We’re now officially in the year 2014, and what better way to kick off the new year than with an exciting new web design! Here’s our list of web design trends that we predict we’ll be seeing a lot more of this year.
Flat Design
Flat design focuses on simplicity, without gradients, shadows or beveled edges. The emphasis of the design is on functionality, with fewer visual cues or skeuomorphic design elements. Most give credit to the start of this trend to Microsoft for their flat design, with Apple also adopting the look.
Make it Mobile-Friendly
By now, you’ve probably heard all about responsive web design as one way to optimize your site for mobile use. More and more users are choosing to access the web on phones and tablets rather than desktops, so now is the time to step up your game! This can mean making a separate site just for mobile users, ensuring that your visitors can engage with social media while on mobile, or having more scrolling navigation. Also make sure your design is simple and clean for easy navigation on those small, shiny phone screens.
Videos, videos, videos! (as well as animated GIFs)
This is one trend that we think will be picking up this year. Using video in place of text can entertain the most stimulation-needy visitor. For the adventurous, experiment with implementing video as part of your design, in place of a large background image, or nestled in the hero area. This example showcases the drama a video background can bring to your website.
A warning, however! Before jumping into using video in your design, be aware of how this can affect the user experience: consider site loading times, user navigation, and whether a large video playing in the background can be just plain ol’ fashioned distracting for your intended audience!
As you consider implementing any of these trends, remember that aesthetics are only one aspect of web design. Keep in mind the user experience, placement of content, and site navigation.
These are our top 3 predictions for trends we’ll see in 2014. What are your thoughts? We’ll be adding more predictions to the list, so stay tuned for our next article!