Welcome to the new decade in web design!

 

In the last decade we witnessed new emergences in the world wide web. This new emergence not only marked newer and more innovative applications of the internet and its contents, it also opened up a whole new galaxy of trendy, stylish and useful designs.

 

And as the decade turns, I see the web design community predicting newer trends in the beginning of 'the teens'.

 

I have assessed other opinions and am happy to present my predictions for popular design trends for 2010 and beyond:

 

Oversized logo and header

This is an essential replacement of splash pages. Over-sized logos and headers will deliver key messages to visitors without requiring them to click on anything. It will necessarily target to create a visual impact easily recognised and remembered, especially considering bandwidth speeds have greatly improved.

 

I have been pushing for this one to take effect in some of my design studies way back in 2005 at another company, but it was not accepted at that point. I'm glad that the web is opening its doors to achieve it now.

 

Illustrations or hand-drawn designs

We have seen this trend in existence for a while, but not on a mass scale. Web designers across the globe are sure that this trend will become an integral part in web designs for years to come.

 

Typography

This still has issues. Using different typography in designs and mixing them up is quite experimental so far, and at times very confusing. I can still remember what my design mentor told me back in College to limit my typography to only two types, to maintain the unity and harmony of the design. It will remain a primary experimental part of web design in the years immediately ahead.

 

Single Page Layouts and Minimalism

With busier schedules, people have less time to surf a website. One page layouts would be one of the main trends in 2010 and beyond. The advent of modal javascripts - either mootools or jquery - has made it easier for developers to create it.

 

Internal pages can be shown at a one-page glance. However, this trend will largely be effective for personal sites and not for corporate designs.

 

Box and Magazine Type of Layouts

Brief, precise and consice. No more lengthy about us pages in 2010, but simply a few lines of condensed information about who you are. That's intro boxes and though we'll probably still see a lot of about pages along with it. Magazine style though is predicted largely due to the increase in the migration of more people from orthodox traditional media to online media.

 

This layout offers familiarity for all those people and also offers contents in a more organised pattern.

 

Oversized Footers

Footers have definitely changed over the years. It's now yet another zone in web design where contents show up. It will be good for SEO and usability as well. Oversized footers with useful display of contents and designs mixed should also become a trend in 2010.

 

Icons

This is not a new trend, though stylish icons have been there for quite a while and we all hope they will stay there.

 

Navigations will be composed mostly of icons and hints.

 

That sums it up. These are the trends that consensus believes will keep us busy for the coming year.

It has long been said that it takes two to tango. Web development is exactly like that. Web design cannot do it alone without backend support. But to a majority of users, website design has a big space in their consciousness; for them it is dependent on whether a certain site will be a success or a failure.

 

There is a sudden surge in demand for a beautifully made websites. Users don't want poor presentations anymore; they all like something else, something new to their eyes because they have become web-sophisticated. With the advent of css 3, almost any kind of design is now possible in web. It's like photoshopping your way to the world wide web.

 

True Beauty Comes From The Inside

Informed web designers and business owners alike know that design is vital to a successful website, and its beauty must go far beyond looks. While design needs to support a company's brand positioning, it must also effectively inform, communicate and provide positive experiences.

 

A winning website is one that delivers useful, relevant content that allows people to accomplish their goals quickly and easily. In today's hectic society, that's what makes a great and lasting impression on the Web.

 

Good design achieves simplicity through a range of elements - from a single point of focus to intuitive information flow to plain, familiar menu names. And as more people flock to the Web for everything from casual encounters to green homes, more businesses will likely lean on web specialists who can contribute to effective design.

 

Web professionals who specialise in select services, technologies and industries will increasingly thrive with higher client list and get paid accordingly. In contrast, jack-of-all-trade web types can't keep up with every emerging tactic and tool, and they'll eventually only appeal to and serve clients who are purely price-driven. These clients generally don't value expertise, nor are they willing to pay for it.

 

Additionally, web professionals will benefit from the fact that businesses are pushing more of their marketing dollars online - even those businesses that have been hesitant to shift from traditional media such as TV, radio and newsprint.

 

Moving marketing online makes more sense than ever. Something's off when typical consumers might spend 25% of their media time on the Web and a company is investing only 5% or so of its marketing budgets on websites and other online promotions.

 

An investment in a website will get almost any business a better return on investment than an ad in a newspaper, magazine or print telephone directory. A website can provide greater reach and superior exposure, and it works for a business 24/7 for multiple years.

 

Great Web Copy

Other people indicate a weak web copy would most likely prompt them to abandon a website, businesses should continue to take their web writing seriously.

 

While there appears to be increasing awareness surrounding web writing in general, many businesses continue to fail to recognise what a professional web writer can bring to a website and a business's bottom line.

 

Web writers, website content writers, SEO copywriters - call them what you will - these web copy specialists are often not even being considered a part of the equation when it comes to building or overhauling a website.

 

A well-versed web writer can help a business with everything from attaining traffic via search engines, to differentiating a business from competitors and conveying key benefits effectively, to achieving higher conversion rates.

 

Fortunately, as of late, there are more web-related organisations and schools introducing copywriting courses specifically for the Web, which promises to increase the supply and qualifications of web writers.

 

An increase in writers who specialise in the Web will help decrease the ineffective, error-laden, self-centered copy that is so common on the Web.

 

Faster Is Better

Making people wait is a BIG mistake and it will make them hit a competitor's site. The main objective is not to make them leave and explore a site at longer rates.

 

Good web designers and developers respond by optimizing images, streamlining HTML and avoiding dated gimmicks like Flash intros. But some designers and business owners alike continue to fall into such traps.

 

Unfortunately, web designers and business owners sometimes let their egos get in the way. They fail to acknowledge that when a prospect visits a website looking for information or to complete a task, that Flash intro will only get in the way, and potentially frustrate visitors.

 

Flash intros were tolerated in the '90s when the Web was a novelty. People were excited about this new thing called the World Wide Web, and spent countless hours surfing it. Today, however, most people want to get information and complete tasks in as little time and with as few clicks as possible, so they can get on with their busy lives.

 

Give Users What They Want

Internet professionals would better serve Internet users by collaborating and delivering simple, fast, useful and convenient websites.

 

Give Internet users what they want and everyone wins: web users benefit from ease of use and efficiency; businesses enjoy increased leads and sales; and the web professionals maximise income and fill their portfolios with winning websites.

We have recently witnessed strong advancement in the field of website layout and design. Everything evolves. Flash movies, gigantic animations and other graphic media have become increasingly widespread over the years.

 

However, in the effort to have the ‘coolest' website layout design, website owners tend to forget to whom they are creating their website for: their target audience.

 

The target audience consists of the people you want to visit your website. And this is one of the crucial areas to consider. Moreover, the goal is to increase visitors, make them stay for an extended period of time, purchase items or select your business' service, return to your website in the future, become a regular visitor or customer, and even recommend you to others.

 

The success or failure of your website is significantly determined by your audience. Hence, when designing for your target audience, consider the demographics of the people who you want to visit your site. These demographics include gender, ethnicity, race, age, education level, and even fiscal siatuation.

 

This is where market research is of help, to identify your audience.

 

Then, there are tools to determine the exact numbers and statistics once the website is launched, allowing you to see if you are attracting your audience as expected. These are tools like Google Analytics, Alexa, Quantcast, Goingup and others that provide detailed reports of the types of people that cover your REAL audience.

 

This is a great way to make sure your target audience is actually the audience that is viewing your website. You cannot always make everyone who visits your website stay or return, but when your website is concentrated on the correct target audience, then you increase repeat visitor chances greatly.