As 2015 is now fully upon us, we thought it beneficial to examine several web design trends taking hold for small business sites. Many of these you may have seen before, but were unaware of the reason behind them or the usefulness they may provide. Others may not be right for you.
Some have come around due to advances in technology, and others are only cosmetic or related to user experience. Nonetheless, judge each with an eye open as to their best uses for your particular site, and not necessarily for any hype or good press. Even though infinite scrolling may work for Facebook doesn't mean it's suitable for your site.
So without further delay, the following are five website design trends small businesses are implementing in 2015.
5 Trends in website design for small business
Employing Infinite scrolling – Infinite scrolling has become all the rage over the last year or so. The ability to keep the reader engaged over one long stream of content can work for some, like Facebook for example, and not for others. Make sure it serves your ultimate visitor goals before you use this.
Responsive design – A responsive site is no longer an option for 2015. With more than half the Web traffic originating from a mobile device, it's imperative that your site show up well on all platforms.
A clean spare look – Lots of white space and lean blocks of text are what readers want these days, and the extra space gives your pages an uncluttered, relaxed feel. This works with the mantra of keeping things simple and direct, and leaving your visitors with fewer distractions and choices.
Play with fonts and color – Don't feel totally constrained in regards to fonts and color. Make a statement and paint your web canvas with the look and feel of the message you want to convey. This doesn't mean making large textual sections in a stylish, hard to read font, but selective use of creative fonts and colors can jazz things up quite nicely.
Don't neglect social media – Make sure your readers are able to share your content easily to their followers across the Web. Who knows if the person who wants to tweet about your post has a few hundred thousand followers who might like what you have to offer too!