If you like what Flash can do but don’t wish to pay the penalty for using it, then you can use alternative code to achieve similar results. HTML5 is widely accepted by major search engines and this could help you combat Flash once and for all.
Large Images
High quality images will need to optimised for search engines. Google wants web pages to load faster, to fulfil this requirement you will need to compress image sizes. Smaller image file sizes will also enhancing your bandwidth and data usage.
Don’t worry, images are by no means on their way out, if anything we will see a significant increase in large images being used throughout 2013. Simply ensure that the file size is reduced for web purposes.
White Space
In 2012 websites were being built to include more and more whitespace. I’m certain that this will continue throughout 2013 since more websites will become responsive. Web pages that contain white space are also far easier to read from especially when using mobile devices.
Social Networks
I predict that more websites will include more and more social networking options. The standard networks such as; Facebook, Twitter, Linked In & Google + are included within most websites nowadays, however more websites will begin to include social networks that are more relevant to their niche such as Pinterest for artists and Instagram for news websites.
Colour Schemes
Colour schemes are always changing and always will. It’s evident that the most successful websites only use a select few colours within their web design. For instance PayPal only uses Blues, Whites & Greys. This makes it easy for users to understand, digest and react to a websites call to action points. Rainbow colour websites with scruffy, un-natural colour schemes are quickly becoming old-fashioned. Neat and clean colour pallets will continue to be the most professional solution for 2013.
Mobile Apps
Whilst there will be a big push towards responsive web design, I can see continued growth for mobile apps in 2013. Most mobile apps are far easier to use than their mobile website equivalent. The other added benefit for businesses is that they can promote special offers quickly and easily through their apps.
Content Will Remain As King
I have continued confidence that content will continue to be king throughout 2013. Good quality content will be read, shared and linked to, these signals will enhance your websites overall online presence. Social signals will be insignificant if there is no quality content contained within your site since no one will link or share your pages.
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