Responsive website design is the latest hot trend on the internet. Indeed, people are already saying that if your website is not responsive, you will no longer be able to keep up with the competition and you are effectively putting yourself out of business. Responsive designs can work on all kinds of websites, whether they are newspapers, blogs, stores or galleries, to name but a few. However, it is perhaps most important for those who try to actually run a business online. This is because more and more people use their mobile devices for online shopping and only responsive websites are able to function both on the desktop and on mobile gadgets. Indeed, if your site is not responsive, it will be slow to load and hard to navigate, and people will likely turn away and go elsewhere rather than wait for your site to appear properly.

So why should you choose to go responsive? Firstly, it allows you to prioritize the information that you feel most relevant to your customers, ensuring that that is what they see first. Since users take, on average, just seven seconds to decide whether or not they will stay on a website, you have to make sure that they immediately see what they are actually looking for. Secondly, the reality is that you have to stay up to date with trends, and responsive design is the new trend. There is no such thing as “cool vintage” or “quirky retro” when it comes to the internet. You are either modern and up to date with your design, or you are overlooked. Being overlooked is something that no business can afford, whether on the high street or on the internet. Moreover, this is even more true online, because your competition is so much larger, spanning the entire globe rather than just a single street.

As you can see, going responsive is not a choice, it is a requirement. Lagging behind is something that you simply cannot afford as an online business, unless you have no intention of attracting and keeping any visitors on your site. Luckily, since responsive design is such a hot topic, it is also very easy to find someone who can work on this type of design for you. The best place to find a good designer is online, obviously. One of the great benefits of finding designers online is that you can also immediately check on their work. Make sure you have a desktop and a mobile device to hand, so that you can immediately see whether or not they have been successful in the work they have done for other websites. Spend some time doing your research, as you must go responsive the right way.

The year 2015 has just started and this means that the world of web design is turning a new leaf as well. You need to be prepared for what is coming. We can’t tell exactly what the future will bring, but we can make some predictions that would be quite accurate. And these predictions can help you to make sure your web design is up-to-date and that you can respond to changes as and when they occur. Let’s take a look, therefore, at some of the trends that you can expect.

No More IE

That statement is perhaps deceptive because the reality is that Microsoft will never completely get rid of IE. However, they are conscious of the fact that people have been using it less and it is for this reason that they are developing Spartan.

“It’s reasonable to assume that Spartan is being built with the same attitudes that have governed the development of IE11, and that means unprecedented support for newer CSS features. It’s also likely to finally push IE6 and IE7 off the cliff.”

As a web designer, this is fantastic news. No longer having to support IE6 and IE7 in your designs will make your life a whole lot easier. IE11 is probably the best browser in the world right now, and if this is a sign of thins to come with Spartan, then you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Minimalist Design

The next major trend is that there is going to be a real focus on minimalist design.

“Clean, minimalist designs eliminate the risk of cluttering up a website and present an ideal design approach for clearly and purposefully presenting design and content elements in a concise, clear fashion.”

It is about creating a straight forward business image, rather than confusing a reader with various images and colors. You will need to focus on how to use white space creatively. Additionally, properly utilizing the different typefaces and fonts is of vital importance.

Material Design

Material design is the latest trend that is set to grow big. It is an initiative delivered by Google, which means designers really need to pay attention to it.

“The material is grounded in tactile reality, inspired by the study of paper and ink, yet technologically advanced and open to imagination and magic.”

This type of design basically incorporates the flat, minimalistic design with the futuristic technological advancements we are now all so used to. It is a simple image that has many interactive options that users can customize to their own needs and requirements. This really is one to stay on top of.

Longer Scrolling

It seems contradictory to say that with minimalist design and material design, but we will also see longer scrolling pages. Although it continues to be recommended to provide as much information as possible with as little text and images, the reality is also that people do not like to click through anymore.

“It is easier for users to simply scroll through a page to get their information than it is to constantly click to find information.”

Long scrolling is something that will be found on all pages, although many Washington web designers and others throughout the states are trying to keep it off the homepage. This way, users will only have to click on a single link, which takes them to the information they want, after which they can simply scroll down. This is also important for those users who use the back button regularly, as they will no longer have to go through each of the pages they have viewed anymore, instead simply returning to their original starting point.