Are There Trends in Web Design?

As a web design company we get all kinds of clients. Some have a lot of experience building websites, some are totally new to it, and some are people who rarely use the web. While it’s a lot of fun working with newbies and teaching them the ropes, one of our greatest challenges is teaching them about web design trends and usability.

User interaction influences design trends

When the web first arrived in the mid-90’s, it was like a giant brochureware machine, and people basically put up their sites in the same format as their printed marketing collateral. At that time the average user was using a dial up connection, and video would have been unthinkable.

As the web has evolved, new technologies have emerged, and this has changed the way that design is done. With the introduction of high-speed connections within homes, and the emergence of many new technologies, the way we interact today is quite different than the early days. Over the past 15 years, site interactivity has evolved as much as design has:

• 1996-2002: Commercialization of the web. Most sites were brochureware, informational sites
• 2002-2004: Emergence of Web 2.0. Multimedia, video, audio, flash become mainstream. Sites begin to be more interactive
• 2004-2007: Open source CMS becomes accessible and dynamic content generation and user-generated content becomes mainstream. Interactivity is key but not a requirement. High speed internet access becomes available to the average user.
• 2007-2009: Dawn of social media. Early adopters quickly engage, and the internet as an interactive, global community has truly taken shape.
• 2010: Universal adoption of social media. Sites without interactive elements are not up with the times.

Web Design Trends for 2010

From all this great input, we have compiled a list of what we believe are the prominent design trends of 2010:

1) DYNAMIC CONTENT
Is your site built using a content management system (CMS) such as Joomla or Drupal? A CMS provides the opportunity to have dynamic content generation, meaning that the pages on your site do not exist until a user clicks a link and calls for them. This provides the opportunity to have up-to-the-minute changes so your site is always fresh and current. A CMS also provides the opportunity for a non-technical user to update the site, which means control is now in the hands of the owner, not the web developer.

2) SOCIAL INTEGRATION
Does your company have a social media presence? What are you waiting for? This has to be the hottest trend of all. Integration of social elements into your website has become expected by users. Icons for social media have become prominent graphics on all pages of a site so users always know where you are and how to connect with you.

3) LARGER INTRO HEADERS
When users arrive at your home page, they should expect to see a large message with large graphics so they immediately know what you do. These oversized messages have become a trendy way to get your point across.

4) NEWSIE LAYOUTS
With the mainstream adoption of the CMS, it makes it very easy to have a magazine-type layout using a CMS template. Information delivered in a news-type format is a trend for companies that have a lot of information to deliver, but don’t want a cluttered page to deliver it.

5) MINIMALISM IS PREFERRED
If you have a website that doesn’t have a lot of information, then minimalism is the way to go. Simple graphics, muted or white backgrounds, and subtle touches of design. Clean layouts make it easier for users to read.

6) ICONS ARE BACK
For a while there icons in menus went completely away. This old trend is experiencing a come back as we begin to see universal symbols used alongside text to assist users in understanding the navigation of a site. Some say this trend is influenced by the use of smart phones, but whatever the reason, expect to see more icons as a way to make it easier to navigate.

7) DETAILED FOOTER
Providing more links and information in the footer has become a helpful trend that also offers some SEO optimization. Footers have become taller and users do not mind scrolling to view them.

8. A LOUD CALL TO ACTION
Buttons for calls to action will be bright, simple and large. Users will easily see what you expect of them when they are on a page.

9) DESIGN FOR MOBILE DEVICES
If you haven’t started planning for mobile versions of your site, now would be the time to jump on this bandwagon. Smart phones are quickly becoming mainstream, and having a mobile version of your site will be a must if you don’t want to have a usability crisis on your hands.

10) USE OF FUNKY FONTS
With HTML5 around the corner, the opportunity to use any font on a website has finally emerged! This is a trend that will be seized and relished by all designers that have felt limited by the web-safe font we’ve always been confined by.

11) LOTS OF TEXTURE
Backgrounds will be more textured and almost “touchable” as a way to give sites more depth and realness.

Does this mean I have to redesign my website?

You need to look at your website as a marketing voice for your company. Are you in a trendy industry, and will people notice if you don’t have the latest and greatest on your website? Then yes, it’s time to redesign and catch up with the times.

On the other hand, let’s say you run a daycare company, and your website provides users exactly what they need to determine if they want to sue your services. Then no, a redesign is not necessary because what you have works for your users.

Use the Wayback Machine to check out old designs

There is actually a website that logs old copies of websites. It’s called the Wayback Machine. You can put in any URL and see older design versions. It’s sometimes embarrassing, but fun to look back and see how far we’ve come.

