We’re in the last quarter of 2015, and it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming year. So much has changed in terms of web technology. Have you heard of “Mobilegeddon?” Besides technology, design standards are rapidly changing. People’s opinion of what looks good is evolving. So what’s changing in website trends for 2016? Let’s take a look:
Flat Design
Continuing on a trend that was started in 2014, we’ll see some evolving trends with Flat design. Flat design focuses on the simplicity of a user’s experience. You may have seen some websites with elements that “pop” – giving the websites a three-dimensional look. Flat design is the opposite of that, with a focus on minimalism. Now that business owners have had a chance to experiment with all the interesting features and design elements made possible through modern technologies and coding, people have become somewhat disillusioned with flash. At the end of the day, it’s important to make it easy for your customers to find the information they need, and over-designing can get in the way of that.
Typography: Designing with Text
Nobody is going to take your website serious with a font like Comic Sans or Papyrus… unless your website is aimed at a VERY specific audience. Websites like Comic Sans Criminal and Papyrus Watch may help you to see why many people simply despise it. Sans-serif typefaces are fonts without small projecting features at the end of each stroke that bulk them up. As a rule, sans-serif typefaces are the easiest to read for long instances of text. Popular fonts you can find on your computer that fit this description include Arial and Helvetica. For testing out different possibilities, take a look at Google’s Web Fonts tool, which allows you to type words or sentences to see how they look in Google’s library of free web-safe fonts. Open Sans is a popular choice for many website projects.
Professional Content Development
In the past, website owners would take advantage of “keyword stuffing” to rank high on search engines. Now search engines frown on this, and more website owners are looking to professional content writers. Iceberg Web Design offers a keyword research service to get you on the right track. In other instances, Iceberg Web Design connects with professional content writers who write full SEO copy for your website.
The Decline of the Slideshow
That ever-popular, high-demand home page slideshow. Everybody wants it, nobody actually likes it. It’s distracting, doesn’t usually scale down well for smartphones, and never includes any useful information. Up and coming website trends for 2016 will not include the slideshow. Instead, businesses will redistribute their information on their websites in a format that makes more sense than the slideshow.
Is your website ready for the New Year ahead? Get in touch with Iceberg Web Design for a second opinion and to talk about possible website redesigns including the up and coming website trends for 2016!
