Last year was quite the year for the internet, as censorship was battled, native apps were created, and technology evolved overall. Technology is always changing, and it seems to be changing more quickly every year, which means that developers and designers need to adapt to these changes faster. I have a website for my company, and it can be absolutely daunting to keep up with all of the trends going on, which is why I decided to figure out for myself what’s in store this year. I thought I’d share what I discovered so that developers and designers don’t have to experience the frustration of falling behind.
You Can Bet on Responsive Web Design Being Necessary
Responsive web design became a huge design trend in 2012, but it’s bound to come into full bloom this year. The continuously rising technology of tablets, mobile phones and other mediums for browsing the web should be taken into consideration when designing a website. This is excellent for the future of web design because designers will no longer need to come up with individual sites for phones and other technology, as a single website can be created that’s optimized for all browsers. Thankfully, the growing number of gadgets doesn’t mean design efficiency will go down.
Things Will Get Experimental
As the technology evolves, so will the ways websites are created. CSS grids support, rem units and pre-processors are simply some of the ways people will discover new and more efficient ways to design and develop a website. When publishing a website that isn’t finished, it’s fine for publishers because as time goes on the site can be updated and be given new features based on visitor interaction and input. This process can lead to a lot of experimental tweaking that sparks new ways to go about web design.
New Tools Will Make Things Easier
Products such as Adobe Edge Reflow will incorporate responsive web design into common web design and management. These tools will allow for more flexibility and make things much simpler for designers and publishers. This will go a long way in making sure websites are published faster while still allowing comprehensive design to take place.
Expect to See More Videos
As the internet continues to speed up and people experiment with new programs, video will continue to grow in popularity. Video camera technology is always going through changes as well, so it’s only natural that more videos will be popping up online. Videos provide an engaging, stimulating way to learn about products and services, or to simply be entertained. One of the product packages that’s at the top of its game (and has been for some time) is Adobe Creative Suite, with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects being innovative software that filmmakers love to toy with. Best of all, tablets and mobile phones will be able to view all videos in high quality with faster loading times, making video perfectly optimized.
Bringing in Unique Personalities
Things are bound to become more colorful online this year. There’s been a greater focus on content, with illustrations becoming a huge part of what goes into a solid website. Sure, content strategies have always been important, but there’s a need to produce content that’s original, eye-catching and interesting. Every company website should carry an identifiable personality that’s comforting while speaking loud and clear to users. This fact is becoming all the more crucial to online success in 2013.
The Younger Guys Will Learn More
Along with the growth of web design and development, the youth who will be the leaders of the industry are also growing. Younger students have grown up in a digital age, and will be able to pick up more technology trends as they happen. Organizations are taking over where the government isn’t picking up quite as much as it probably should, working to teach kids about the future of the web.
The iPad Won’t Remain the Only Tablet
Apple once again may have proven to be a pioneer in new technology, but the “wave of the future” is about to become tidal, with a slew of tablets coming along for publishers to acknowledge. Mobile operating systems such as Tizen, which uses HTML5, will be a huge deal because of the expected quality, and the Firefox OS will be showing up as well. Microsoft and Android OS’s are also going to be increasingly popular with users, while web designers experience the efficiency of creating responsive HTML apps that work for all of them.
You Can Only Look Forward
These are simply some of the many, many ways the terrain of the internet is changing. Gone are the days of creating websites that don’t allow for optimization on all mobile phones and tablets. Creating a website that utilizes as many trends as possible can help guarantee successful web design and development. Also, Chicago web development is certainly likely to evolve more quickly than in other locations, considering I’ve always found the city in general to be ahead of the latest business practices, online and off. I know I’m happy that I’ve found out a lot of what’s going on, even if I’m not entirely familiar with it all quite yet, and hopefully you can use these tips and more to your advantage as well.
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