It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a shift in web design practices towards a greater emphasis on mobile adaptations. Websites are now supposed to be even more efficient and user-friendly in order to keep up with the competitive online market, and they must be suitable for all screens – whether a PC, a tablet, or a smartphone. The bulky and slightly overloaded designs of the 2000s are long a thing of the past; the human eye is fed up with them now. The new maxim is a focus on the essentials.
Websites must be “user-friendly”, but “usability” is just as important in modern web design. Responsive web design is an important trend for the mobile market. It emphasizes technical flexibility while also taking the user’s device into account. Modern web design therefore means that a website “reacts” effectively to the user’s device and presents itself accordingly. Responsive web design is consciously designed so that websites can react well to new or previously unfamiliar systems. Web designers no longer develop sites just for browsers anymore – many of the best-known website providers enable easier mobile use via their own apps.
Trends and counter-trends in web design
Web design trends don’t exist in a vacuum; counter-trends have emerged pulling certain design elements in a different or opposite direction. Sometimes counter-trends develop from a reaction to certain trends as they become more apparent. Web designers often rely on counter-trends in order to stand out as the internet designers of the future. Here are some examples of trends and corresponding counter-trends that we will encounter in 2020.
Load key elements first
Web pages should be programmed so that “above the fold” content is retrieved first and displayed in the browser. These are the parts of the page that are visible to the viewer without them having to scroll down. As long as this content is available, it doesn’t matter to the user whether additional content is loaded later.
Progressive JPEGs
Images embedded as progressive JPEGs do not build up from top to bottom in the final resolution when loaded. Instead, interlaced scanning is used: the viewer is first presented with a preview image that’s low quality, which is gradually refined until the data for the desired image quality has been completely loaded.
Modern web design techniques provide an opportunity for web designers to create elegant sites that users enjoy browsing and engaging with. But it’s important to remember that trends do change and new technologies continue to being rapidly developed. At the same time, the future user should always be at the center of a good design strategy. Designs should match the user group and auto-adjust their content accordingly.