The field of website design and development has been witnessing a lot of changes and improvements since the last few years. The surge in the web design trends has urged the designers all over to try them out on their respective websites. Fortunately, many of these ideas have been quite fruitful and beneficial. This has automatically led to the adaption of newer techniques and strategies. In the present blog, we are about to initiate a discussion on the popular web design trends that are going to make their place in the present year, 2013. Let’s delve a little deeper into these trends and find out how their application can help you create smart websites.

Responsive Designs

Responsive layouts are in. The idea behind responsive web design is to create a single platform that is dynamic and fluid in nature. The use of flexible grids and images allows responsive websites to fit into the varying display and screen resolutions of a range of devices. Responsive websites let you reach out to the tablet and Smartphone users with commendable ease and effectiveness. However, the advantage of the concept of responsive website design does not stay restricted to just design but extends beyond that to include search engine optimization too. A responsive website can be managed with a single set of links and thus, optimizing these sites becomes easier.

Retina Display and Support

Alongside the emergence of responsive layout for websites, there is also a growing preference for the retina devices. Retina display basically refers to the monitors and devices that have resolution and pixel density, as high as 300 or more pixels per inch. The density of the retina screens is twice of an average LCD. Thus, the number of physical pixels remains the same with the digital pixels turning out to be double and fitting into the same physical space.

Fixed Header Bars

Fixed Header Bars work wonderfully well on all types of websites that also include social networks, blogs and many more. The design looks classy and trendy at the same time, something very desirable these days. Apart from ensuring a good outward appearance, fixed header bars offer better user experience. With the header fixed on top of the website, visitors can scroll down the page, enjoying an easy navigation. Using the CSS position: fixed; properly is the suggested way of stapling a header bar onto your website.

Minimalist Landing Pages

If you have been keeping track of the developments in the field of online marketing, you must have come across the popularity of the landing pages of the websites. Landing pages help a lot in capturing leads and the current trend is to keep these landing pages as simple as possible. There should be no overdoing of anything and the designs should highlight and emphasize on the core product or service, offered by the business. Effective backgrounds combined with easily readable texts and a one- click checkout process proves perfect.

The above- mentioned ones are emerging to be the hottest trends in website design and development in the present year. We will discuss about more of such in the next blog. So, keep reading.

Web design is a dynamic industry and every year, new web design trends gain popularity. If you have an online business for 5-6 years and changed your web design couple of times, check the old templates and you will be surprised to see the differences between old and new layouts.

2013 is here and this year we will certainly witness the popularity of certain trends. It’s hard to predict, but here is a list of some expected web design trends.

1.    Responsive Design- It’s not a new style, but this year it may gain huge popularity as new tablets and smartphones flooded the market in 2012. Nowadays, every company needs a website that can fit every screen size. It’s very costly to develop separate sites for desktops, smartphones and tablets, and hence, investing in responsive design is a wise decision.

2.    Stylish Typography- A trendy typography can give a layout an attractive look. This year, typography probably will take the center stage and web designers will give much more importance to it. Instead of replacing text with attractive images, designers can enhance the visual beauty of a website by using unique fonts.

3.    Vertical Scrolling- In 2012, we saw websites with both vertical and horizontal scrolling facility, but hopefully, we will notice more vertical scrolling in 2013. Its user friendly and as more people are visiting websites from smartphones and tablets, they will enjoy the feature. Vertical scrolling of menu along the page is another expected trend in 2013. When a user will scroll down a webpage, the menu will also scroll simultaneously so that the user doesn’t need to go upward repeatedly to view the menu.

4.    Large Buttons- Initially, big buttons were used for grabbing target customers’ attention, but nowadays we touch and tap our internet enabled devices more than we click. As a result, large buttons have become a necessity. However, large buttons mean heavier graphics and it can affect page loading time. Therefore, designers have to find a way to keep the sites lightweight.

