Top Five Web Design Trends For 2013
The appearance and functionality of a web page goes a long way into determining whether or not the site will attract the required traffic. It is, therefore, important to ensure that the content is appealing and easy to access for visitors to the page. Web designers continue to come up with new strategies aimed at retaining clients and acquiring new ones. There are a number web design trends for 2013 that all internet users should look forward to. Some of the most exciting include:
1. Responsive web design
Although responsive web design or RWD has been in existence for some time now, it has been mainly restricted to handheld devices (smart phones to be precise). The approach is a feature that facilitates the crafting of a site so that it provides optimal viewing experience. CSS3 media queries are used to determine the resolution of the device being used. Once the resolution has been determined, several fluid grids and flexible images get resized appropriately so as to fit on the screen of the device. Regardless of the gadget being used, users will be able to read content and navigate easily on the websites with very little of scrolling, panning and resizing.
2. Scrolling Everywhere(both vertical and horizontal)
This one of the most significant web design trends for 2013 that many people are looking forward to. This feature will increase web optimization by making navigation easy for the users. There are plans to enable the vertical scrolling of menus and buttons. The effect of this is that, the user will still be able to see features such as menu headers, shopping carts and social buttons even as they scroll down a page.
3. Designed typography
Creative custom fonts are going to take the place of traditional fonts such as Verdana, Ariel and Times New Roman.Many designers are going to turn to the use of a variety of fonts to enhance the appearance of their websites rather than rely entirely on images. While a number of designers may use new technologies to create illustrative letterforms, others may decide to stick with classic faces and only modify them a little and incorporate them into their sites.
4. Parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling was first used in 2010. It has been especially popular among the users of video games. It is also another of the most anticipated web design trends of 2013. This approach has the advantage of enabling the users of a site to perceive the depth of objects placed on websites. It is going to be greatly utilised by users of interactive websites in which 3D perception is a requirement.
5. Full image backgrounds
This feature will enable the display of beautiful backgrounds that are large enough to accommodate the branding of the website. Since images are a great way of communicating, it is a major advantage to the owners. Images will help create a long lasting effect in the minds of the visitors. Although traditional designs have also allowed for the use of images, the images used are disjointed and do not therefore communicate the message effectively.
As the use of the internet continues to shift from desktops to other devices especially mobile phones, there is need to institute improvements in web content presentation that will help optimize the use of these devices. There are many other web design trends of 2013 besides those that have been mentioned here. The main objective of these trends is to make content access easier for the users of mobile phones, netbooks, tablets and other similar devices. Designing