As 2014 hits its stride, it’s time to turn our attention to what we can expect from web design in 2014. While it may not surprise anyone, web design in 2014 will look very similar to what we were exposed to in late-2013, and that may not be a bad thing.
1. Minimalistic Design
When Apple launched its minimalistic IOS 7 in September 2013, its clean, simple appearance was the talk of the tech world. It wasn’t an innovative design–similar designs had been growing in popularity for sometime–but IOS 7 certainly proved to be a game-changer because of the immensity of its scale, and how many people it reached. 2014 is expected to be the year where flashy is bad. Flat, simple color schemes will be the rage, and judging by how successful Apple was in the implementation of such a theme, the Internet will look a heck of a lot better.
2. Mobile, Mobile and Mobile
Just a few years ago, the tablet concept was laughable. They weren’t quite laptops, but they were bigger than the average smartphone. Now it’s 2014, and tablets couldn’t be more popular. Because of this–and the continuous innovation in the smartphone industry–many companies are focusing on the mobile design of their websites, so that smartphones and tablets are capable presenting the full opulence of a site. Gone will be the days where mobile sites were bare bones, stripped down shells of an actual website. More and more mobile visitors necessitated the design change, and it will be interesting how different websites approach the move.
3. More Text, Fewer Images
Perhaps going hand-in-hand with the concerted effort to improve mobile sites, individual posts are expected to rely less and less on images in their stories. Because of the growing usage of mobile devices, websites are concerned that the presence of a few stock photos in a story will somehow take away from the story at hand, and they’re right: photos are often only in a post because of the obligatory need to have one. Now that our collective attention span is at an all-time low, however, websites don’t want to take the risk of having a photo distract the flow of the story. Considering the high-usage of photos of people just standing around and smiling–something that has absolutely nothing to do with the article–this is a great trend, one that will hopefully catch on with websites spanning the virtual spectrum.
4. More Videos, Less Text
While websites in 2014 are expected to have fewer images and more text, they are also expected to include more videos and less text. For many, videos are a nuisance slightly more annoying than a useless stock photo of a few beautiful people with impossibly white teeth, smiling for a camera.*
The reason for including more videos is simple: they’re easier to produce than ever before, and new Internet info graphic tools make them much more tolerable than in the past. Depending on your level of indifference to the presence of videos on the pages you visit, this may mean nothing. All we can hope for is the realization by the powers-that-be that the Internet community universally despises auto play videos, and their presence should be eradicated.
5. Collaboration
Cloud technology saves the hassle of having to back up devices and wait for them to malfunction, so that you can exclaim, “at least I backed everything up!” But a hidden gem offered by the implementation of cloud technology is the ability for users to collaborate. Blogging communities will garner further popularity, and businesses will love the option to share spreadsheets or documents between employees and clients.
6. Personalized Fonts
Don’t expect wingdings, or something drastic, but the Internet is ripe with user-generated fonts that are waiting to be implemented into different webpages. It’s a fantastic way to individualize a webpage, subtly, without distracting visitors.
While your business might not be the next, say AT&T, as far as web design goes, staying up to date with the latest in trends could very well help you climb that success ladder. With so many people scouring the Internet today for products, services and more information today, there is no question that having the World Wide Web on your side will do wonders for your business.
