Web Design: Keeping up with the hottest web trends

The following are some of the hottest topics and trends in the web development world, a lot of which are becoming must haves when developing a website or online presence.

Responsive Layouts – Mobile device friendly

Although responsive web design has been around for a while, it is only now that it is becoming increasingly important, due to the exponential increase in mobile users.  The main idea with responsive design is to support all devices from laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, and anything released in the future. Uniform web design is the ultimate goal – a single set of codes which run perfectly on all environments. Responsive websites are often thought to cater towards mobile browsers, however that isn’t the sole purpose.

Fixed Header Bars

The use of fixed headers and other elements is a great way to make sure that the all important header stays fixed and pinned to the top of the page when one scrolls down. As visitors scroll down your page this will offer constant support for navigation and links back to the homepage.

Large Photo Backgrounds

Photographers or even fans of photography will definitely enjoy this design trend. I have seen countless showcases discussing the ideas of big oversized photography in the background. It’s an excellent way to capture your visitor’s attention and it can look great when done properly.

CSS Transparency

The new CSS3 properties allows us to now add opacity to just about any element – no Photoshop required! This trend of web design transparency is a definite growing trend in the web development world.

Home Page Image Slideshows

The use of slideshow of large images and typography in the slideshow is becoming very popular as it allows one the opportunity to make a larger than life impression on the potential customer. With the average web surfer attention span that of a toddler this is becoming more and more important.

Social Media Badges

Marketing is one of the ultimate determining factors in a website’s success or failure and social media and the ability to easily share a website, and the possible that the content may go viral.

Fullscreen Typography

Earlier I mentioned using big  photographs in the background and slideshows of website layouts. This trend can be extended to focus on typography as well.

Mobile Navigation Toggle

Speaking of responsive design, one of the most important things is how to build a solid navigation that works well on all devices. This remains a constant challenge to build the perfect navigation.