top-5-web-design-trends

Top 5 Web Design Trends

October 6, 2016 5:34 pm By InContent Creation

Responsive, Hidden Main Menus, Parallax, Video Marketing & Custom Photography

 

With technology constantly changing it can be difficult to keep track of the latest web design trends. If you’re a small business owner you may think that your website could use a facelift, but you’re likely not sure what style will work best for your company. In this blog we’ll highlight 5 of the latest web design trends to give you a few ideas for your next redesign.

 

Responsive or Mobile-Friendly Designs

As Google puts more of an emphasis on sites that are optimized for mobile devices, there has been a huge uptick in responsive designs. A responsive website is simply a site that molds to the device that is being used to view it. You can test to see if a site is mobile optimized if you pull the site up on an iPad, or mobile device and notice that the content adjusts proportionately to the device’s screen. If the website instantly shrinks and readjusts based on the window size it is responsive. Responsive web sites give users a more uniform experience across multiple devices including mobile phones and tablets by adapting the layout to each device.

 

Alternatively, some websites may decide to use a separate mobile website depending on their needs. Both separate mobile websites and responsive websites are considered mobile-friendly. The current trend and general consensus in the web development world is to is to build a responsive website if you are starting from scratch or do not already have a mobile website. You can test if your site is mobile-friendly by using Google’s free mobile friendly test tool.

 

As an example of what I am talking about, currently our blog is responsive which is also mobile-friendly. However DigitalHipsterInc.com  also has a separate mobile website (m.digitalhipsterinc.com) with a completely different layout that is only served to mobile devices so don’t bother on your computer. Look for our newly designed website later this year which will be fully-responsive.  Right now we’re busy building several fully responsive eCommerce sites for manufacturers in Northeast Ohio. You can view a few here.

 

Hidden Main Menus

Another trend that has come out of the need for responsive websites is the hidden main menu. When designing a responsive website it’s easiest to embed the main menu in a hidden section that can become easily visible when a user clicks the appropriate icon. This has allowed web designers to create websites that look much less cluttered and feature higher quality images.

 

Parallax Design

If you’ve been browsing the web lately you’ve probably noticed a number of websites that have shifted from a standard website format with multiple pages to a one-page design. These websites are also called infinite scroll websites because users simply scroll down the page to view additional information. If you choose to go this route with your next web design project it’s important to ensure that proper SEO standards are used to prevent a drop in rankings due to the single page type setup of some parallax designs.

 

Video Marketing

For quite some time Google has rewarded businesses who are looked at as authorities in their niche. The best way to show your authority is through video marketing. A professional video that shows off your products or services can be much more beneficial than a bland page with only text. Here’s our video production portfolio for a examples of how various Cleveland area and National brands have told their story through the additional power of movement, sound and emotion that video can add to your company’s brand.

 

Custom Photography

For the past decade you didn’t have to go to many websites before you saw the same stock photo of a worker at a desk or a nurse looking at a medical chart. While these types of images may work for some applications, companies are starting to use custom photography to really tell a story about their businesses. Custom photography offers a way for companies to better connect with their customers or clients. This is especially important for companies such as manufacturers who have products to showcase.

 

One of the coolest 3D picture effects to come out recently is called photo animation. It isn’t actually a single picture, but a series of pictures stitched together as short movie. When done right it has a three-dimensional effect that looks pretty killer on today’s responsive websites. One company that has built it’s entire business model on creating “3D” pictures is Pic Drift (shown below)

PicDrift from PicDrift

 

 

Are you ready for a new website design?

Is your website utilizing any of the web design trends mentioned in this blog? If not, it may be time to consult the web design professionals at DigitalHipster Inc. for a free design consultation. Feel free to give us a call today at 330-331-7189, and we’ll setup a time to discuss your needs. You can also email us or checkout all of our digital services here.

About Matt Ross

Matt Ross is the President and Founder of DigitalHipster Inc. est. 2009.  Matt and his Wife Wendy have two adult sons. He's a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Alumni, a member of The Society of Martin Scholars at The University of Akron, and an active member in a few book clubs. When he's not deep in code and cranking music, or trying to keep up with the latest Google Algorithm, Matt is gardening, mountain biking, off-roading in his Jeep, writing for fun or being a guinea pig for his wife's yoga instruction. He lives and works in Highland Square Akron, Ohio. For the 15 years prior to launching DigitalHipster Inc.  Matt worked as a Senior Advertising Account Executive and Integrated Sales Director for major television stations and newspapers in the Akron, Cleveland, Phoenix and Las Vegas markets. He has successfully planned, sold and executed millions of dollars in innovative multi-platform advertising campaigns consisting of television commercials, web video, content integration, multi-carrier mobile WAP sites, print ads, and radio. Matt says, "During my years working in broadcast and print media, I learned how to gather real-time advertising response rates and develop cost-effect creative that works for my clients.  By working for over a decade on the sales side with millions of dollars of advertising revenue, I learned how to spot bargains for my clients and see what worked and what didn't. We're not just a team of graphic designers, or artists that take chances with your ad budget. We have real advertising experience across all the major advertising channels."