In an era defined by innumerable fads, it’s often difficult to determine whether you’re a trendsetter or a social straggler. The worst case scenario is you might be off on what year it is. I would know, I wore a crochet poncho last week.
As our society becomes increasingly consumed by technology, you need to ensure that you’re maximizing potential inbound traffic to your website. We compiled a list of the do’s and don'ts of web design for the upcoming year so you can step up your game.
Music
Unless you’re a music guru producing the next Kendrick Lamar, don’t throw tracks on your main page. You haven’t earned that right. You never see the top dogs tossing on the tunes when you first enter their sites. Facebook dropping beats by Lil Wayne? Google grooving to The Grateful Dead? What might sound pleasant to you may personally offend your visitors. On a budgetary note, any respectable sound byte commands a significant portion of your webpage’s bandwidth. In effect, your musical selections cost you an unnecessary pretty penny.
Flat User Interface
Late last year, Apple took the world by storm with the release of its new operating system, iOS 7, featuring a flat interface. Over at The DSM Group, we love the fresh take on traditionally long-shadowed typography and iconography. The void of physical dimensions gives the flat design a clean, minimalistic feel to the brand's image that is both simple and striking.
Internal Transitions
Peeling pages? Sophisticated six-second fadeouts? Save these effects for your fifth-grader’s PowerPoint presentation. Potential visitors are primarily attracted to speed within the site’s mainframe. Your developer designed a cool pixelated menu that takes eight seconds to sharpen into focus? Wonderful. All I want to know is that your filet mignon costs $46 and that I’ll be able to shovel it into my face. Instead, give your site a minimalist interface with clean transitions. The fusion of speed and simplicity is the key to attracting inbound traffic.
Glossy Buttons
What do glossy buttons, Tomagatchi toys and clip-in braid extensions all have in common? They stopped being socially acceptable after 1999. If you’re still using glossy buttons on your website, spice up your design by using simple geometric shapes and a cool-toned gradient. A tasteful, subtle aesthetic can go a long way in acquiring leads.
Bizarre Navigation
While complicated navigation options can give your page a cool aesthetic, it’s not practical. Without exception, navigation should be placed on the top of the page or along the left side. Visitors are all about instant gratification - if users can’t immediately find what they’re looking for, chances are they’ll click the back button. Impress users with your content, rather than a navigation menu that even you can barely figure out. We even found an example that sports both impossible navigation options and glossy buttons. C'mon man, ain't nobody got time for that.
Which fads do you despise the most? Let us know in the comments below?