5.    Goodbye Flash, Welcome HTML5- Some major mobile operating systems have dumped Flash and it’s a fact that the end of this once popular animation tool is near. Besides, we all know that Flash is bad for SEO.
HTML5 recently received “Candidate Recommendation” status. That means the final version will release soon. So, this year designers will focus on HTML5 to create dynamic, SEO friendly web design.

Do you think my prediction is correct? According to you, which trend will gain the most popularity? If you think I have missed any trend that will become popular this year, share your thoughts with us.

Christmas is just a few hours away and it’s the time to tell your customers that you are celebrating the festive season with great joy and fun. Online business owners can redesign some elements of their site to give it a contemporary look. However, there is not much time left and you can hire a web design India company for the job as well. Make sure that the service provider is ready to refresh the design before 25th December.

Let’s check out some Christmas design ideas that can be done quickly, without affecting the core brand elements of your site.

Make a Festive Background- Create a custom festive template for your site and replace the current background. Use bright colors, decorative drawings and try to give it a winter look to create the perfect atmosphere. Visitors should get happy as soon as they land on your site.

Update the Icons- How about giving the social media icons a festive look? It won’t take much time, but a nice Facebook and Twitter icon with a Santa clause hat will certainly look beautiful.

Add Some Clip Arts- You can either download some free clip arts on Christmas theme or draw something unique to surprise visitors. For instance, a laughing Santa on the homepage with a box of gifts can really make your potential customers happy. In fact, ecommerce business owners should try this strategy this year to announce exclusive discount sale offers.

Modify the Font- You can use Kingthings Christmas Font or Snowpersons Font to add the festive spirit to your website design. These fonts are freely available. However, don’t write the whole text content using these fonts as they serve the decoration purpose better. For instance, you can write “Merry X-Mas” on the banner to greet visitors warmly.

Wish People- This is the most important thing. Write a customized Merry Christmas message on the homepage to make people realize that you care for them and want to make them happy during this auspicious winter festive season. For instance, “we wish all our customers a very happy Christmas and New Year.”

Do you like these ideas or do you have some other interesting ideas? Share your thoughts with us.

Designing a single-page website is a challenging task because you get only one page to share information you want about your business and fulfill your promotional needs. Since there is no separate “about us” or “services” page to explain the minutest detail about your company, products or services, convincing your audience can be difficult; inability will cause your business to fail to get the results you desire.

Therefore, when designing a one-page site, know your purpose and then decide if it is suitable for your business. For instance, if you are a freelance designer, a one-page portfolio is ideal for you. However, for an ecommerce business, a multiple-page site is the only option.

Maintaining basic designing rules for a professional look is important. Make sure your website is not only beautiful, but user-friendly as well. Using the right color combination, fonts, content placement and navigation structure is important to give your site an attractive, user-friendly demeanor. However, if you have never designed a single-page site before, here are some basic website design tips to get you started:                                                                                                                                                

• Flaunt your creative skills when designing the layout. Use a good color combination to send a visual message to your viewers and help them relate to your business. Include your brand logo. Use readable fonts to help readers easily scan your pages. Make intelligent use of white space between text and images/video.

• The navigation process of single-page website is quite different as users must scroll down to see information. However, if someone wants to see a particular page and needs to scroll for a long time, he may leave your site. So, make sure you place the menu bar just below the header area and offer a 1-click access to different parts of your site.

• Never clutter pages with too much information. Leave enough white space between text and images for aesthetics and appeal. To give your site a lively look, consider including Flash design elements like animation effects, slideshow, etc.

• Maintain a logical structure. Post all content vertically, one after another, in order of importance. Include the most important and relevant information above the fold with little to no scrolling required for reading.

A single-page site has various limitations. You can’t share too much text content, there is no drop-down menu facility and SEO is also challenging. However, when you overcome these shortcomings and offer an attractive information-rich website, it will certainly do its part in grabbing a web user’s attention.

All the best!