Tag: web design

Design 2015: Changing Trends In Web Design

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

No matter how well-planned your marketing efforts are, a well-designed website remains the core of any digital business. Not only from an aesthetic point of view, it is also vital for SEO, traffic generation, branding and of course conversions. So unless your website is up-to-date with the current trends in the market, you cannot expect to make a difference.

So, here a glimpse of the current trends in web design that will give you a competitive edge.

The Background:

Big background image with rich typography is the thing you should try in 2015. However, there are certain factors that you should take into consideration. Don’t let the background overpower, rather let it fall in line with your brand. The theme should be consistent throughout the website and also the backgrounds should not slow down the site. Make sure they download quickly without any glitch. Place of text is another important factor to be considered. Text should be placed in such a way that it’s easy to read.

Professional Quality Custom Photography:

If you had relied on stock imagery for your design purposes, then now is the time to switch to professional photography. Custom photography with the website and company theme in mind will give your website design a unique touch. Rest assured you will not have to worry about coming across the same images in other websites.

Long Scrolling Websites:

The trend that has become a hot favourite of many is long scrolling websites. Contrary to the popular belief that shorter the better, popular companies like Apple have tried and succeeded in long web pages concept. Earlier, long scrolling websites were frowned upon, but it will now work in your favour. The primary reason: users shifting from desktops to mobiles devices for web browsing. So, it becomes easier to scroll down sites, rather than clicking on different links to navigate from one page to another.

Responsive Web Design:

In the year 2015, a responsive design will be more of an essential element, rather than a trend. With more and more people using mobile devices for purchases and other transactions, designers will have to adopt a way to make your website fully customisable for different viewpoints. The most important point to remember is that every device has specific requirements and your site should be well equipped to reflect the same on all devices.

Ghost Buttons:

Buttons have not been given their due in the past, and the year 2015 will be the year to acknowledge their true potential. It will be their comeback year with new designs and new functionalities. Usage of Ghost Buttons is expected to top the list. Minimal and stylish, these buttons come with subtle hover animation.

Storytelling in Design:

The concept of storytelling in design is something everyone should experiment. This concept is a powerful tool that can convert visitors into potential customers. Putting together a story that explains your service makes customers relate to your company and also builds an emotional attachment.

Usage of Animation Elements:

Lot of web designers have started using subtle animations on buttons and off screen elements. This is one trend you can expect to see a rise in 2015. Animation will be a key pillar for any web, mobile or software app. Subtle, well-managed animation will not only delight users, but will also guide them and provide context. However, remember that too much of animation or jarring transitions can actually work against you. So, make sure you maintain the balance. 

Hidden Menus:

Hidden menus are gaining popularity by the day. Menus have always been a staple in any web design and no one questioned the inclusion of menus on the home page. But, now designers are experimenting by hiding navigation off screen. Only when the user interacts with an element on the top right or left of the screen, does the menu show up. Hidden menus come in handy especially when viewing on a small screen. It will not interrupt the shopper when he is doing more than just navigation. 

While, it is good to keep yourself updated with the latest trends, it certainly doesn’t make sense to just mimic what everyone else is doing. So, make sure you learn from the various techniques and strategies that other designers are adopting, but use the one that you think will make a difference.

How To Overcome Web Design Flaws And Earn Potential Customers

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

In the high-paced search and click world,a website is undoubtedly the first digital marketing tool to attract customers. It is a tool, a cost-effective solution to put in your sales-pitch 24×7. With customers browsing through numerous websites before making their buying decision, it becomes necessary for a company to represent themselves properly.

Your website should be designed keeping in mind the target audience and conversion of visitors to potential customers. It would not be wrong to say that a great design is worth a thousand words. Yet, most company websites have web design flaws that they are totally unaware of and which are costing them customers as well as reputation.

So, here’s a quick insight on the common web design mistakes and what can be done to rectify them to earn potential customers.

Capture the Wandering Eye

The attention span of the average online customer is very limited – 8 seconds according to most studies. If your website does not manage to capture their attention within that time gap, then you need to rethink your web design.

Several studies have been conducted and it has been found that people tend to view content across e-commerce sites or articles in an ‘F’ pattern. Therefore the best thing to do would be to place your most essential information, like your most important links or call-to-action buttons in this pattern.

Put your most valuable information on the upper half of the website or as it is called above-the-fold. Having said that, they do scroll down, and when they do, their eye reaches right at the bottom where the scrolling stops. This is where you can bank on to put your call-to-action. Another time-tested method to capture the wandering eyes is to use BIG BOLD headlines.

Mind Your Colour

One of the most important things that make your website stand out is the usage of colours. And it is also one of those things that is least understood and often incorrectly used. The result being – difficult to read web pages, nearly impossible to read if printed or in other words plain ugly.

Even the most seasoned graphic designers make blunders and abuse colours.

So, what are the colours or rather colour combinations that actually work? Before using any colours, you have to consider the fact that aroung 0.5% of women and 8% of men have some form of colour blindness. One of the most common being colour blind to red-green.

So, avoid using plenty of colours that will make the design heavy on the eyes. Rather, just stick to two or three basic colours and use other images and graphic symbols to make it attractive.

Readability & Legibility

Yes, an attractive design/interface does matter, but readability and legibility are crucial elements.  The text should be easy for the reader to be able to grasp it. Bizarre font styles, combined with some awful colour combinations will just render the entire page unreadable.

Fortunately, there are some really simple tricks that you can use to make your site user-friendly.First and foremost, keep it simple. Simple letterforms and simpler design make the site more legible. To make it more readable avoid capitals, use a reasonable point size and create even word spacing.

Consistent Interface Design

Excessive creativity is a killer. Some designers just go over the top, and try to bring all aspects of creativity into the design. A different design for every single page within a website can be utterly confusing and annoying to the customer. So the key point here is consistency.

No matter how well you design the website, if the overall look and feel is not consistent, then customers will not be able to relate to the website and will leave the pages soon. Again the keyword is SIMPLE. If you want your customers to feel at home then a consistent template is a must. That combines with an aesthetically simple design with uncluttered page and uncomplicated menus will work wonders.