10 Places to Find Free Stock Images Online

A picture is worth a thousand words…and this is often true in your blog or websites as well. Choosing the right photo can draw in a reader in a way that a text-only post may not. Finding photos online is an easy and convenient way to add interest to your articles, and there are many resources out there that provide images for this purpose, at no cost.

Read The Fine Print

When choosing photographs for any personal or professional use, be sure to pay attention to the fine print. Some sites only allow use of the photos for certain types of sites and pages, some only allow for usage a certain number of times, and some require that you give credit to the photographer.

Public Domain images are free to use however you want. This can include pictures taken when working for the U.S. government, or pictures that you can download from a government website. These are generally public domain, but check the copyright policy on the site to be sure.

Right Protected images are bought for a predetermined length of time for a certain project. This is usually negotiated before use with the photographer, and you will have exclusive rights to the images for the duration of the agreed upon limitations, for a fee, This is more commonplace and convenient for larger corporations and businesses, but doesn’t make a lot of sense for website owners.

Royalty free images can be free or cost money. The “free” in Royalty Free indicates that you don’t have to pay a continuing royalty for each use. If you pay for a royalty free image, after the one time fee, you can use the image however you would like. However, other websites can also purchase the same image, so you may see your choice used elsewhere.

10 Sites with Free Images

1. Photoree.com is a free web service that helps you discover random images that are (mostly) under a Creative Commons license.

2. PDPhoto.org has a large collections of royalty free images; pay attention to the license credit below each image before downloading, as not all the images available on the site are royalty-free.

3. Bigfoto.com offers royalty free photo agency offering free download of all pictures (with link or reference).

4. FreeDigitalPhotos.net has over 2000 free images that you can use in commercial and noncommercial work

5. PhotoRogue.com offers a free service and allows you to send a request to volunteer photographers to obtain an image if you cannot find it.

6. FreePhotosBank.com allows users to search for photos, see which photos are the most popular, and which ones have the highest ratings or the most downloads.

7. Dreamstime.com/free-photos is an online supplier of stock photographs with a large section dedicated to free images.

8. FreeMediaGoo.com has a large collection of images that you can use for free with some restrictions. .

9. Stock.Xchng has over 100,000 free images to browse. The photographers establish the terms, so read the fine print, but most pictures can be reused immediately.

10. MorgueFile.com has over 55,000 high quality images, divided into several categories

10 Signs You Need a Web Design Firm

How do you know when you need to seek help for your website? Many people plod along all alone trying to figure out how to keep their website going, and sometimes this can only make things worse. The following list provides a compass to determine if you need a web design firm to help make your site stellar.

1. Search and Rescue Calls
Customers call asking for assistance to find something on your site,  and what they’re searching for is on the site but hard to find, or you forgot to include it all together. This is a definite sign your information architecture is not up to snuff.

2. Your Information is History
You’re not even sure the last time your site was updated and you’re even more unsure how often you should update it. Two times on an outdated site is probably the last time that customer will visit. Have you considered a content management system like Joomla so you can update the site yourself?

3. Flashy But Frustrating
Your Web designer promised and delivered the WOW factor, but now you’re getting comments that the site doesn’t come up, or it’s slow or what is that big blank spot in the middle of your home page? Using the latest technology may seem fun and hip, but if it doesn’t add to your business message, it’s better left to the entertainment industry.

4. Clicking To Nothingness
Your site is riddled with dead links because nobody is checking them on a regular basis. Pretty much a guaranteed way to lose visitors.

5. There’s No Draw Back
Your site should offer something of value to a visitor while they are on your site. Could be articles, resources or even an inspirational message. They need a reason to come back and look again, even if in the moment they do not need what you are selling.

6. There’s No Target
Without a clear picture of your target audience and purpose for delivering the information, your Web site has been designed in an aimless fashion. It will work for you in the way it has been designed – randomly. Defining your audience and resolving their needs with your content is the best way to keep them coming back!

7. It Just Doesn’t Work
Your site doesn’t work the way the developer promised it would, and your customers keep complaining. Some first are great at certain things, but not so hot at others. You might need to bring in another firm to tighten up the loose ends and get your site functioning as you expected it to.

8. It’s Built, Now What?
How will you bring traffic to your site, and was that even considered when your site was built? Just because you built it doesn’t mean the people will come. You need to implement an SEO plan or some sort of online marketing strategy. These days getting high up in the search engine rankings is a challenge, but you definitely won’t see results without some SEO efforts.

9. Your Competitor Gets the Kudos
When your customers talk to you, they are constantly mentioning your competitors’ Web site. This is a clear sign that your site isn’t fulfilling their needs. Time to step up and exceed the competition!

