7 Viral Trends Web Designers are Tailoring Their Work to In 2010
The web has seen massive changes in the past few years from new technology, social networking sites, blogging, RSS feeds, and more. Along with these new innovations, new design trends have been popping up. One of the most notable trends is the web 2.0 style where designs were friendly, inviting, clean, yet filled with personality.
It’s now 2010 and it’s time to change your old web design and suit your websites up with new designs. There are many trends that have started and are completely different from the designs many of us are used to. In fact, many of these designs go against the grain of conventional design templates where the whole point was to focus on the message and the message alone. Now there is growing trend on focusing on the overall presentation.
As a designer and marketer, it’s important to try new designs, approach your business from a different angle, and stay creative. This allows you to find things that surprisingly work even though you wouldn’t have imagined that it would make such an impact.
So here are some new web design trends of 2010 that you can try out
1. More White Space – Most websites on the Internet try to make use of every single space that’s available on the page. There’s the left hand navigation bar, the right hand navigation bar, the footer, the header, and of course the main content.
But many websites are now taking another approach. They are trying to put in more white space and focusing on their main message. It’s a great way to get your visitors to relax and listen to what you’re trying to say.
It’s easy on the eyes and also gives your visitor the opportunity to learn more.
2. Big Header or Leading Images – Images definitely stand out more than words. While it’s your words that help you communicate with your visitors, the images allow the viewer to really take in the whole experience.
They can immediately get what kind of idea you’re trying to present to them and it will help them focus in on finding what they’re looking for on your site.
3. The Magazine Layout – All of us are used to reading magazines. They’re filled with interesting articles with beautiful images, lots of sub headings, and lots of quotations set under a sleek, glossy page. Many websites are using the magazine approach to present their content.
Since we are accustomed to the magazine layout, it is more inviting to read and dig into the content and website. The format also stands out from the other websites devoted to delivering content in the standard format.
4. Social Media Sites and Icons – By now, all your favorite blogs and content sites have icons where you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and MySpace. Although most of us are already familiar with this trend, it’s still becoming more popular. Many more sites are adding social media sites and icons to help connect with their readers.
It’s not uncommon to see icons that allow you to digg content, subscribe to RSS feeds, add them to your social bookmarking profile, and more. There are even icons to add them to sites that are not as popular as the big social networking sites we’re familiar with.
5. Big Introduction Blocks – Rather than leave the visitors to figure out what you’re about, why not tell them in one big paragraph? That is what many websites are doing. They either state what their site is about or what kind of services they offer in a few short sentences in the header or right below the header.
If you’ve gotten a lot of criticism from your visitors about not being able to figure out what you’re about, then maybe it’s time you try this web design format to see how it works.
6. Hand Drawn Style Illustrations and Sketches – These types of graphics really stand out and catch attention. Your visitors will really appreciate the artwork and it will set you apart from every other site in your industry.
7. Websites Designed for Mobile Phones – Smart phones are becoming more and more popular. So it’s important for you to make sure that your site is compatible for smart phones to cater to your demographic that use these phones to browse the Internet.
This will give you another way to connect with your visitors and build a relationship with them. It will also help you stand out in your industry if competing websites are not designing their sites for compatibility with smart phones.
These are some of the web design trends of 2010. Try incorporating several of the ideas to your website to see if it works with your site and audience. You might even be astonished at the results ;).
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