Happy New Year to you all!
My head has been buzzing over the last few days. Not from the effects of all the New Year celebrations – but with ideas.
Spurred on by my decision to set up a Twitter account late last week (you can follow me on: @DebbieLegall), I’ve been combing through websites and blogs and signed up for an impressive batch of newsletters.
Somewhere in the midst of all this Twitter-induced reading, I’ve noticed that a popular topic for this time of year (apart from New Year resolutions) seems to be: looking ahead and rounding up the trends for the coming year.
Not being one to buck a popular (and useful) trend, I am going to join the fray…
Some web design trends
Some of the common web trends being identified for 2011 are design related. These include, but aren’t limited to the following:
- clear, simple and uncluttered web page designs
- the continued use of a growing variety of web font styles
- the growing use of integrated social media icons such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg etc
- magazine layout style pages
- limiting the use of flash-only solutions
- But as with most web areas, there are always knock-on effects.
And web page copy trends?
I believe that web copy – the information on your website – will also be influenced by these trends.
For example, the explosion in the use of mobile technology – such as smart phones, tablet PCs etc – and the move to ensure that online content can be accessed with ease on such devices means that your website information must be suitably equipped – by making it:
- easy to find
- succinct
- easy to navigate
As the overall shift towards a mobile-device friendly approach takes a greater hold, it makes sense to think of ways to ensure your website doesn’t miss out on the expected explosion in the number of mobile internet users in 2011 and beyond; especially given the surges in the last two years alone.
Some ideas to get you started:
- test your current website out on a mobile app to experience it for yourself
- simplify your web copy/information
- revise how you use images and re-size, optimise and remove any as necessary
- check your website using mobile-friendly test sites such as mobiReady
- introduce a mobile version of your website if your tests/customer feedback show that you need one
- monitor your website regularly as you publish more pages, or if you do a re-design or add any new functionality
If you have already started adapting your website, or are considering doing so, why not share your experiences/comments?
Post written by DEBBIE THOMAS on 3 January 2011.