10. You Don’t Have a Web Site
In today’s world if you have a business, you must have a Web site. A lack of Web presence can actually compromise your credibility. If you don’t have a Web site, it’s time to put it at the top of your to do list!

Conclusion
Building and marketing a website does not have to be a complex process. When hiring a web design firm, it’s best to get a referral from somebody you know personally, and who can give a true endorsement. Lacking that, focus on the customer service message of the firm in order to make your choice. The most important part of working with a firm is the communication process, and it doesn’t matter if they can make the computer do back flips if they can’t deliver what you want.

Web Design 101: Please Don’t Squish the Type!

One of my favorite things about web design is the flexibility it offers in terms of how to lay out text. With the arrival of CSS several years back, suddenly web designers who came from a print design background (like myself) got the control they had been longing for. Not only could we control the typestyle and color, but now we could control line spacing and even letter spacing. Wow, what a wonderful thing.

And so I respectfully request, when designing your website: Please don’t squish the type!

What does”squish the type” mean?
When you arrive on a web page you want to be able to read what is there. But users do not read online as they would a magazine or book, instead they skim. They need the text broken up into bits so they it is easier to skim, and faster to grasp the content on the page. When you squish the type, you mush all the information into long paragraphs without a lot of visual breaks between the information (see screen shot below). If you add white space between your lines, and vary type size and color, it gives breathing room for your eyes, which makes it more likely a user will skim a little slower.

Here’s an example of a web page that needs help. They are really squishing the type. It’s unlikely anybody will get beyond the second paragraph because that third paragraph looks intimidating!

How users read online
It has been conjectured that browsing a website is a cross between reading a book and watching TV. When somebody reads a book, their mind is engaged in actually comprehending the words through the act of reading. They usually don’t have visuals (if it’s a novel say), so their mind is also actively engaged in visualizing what they are reading about.

On the flip side, when somebody watches TV, they don’t have to do anything mentally in order to take in the information. They just stare at this big box, and watch what is shown. Hence the term “couch potato”.

Usability experts have shown through research that browsing the Internet is somewhere in between. Some users will be engaged mentally, while others want the website to do the work for them. You must plan for this when you design, because most people will not read the precious words you have written, so you must help them read it.

Lay out your type so people will read it

• Use bold headlines.
• Create a larger, introductory paragraph that summarizes the page.
• Don’t have long paragraphs – break up the paragraphs into more bite-size pieces.
• Use line spacing to bring white space between the lines of text
• Do not make columns of text more than 550 pixels wide
• Use subheadlines as much as possible
• Use bulleted lists as much as possible
• Hyperlink keywords and important points so users can get more information, and so it makes the key concepts easier to skim.

Oftentime clients will have great concerns about not creating scrolling in an article, and they want to squash all the lines together to keep everything within one page length. The only trouble with this theory as while it might prevent scrolling, it also inhibits reading. So would you rather they read the first couple paragraphs and not scroll, or read nothing at all? Besides, current usability studies show that users will scroll if they are interested in the content.

What you SHOULD do
Here’s an example of the same page shown above in a much more readable fashion. The user can now decide how much or how little to read.

Site referenced here: http://www.capdsupport.org

User behavior is part of the design process
We must remember how users read content, and only then commence with the creation of that content. How type is laid out should be considered when type is written. You put a lot of effort into creating your website, you certainly want to encourage everybody to enjoy your great work!

Browser Friendly Fonts Make Viewing Universal

We often get requests from clients to use particular fonts on their website. Recently the following email came into our inbox:

The answer to this question relies on the need for universal fonts. Fonts on a web page are not stored within your code. Instead, they are called on by the code, but they must be present on the computer in order to display properly.

What fonts are universal on the web?
There are only so many fonts found in the world that typically exist on every computer platform. If you want your site to display consistently, you must choose your fonts from this list:

You’ll notice that there is no script font on this list. That doesn’t mean you cannot specify a script font when laying out your pages. It simply means if you do specify a script font, there is a good chance other people’s computers won’t have the font, in which case the browser will substitute Arial for any missing fonts.

Using a graphic instead of text
If it’s really necessary to use a specific font, you might consider displaying it as an image rather than as text. If the image is too large this may slow the download speed of your web page, so take this into consideration. If you do use an image, be sure to use an ALT tag to let search engines know the description of the text in the image.

More on universal web fonts:

• Core Fonts for the Web
• Common fonts to all versions of Windows & Mac equivalents
• 16 Gorgeous Web Safe Fonts to Use With CSS  
• Web Safe Fonts Preview