Trends are the changes happening in any creative field, and web design is one such field. Most of the innovative designs introduced in web design were born of experimentation. Web design plays a significant role in allowing users to connect with website owners who include businesses and individuals. The latest mobile website design trends will follow the trends seen in the computing industry where it is estimated that most people visit sites through their mobile phones. Today’s average person owns a smartphone, and they use this device to access the Internet. Therefore, with this in mind, it is important for web designers to come up with web designs that are mobile-friendly. Here are some mobile web design trends that you need to keep tabs on:
1. The adoption of a mobile-first approach
More and more brands are now aware that a big proportion of their potential customers are using smartphones and mobile phones to access the Internet. This emphasis on mobile usage is the reason why these brands are pushing for a mobile-first approach in web design. As the name suggests, a mobile-first approach requires the web designer to start by creating the website to fit smallest screened devices before working on plans for bigger devices. This method helps brands to tailor their core message and content to fit what they need to communicate. Since smartphones come with small screens, the brand is forced to limit its web content to an amount that can be viewed easily on the screen.
2. Responsive design
Although this is not a new thing, some argue that more brands will embrace the creation of their websites around responsive designs. This approach makes it possible for web designers to build websites using CSS media queries and some flexible layouts or grids. The result is a single and dynamic site which re-jigs and adjusts its content to ensure that it fits different sized devices. Using responsive designs in web design is both cost efficient and optimizes content to various mobile devices and users. Optimized mobile websites rank well in Google.
3. Advanced animation
With the advancement of browsers and languages, the mobile sites are expected to benefit from advanced animations created from advanced languages. There will be a departure from the use of static imagery to the use of captivating animation to keep the mobile web user engaged. JQuery, HTML5, and CSS will play a significant role in enabling the creation of mobile-friendly animations that can be used to serve different purposes. Animations can be used to show that you are hovering over a link or it can be used to entertain you as you wait for your requested content to load.
For a site to be considered to be mobile friendly, it has to have a responsive design and carry relevant content. Mobile-friendliness is important because visitors who come to the site will stay longer if the site is responsive and it carries the content they need. Whenever visitors come to your site and stay there longer, your site will register a high click back time. When they visit other web pages on your website, you will register a low bounce rate. Both a high click back time and low bounce rate will enable your site to rank well in Google.