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 users have various means of accessing the internet nowadays and a PC is no longer mandatory for a web browsing experience. Nowadays, smartphones and tablets are used increasingly for web access. They offer convenient options to browse the Internet with latest generation models that are advanced, and offer users an almost PC like web usage experience.

A majority of the smartphones used for web access run on Android OS. Web developers have shifted to Android app development owing to an increasing Android user base. With each new version, Google has added a plethora of new features in mobile OS, which developers need to utilise in apps made for devices running on Android.

The latest edition of this open source mobile OS, popularly called Gingerbread, offers several useful and exciting features that app developers should implement.

• A website design company getting into Android app development should utilise UI refinements used in Gingerbread to make apps faster and simplified. The improved menu settings make this OS more user-friendly and developers should make apps blend with the revamped setup. They can use the gaming and multimedia enhancement features introduced in it.
• In Gingerbread, text input has improved significantly and web app developers should make use of this. Even the text prediction options are so much better in this version. The apps can also be made to utilise the voice input mode offered by the OS for accurate text entry. Using games and apps that need to use lots of text is easier in Gingerbread as the OS supports one touch copying and pasting for blocks of text. A website design company making apps for smartphones running on this OS should leverage the features.
• Android app developers can utilise the advanced power management capabilities of Gingerbread OS. They can configure apps to get into idle mode when they are not being used. This can help users save precious battery power.
• Gaming app developers can make use of new features like Concurrent garbage collector, powerful video drivers and faster event distribution. Some of the latest Android handsets use powerful Nvidia GPU or Adreno GPU, along with two CPU cores on board. Developers can optimize the games to take advantage of the Gingerbread enabled handsets that run on dual core CPUs.
• For enhanced 3D motion processing, the Gingerbread APIs and new sensor types can be used by developers. A game app for instance, can benefit from features like gyroscope and accelerometer. The devices will recognize complex hand inputs and user gestures easily.
• There is a new robust audio effects API that allows Android developers make apps featuring rich audio environments with headphone virtualization and equalization, etc. Owing to the improved Camera API, developers can make apps for Gingerbread handsets that can access cameras in the devices. This is ideal for making image editing apps or video chat software for Android.

Even a decade back, no one knew about viral marketing. But today, every web marketer has not just heard about it, but will actually need to include this in the marketing strategy. Through viral marketing, the marketer is able to spread the message about the product or service far and wide. In fact, the message can reach out wide much like a virus. This unique strategy includes the power of social networks on the Internet. For a business and the web development company, it can be extremely valuable.

How does it help the business? You can promote your company, the services you offer, and your unique potentials to a global audience, simply by the use of some effective methods that form a part of viral marketing strategy. This does imply that you obtain some knowledge about the system, and then use those ideas on your current marketing strategies. But to make it really effective, a web development company must mould its marketing strategy in such a way so that it turns viral and spreads out wide.

Here are some strategies that you may use,

• The system can certainly work for you if your company offers services that are unique and if you want to draw everybody’s attention towards them. One good way of doing this is by offering a freeware. People are more drawn to things that come for free. Try offering graphics, templates, banners, or an e-book etc for free. If you are talented enough to design all them, you may put them up on your website. You can also allow the visitors to share your templates, banners or graphics for free. But remember, you should include the name of your company on the product so that the credit comes to you. Also make sure that you include a back link to your website on the copyright notice. Place a request to hold the copyright notice as it is.
• People always value informative content – anything that informs them about the latest inventions or recent events. So, you can publish articles and press releases on your website to inform people about these developments. Give them the reprint rights. But, they must acknowledge your work.
• Make your R&D your strong point. If you can say something unique and innovative that would be useful, you can be sure that people will be interested. Many of them will keep coming back for the latest. Make is sharable, and they will spread the word.
• Try exploring the human mind’s inquisitiveness. Your viral marketing strategy should be such that it propagates your services.
• Set up a forum or a discussion board. Let them become a part, and share their thoughts and opinions. The forum or board can be very effective.

Using the above mentioned viral marketing strategies, you can promote your business quickly and effectively. The web development company can certainly gain from this.

In the present age of technology, a web presence has become essential for any business to grow globally. A website helps to promote your business worldwide easily with help of a click. To achieve the purpose of global marketing, companies both big and small, are opting for a well designed website that will help to convey their message and values to potential customers. Hence web development has emerged as one of the most sort after need now a day’s.

As you start your search for an experienced and reputed web development company, make sure that you know about the five vital web development solutions that are needed to create an organized and effective online presence for your company.

1. The website design should support multiple web browsers
   The foremost thing to maintain while designing website is to check whether it is supported in multiple browsers namely Internet Explorer, Apple, Mozilla and Opera. Customers should be able to open any website in any browser of their choice. Websites that work in all browsers helps to promote your company website worldwide easily and fast.
2. Content management should be simple and easy
   Content forms the king of a website. To promote your company website wide and far easily, it is needed that the content is unique and creatively written. The site has to be informative and authentic to attract more customers and traffic. Proper maintenance and update of content after regular intervals is needed to attract potential customers.
3. Use original company photos instead of free downloaded stock pictures
   To build an attachment of the customers with your company it is needed that original company pictures are used in website designing rather than stock photos. It is important to create an association, connection and brand image of the company with customers to hold their interest for long.
4. Customize your website
   In order to attract the maximum number of customers, it is needed that the website is done in the right format. Customization of the site with blend of old and new is important so that your company website is different and unique.
5. Website should reflect the company’s image and values
   The main objective of creating a website is to create a web presence that will reflect your company’s image and value to clients far and wide. To achieve this purpose, it is important that the website is designed attractively with easy navigation options and relevant and authentic informative content.

There are many web companies that offer website design service in budget price that is according to in accordance to customer budget and need. Explore the above stated five issues when hiring a web development company and soar to heights of success rapidly.