2013 has had a lot of changes in web design and some of the changes have been good and some of the changes have been... mediocre. Overall, whether good or "bad" changes that happen in the web design world, that still means there is progress being made. In this blog, I have compiled a list of 8 trends that happened in 2013. Some of the trends were welcomed with open arms and some were welcomed with crossed arms.
- The first trend that was seen was the emergence of layouts that were responsive. Responsive layouts became a huge hit this year because of the continuing rise in popularity of smartphones and tablets. People look at websites on any device that gets internet, wherever they are. Think about it, if you have a smartphone or tablet; how many times in the past week or two weeks have you looked at a website on your smartphone or tablet? Maybe you were inline at a store or just sitting on a bench at a park waiting for your child who was playing on the jungle gym. As people, we love to be able to view information and see a website wherever we are.
- A second trend that was seen in 2013 was the rise in retina displays. The practicality of this trend was not quite as big as other trends but it sure was a big hit for those who love a good picture when looking at their phones, tablets, or computers. Perhaps the first thing you thought of when I mentioned retina displays was Apple. This year they rolled out the new laptops with retina displays and on their iPads too.
- A third trend for web design seen in 2013 was menu bars that are permanent. A lot of websites have moved to this feature so people can still see the tabs and search bar when scrolling down the page; as you know, in the past, when you would scroll down the page, the menu bar would disappear once you scrolled past a certain point on the page.
- A fourth trend seen in 2013 for web design was larger photos on websites. People love to see visuals; no matter what people look at, analyzing a visual or merely observing it lies in our core. Think about it, when you read something like a newspaper or a book, you either see a picture you can appreciate or you create the image in your mind because of the mind's love for visuals. Our eyes are drawn to pictures and scenery.
- A fifth trend for web design seen this year was the idea of "less is more." If you take a look at some web pages on the net, quite a few of them have moved to more simple landing pages. Along with loving visuals, the eye loves what it can understand; our eyes have a bad time when trying to sort out a complex and busy landing page, or any web page for that matter. When there are too many designs, crazy colors, links upon links upon links, etc. our eyes get exhausted. Instead, websites have moved to focus more on simple web pages that allow the eye to sort out what is going on, make the product look good, and get the sales.
- A sixth trend seen this year is the QR code. Now, this trend did not perform as admirably as the world forecasted but it was still a big deal for the first few months of the year. It's original intent was to create a quick and easy way for people to get to a website or wherever the QR code was linked to.
- A seventh trend was making social media placement on the web page a premium. This year, it was observed that social media became a necessity for websites and that the sites place the badges in prime spots on the page. As Americans, we read left to right, thus, a prime spot was to place the badges in the top left corner of the page; however, should the top left corner of the web page be taken, the top right was a welcome spot as well.
- An eight trend seen this year was the emergence of the tour. Have you ever gone to a website, especially after it has been reconstructed or introduced, and you get a tour of the site? You see all the spots where it says what each link or tab, etc will do for you and such. That was a biggie this year and it seems to have worked out well, however, sometimes annoying. But, it still worked so kudos to the inventor of that.
These were just eight trends seen in web design this year, there are plenty more out there. As a Chicago web design company who loves to be creative and know the latest trends, seeing these trends happen was a fun sight. If you happen to need a website or a revamped website, consider calling Integraphix.
