Web design evolves at a rate that is nearly impossible to track. Since a website can go live mere minutes after it has been created, trends and influences can be tracked in a matter of days. Sites can be edited to reflect aesthetic shifts as those shifts are occurring; savvy web designers will never fall behind current trends if they are willing to edit constantly. Websites can be edited on a surface level to reflect the public’s preferences for colour schemes or logo appearances. They can also be altered on a structural level. The way consumers spend money online can spark changes in the way corporate websites are built. Ad placement grows sleeker as consumers become familiar with current marketing techniques and become immune to them.
Web trends no longer apply to just websites. All aspects of online marketing are linked. A website must be easily viewable on smart phones. If it cannot be read or accessed on phones, the company in question will garner a reputation for being out of touch with its target market. A new arena for web designers is touch-screen compatibility. They are only now figuring out the best ways to harness this new technology.
Do right by your customers
Businesses cannot build their websites according to outdated marketing rules. There are many ideas that are prevalent in the marketing industry that do not actually increase corporate profits. These notions treat consumers like they are stupid while still trying to make money off of them. Consumers can tell when a company is out to make some quick money. A telltale sign of a cynical company is a shoddy website with no compatibility features. A business has to prove that it respects its customers and wants to develop long-term relationships with them. Doing this necessitates a larger start-up investment, but it will pay off in droves when the business is able to sustain itself for a long time.
Adjust the marketing plan accordingly
All of these ideas should be reflected in a company’s web design. The company should focus on reaching consumers where the consumers already are. On an obvious level, this means that a company needs to make sure that its site looks nice on a tablet, laptop or phone; the site needs to load quickly and be easy to navigate on all devices of all sizes. On a less obvious level, these ideas point toward a need to tap into what customers think when they are shopping for the products or services that the company offers. It would be a mistake to design a website that reflects only the employees and corporate atmosphere of a business. The site needs to look like it was made for consumers. A business would be more successful if it polled its consumers and adjusted its marketing campaign to reach the people who are buying its services.
Image trends are changing
An interesting trend in web design is the increasing number of pixels that are contained in a single image unit. Designers are creating multiple versions of the same image, with the clearest, most detailed versions made to show up on the newest devices. Another purely aesthetic trend is the use of one big background image that stays in place. Old web templates attached text and smaller images to backgrounds, so the background images would scroll along with the rest of the content. When the large image is fixed in place, all of the content scrolls on top of it. With the background tacked in place, one way of displaying text is placing it on transparent panels. The background is visible underneath rectangles that provide contrast, allowing text to be easily read. This makes text legible without making the images in the background unrecognisable.
Less can sometimes be more
Minimalism is becoming very popular in the youth market. A minimal landing page with a fashionable design can be loaded on any device, and if it links to a more complex main website, there is a greater chance that consumers will visit that site eventually. A landing page doesn’t always have to convey every bit of information about a company. Building a brand and establishing an aesthetic identity is sufficient in some cases.
Some new trends are conducive to rapid consumption of information. A tool bar that stays attached to the top of a browser while the body of a website scrolls underneath it allows a viewer to access search features and other parts of the website without having to roll up to the beginning of the page. Continuous scrolling scripts load new information constantly so customers do not have to click over to new pages to keep reading. A great deal of information can be contained on a single page with sliding panels and circular image bubbles. Instead of overwhelming customers with blocks of text, the same content can be displayed in images with dynamic properties. This way, consumers will enjoy looking at the website and will be more likely to make purchases.
Author Chris Anderson
Toxic Creative – RESULT DRIVEN DESIGN & MARKETING
We’re based in Northampton and are experts in all aspects of graphic design, website design and marketing, from dynamic websites and printed literature to logo design and brand development … we do it all.
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