Five Hot Trends in Web Design for 2011

The theories at the back of a high-quality web layout are not in contrast to those at the back of extraordinary contemporary architecture, i.E., the shape (form) of construction ought to be decided through its reason (feature). As long as a building, a machine, a product, or maybe a website works as meant, it, in reality, shouldn’t count number what it looks like, right? So “fluff” with no reason is wasted, frequently at an extraordinary cost. But extraordinary architects and architects like Frank Lloyd Wright understood that splendor for splendor’s sake became now not always an awful aspect.

Web Design

Beautiful designs created for no cause aside from decoration may be extraordinarily beneficial for attracting new clients or setting up a business’ identification. “Less is more,” or designing something so simple, logical, and utilitarian that it will become simply blah and dull, would not always paintings. Customers are frequently interested in fancy, flashy, amusing, and imaginative things, and this principle apply in the area of web design as nicely. But we can move overboard with the extraordinary and difficult designs that do nothing to add to our customers’ experiences.

It’s now not adequate to create lovely Photoshop mock-ups. These are easily forgotten. Internet users these days are busy and want greater capability. They’re attracted to websites that might be complex, multifunctional, and unique at the same time. And our task as internet designers/ developers is to make certain they locate the revel they’re seeking out to hold them on the website online!

1. Depth & Simplicity in Color

You may be questioning, “but I hate websites designed in shades of grey. Simplicity is good but does it ought to be boring?” No, step far away from the black, white, and gray. Be courageous; add some shade to your designs. You will be amazed at how a good deal of impact color can get your message throughout in an appealing and friendly manner.

The trend is to use only two or 3 important hues but use them wisely. And keep in mind to make the textual content well-described and smooth to examine. Some humans think colors like crimson are difficult to apply to the web. Not so if performed with a few forethoughts. Your design can be easy, easy, and effective with the subtle and subdued use of colors – even crimson.

At the same time, we are residing in an era when 3-D is extremely popular. You’re right; we have a 3D generation in net design, but we can create fake 3-D results with the professional use of layering and nicely-placed shadows. One effect is “parallax scrolling.” Although it is now not genuinely new, it has most effective currently grow to be extra popular. Layered pics pass around the website online at exclusive speeds to create an interesting 3-d illusion.

2. Make it Touchscreen and Mobile-geared up

People are wild today over their smartphones, drugs, iPads, and so forth. In reality, the prediction is that greater smartphones will promote this yr than PCs, and you want to be prepared to reply.

You cannot just simplify your original web page design or layout of a dedicated cell website and assume you are right to go. Not so. Many cellular sites deliver viewers the choice to connect with the original website online, so you can expect to lose visitors if your original site is not mobile-optimized.

It would help if you also reflected on the reality that maximum web design has always been mouse-oriented. But telephone and pill users can not mouse over something to light up hyperlinks or use drop-down menus. How do you ought to accommodate the new fingertip navigation?

Horizontal navigation and mag-style layouts appear equipped-made for touchscreens. And, because we now do not need to fear approximately screen decision sizes, you have to keep in mind “liquid layouts,” in which the boxes at the page flex are based totally on the viewport window’s size. Since so many visitors can be looking at your web page horizontally and vertically, this will provide you with a lot more flexibility than constant-width layouts. Viewers will respect it.

Web Design

3. Quick Response

I don’t know about you, but I am beginning to see the ones little barcode squares anywhere nowadays – in magazines, in the grocery keep aisles, on business playing cards, and so forth. They are referred to as “QR,” or Quick Response, codes, and also you need to be taking benefit of this warm new advertising tool.

Customers on the cross can get statistics by taking a photograph of the QR code with their smartphone digital camera or a different cellular tool. (Some can also must download the code reader.) They can right away get admission to a website, a selected landing page consisting of a video testimonial you need to sell, an agency’s social media sites, or even region an automated cellphone call direct to the commercial enterprise. One coffee keeps in Vancouver, British Columbia, serves up their menu to teach passengers and lets them order whilst at the train and locate their cup of Joe watching for them when they arrive at the store.

Embed them on your internet site to present traffic a shortcut on your mobile website and encompass them in your advertisements and promotional materials. The QR also can be an amazing way to music traffic via placing a special referral code at the URL you embed within the code. Or use the QR as your avatar whilst you depart feedback on websites. Make positive you positioned them on mobile-equipped net pages so people can view the page without problems with their phones.

4. Thumbnail Design

Now that the geniuses at Google have delivered users to the benefit of thumbnail browsing, you can want to do not forget tinkering together with your site designs to be sure the factors will display nicely (Flash-based total websites will now not) and seize the viewer’s attention.

Haven’t attempted browsing this manner? Just hover over the magnifying glass for your Google seek listing (unless you’re using a smartphone), and you may see what the site’s content material seems like without clicking through to the website online. Instant gratification and much less work! But you may see that many websites appearance plain and uninteresting when considered this manner. Make positive yours is not considered one of them.

5. CSS3 and HTML5

With the explosion of CSS3 and HTML5, you can start to break away from problematic Flash and take advantage of several brand-new technologies. Essentially, what works on a computer browser will work on a phone (with few exceptions), so mobile assistance is now not difficult.

CSS3 is a powerful new device that needs to help you design with greater ease text-shadow, photograph transparency, rounded corners, glow effects, and border styling. It takes the exceptional sections of CSS and separates them into modules, providing you with a greater browser and operating machine flexibility. As it turns into completely followed, there can be an entire host of advanced style houses along with the capacity to use a couple of historical photographs and multiple desk-much fewer columns.

Web Design

HTML5 is the subsequent enlargement of the HTML fashionable that inspires almost every website online on the net. While in use (many Google products already use many of its capabilities), it is also nevertheless in development. HTML5 will add many new functions designed to deal with multimedia and graphical content material so that you might not rely upon plugins and APIs. You can pull photographs, audio, and video directly into your files and make the whole lot effortlessly reachable through JavaScript. The media-heavy net can now be accessible to iPhone and iPad customers.

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Alcohol scholar. Bacon fan. Internetaholic. Beer geek. Thinker. Coffee advocate. Reader. Have a strong interest in consulting about teddy bears in Nigeria. Spent 2001-2004 promoting glue in Pensacola, FL. My current pet project is testing the market for salsa in Las Vegas, NV. In 2008 I was getting to know birdhouses worldwide. Spent 2002-2008 buying and selling easy-bake-ovens in Bethesda, MD. Spent 2002-2009 marketing country music in the financial sector.