Undoubtedly, whether one is an expert designer or a newbie, there is always something new to learn. With the year not so far gone, there are trends which are expected to stand out clearly in the web design sector. Some of the fascinating trends in 2015 include:

1.    Elimination of Side Bars

Side bars are a great distraction and they never add any value to a site. Whenever a user visits a website, they are interested in the discussion rather than the Facebook feeds, twitter or newsletter. Such actions should be at the very bottom of the page. Once certain they like what is on offer, it is easier for them to interact with the stated actions. Therefore, we expect to see website designs without sidebars.

2.    Ghost Buttons

These are designed to attract users in a subtle manner rather than distract them. The buttons are transparent yet recognizable in shape, bordered with thin lines, and with light san-serif font. Ghost buttons are not a call to action and they are ideal for designers not willing to muddle their site with unnecessary navigation.

3.    Lengthier Scrolling Websites

Some of the newest website designs have the tendency of being lengthy while scrolling through pages. With the rising popularity of mobile devices, it is now commonplace for websites to settle for scrolling, rather than linking, for content display on their homepages. Scrolling through a page is easier than constantly scrolling to access information.

4.    Communication and Storytelling

While great content is amazing for a website, the ability to tell a story through the content is a huge plus. In 2015, web design will focus more on telling users a story. Web design has become more animated and interactive, aiding in presenting content in an appealing and unique manner. When it is applied appropriately, it adds the wow factor to any site.

5.    Isomorphic JavaScript

This trend will be more popular among companies that have made great investments in JavaScript for their website infrastructure. The design offers great improvements in areas of SEO, maintainability and performance.

6.    Micro UX

This is a design focused on delighting users through use of simple, innovative designs that make tasks easier and engaging. In essence, it offers a humane experience and increases the chances of getting return visitors.

7.    Animated Elements

Subtle animations will be used on off screen elements and buttons. This trend has picked up rapidly among designers. The notion is that short, subtle elements offer users a feel of where they come from instead of appearing out of nowhere.

These trends mean, as much as key players in the web development industry are engaging the most creative methods around, they are also thinking about the user experience, which ultimately means the website’s goal is achieved.

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Need Ideas on Website Design

Websites are fantastic tools for all businesses and those without one are certainly not in touch with modern world trends. Any business that wants to succeed and stay above the competition must get a website up and running whereby they can present themselves to the entire world and conduct online transactions.

Websites are great, but for them to really work and have a positive impact for the business they represent then they need to have a couple of things. Many websites often fail in their purpose just because they miss a few important aspects like those outlined below:

1.    Good Design

It is rather obvious that having a visually appealing website is important. This is because humans generally prefer to have or be associated with good things. A creative graphic designer should be able to come up with a beautiful website, which is very important for all websites.

2.    Good Site Navigation

Good site navigation with links that work is important because it determines how easy and quickly visitors get around your site. The importance of a proper and straight to the point system on a site cannot be understated because it can mean the start or the end of a good deal, when a customer finds or fails to find what he or she is looking for, or even how to pay for it!

3.    Good Content

Sometimes people ignore the value of good content on their website in the form of pictures, videos and written words, which enhance one’s brand personality. Having great content on your website is quite important in keeping your customers engaged, educated and entertained while visiting the site.

4.    Favourable Web Hosting

There are many web hosting service providers, including those that are free and thus save on running costs. It is however important to have your website hosted by companies that will be most beneficial to you regardless of cost. This could mean things like getting a web hosting firm that has servers close to your target market or the one that has marketing policies that also complement your business.

5.    Browser Compatibility

Different browsers exist today, and more keep turning up. If you intend to reach people on a global level, then you have to incorporate cross browser compatibility in your website. This is especially important for proper and secure e-commerce to take place.

6.    Mobile Optimization

People all around the world are increasingly using smartphones and tablets to browse and surf the internet. Having a website that easily and smoothly shifts from desktop mode to mobile view is now more of a necessity than an option.

7.    Business Information

This should actually be the number one on the list of importance. Information about what your business is all about and what it deals with in terms of goods and services or otherwise, should be right on the first page. There should also be proper SEO elements incorporated here to make sure potential customers searching for you and your products get to your website fast.

8.    Accurate and Up-to-date Contact Information

Cyber crimes are on the rise today and people are starting to be more vigilant in all their online activities. They want to be sure who it is that they are dealing with and that’s why they’ll always check and verify who the website belongs to before engaging in any monetary business. If the contacts listed on your website are not clear or lead elsewhere, then no one can trust you.

9.    Social Media incorporation

Social media has progressively become an essential tool for all online businesses. It is becoming more and more important for websites to incorporate the social media within them because they provide platforms on which you can advertise on as well as interact with your customers.

10.   Tracking and Analytics

This is a means for you to keep track of how your website is doing which is without question, very important to you. Google actually has a great tracking and analytics tool that you can incorporate to see how your site ranks and thus determine whether your SEO efforts are working for you.

The post 9 plus 1 Important Things to Have in Your Website appeared first on Access Desires.

There are many factors that come to mind if you want to build a website. The elements, design, layout and even content will all be guided by the purpose for which the site exists. Every aspect of the site must work towards furthering this goal, so that the synergy between different aspects results in a site that is worth displaying to potential clients in your target market.

Below, we offer three pointers to guide you through the planning phase before embarking on any actual design work. If you get the plan right the first time, everything will seamlessly flow from there.

1.       The goal

Even before identifying the design team or mapping out elements and choosing colors, you must have a clear picture for what you want the site to accomplish for your business. By accurately defining what your website must do, the work of design will become much easier – choosing what the site will have, how it will look, where it will go, how it will be marketed – all these find their meaning in the purpose or goal.

More importantly, the purpose will determine the kind of content to be served up to your audience and how it should be presented. For example, if you run professional consultancy services, then you know you audience would be better served by a blog instead of a portal. If you are looking to sell your products online then what you need is a full-fledged online store with all the information to complete a purchase readily available.

2.       The marketing strategy

There are billions of pages and sites on the Internet today. A good fraction of these have great content and are very well built. But the reason you may never see some of them is that they lack a proper marketing strategy. There are two major angles to pursue in marketing: online and offline marketing.

Online marketing refers to the collection of techniques employed over the Internet to improve online visibility – social media marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, content marketing  among others. Your strategy must have a healthy balance with all these techniques for maximum efficacy.

Offline marketing involves efforts away from the Internet and includes most of the conventional advertising schemes. Other useful methods include exhibitions and promotions, ads in periodicals and posters, road shows, positive referrals, discounts and offers among others.

3.       The cost

Many website owners start here and never get any further. While important, cost should not be the paramount consideration when building your website. There are many ways to get what you want within the budget that you have to work with. Cost also has two components: the one-time fee charged by your design and development team to build the site, and the recurring costs of web-hosting, registration of the domain name, maintenance, optimization, link-building and other administrative duties.

Where you need specialized software to help in the design and/or maintenance phases, you may have to incur additional charges to acquire this software. Depending on your budget, you can decide how much of the work to outsource. For instance, you can outsource the main tasks and train yourself or a member in your staff to handle the day-to-day administration of the site where you have a limited budget.

Conclusion

Bear these in mind also as you go about selection of a website designer to ensure that you get the highest value for money. Remember, the best designer is not necessarily the biggest, most experienced or most expensive on the list. Rather, you are looking for a person or team that demonstrates an understanding of your goals and strategies and has a solid plan of action to help you move closer to their achievement through your website.

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