We are more than ever concerned with inspiring web design trends in 2015 than ever before. As websites continue to take on a more significant role in business and marketing, the web development world continues to evolve. The year 2015 has especially been, and continues to be the year of evolution in terms web design and development. Here are the top eight trends going into the future.
Unlike in the past, it is almost impossible to find instances of complete website overhaul every few years with nothing happening in terms of changes in web design platform and structure in between. Web design is becoming modular in nature, with many companies preferring continual onsite assembly of new functions into their websites.
In the past, organizations and clients invested huge amounts of money and time on web developers and trusted them to take on complicated projects. However, these projects were generally sporadic. Going into the future, organizations are moving towards partnership with developers, preferring to have them in-house where they provide service as and when needed.
SaaS products continue to take on a larger portion of the workload previously only reserved for specialists. SaaS products, by their very nature, are designed to make the process easier and target the lower end of the spectrum-the DIY crowd. This trend is bound to continue. However, despite their abundance, they will not be adequate for all industry enterprise needs.
Companies often require more complex web products, most of which require the integration of several services. The effect of this is that web designers who are used to simple websites have to learn more complex tools and skills necessary for the upmarket crowd. Up-market developers and agencies also have to adjust their pricing models, a fact which might affect the profitability of those serving the mid-level market.
JavaScript is now common in the HTML 5 Cheatsthan ever before. It is popular and virtually on every website on the internet today. It will not be the only language in the web development world, but JavaScript will certainly dominate going into the future. It is already dominant for the client side computer, being unavoidable for the browser.
However, the server side is slowly beginning to embrace it given the popularity of such tools as Node.js. A good example of the JavaScript revolution is in the story of smartphones. Once, the only way to gain access to the smartphone was to write code in the phone’s native language, say, Java for Android phones. However, today one can use JavaScript to get what they want out of the many browser-like applications. Away from mobile phones, the Chromebook and Chrome OS are giving serious competition to regular operating systems.
In terms of platforms and languages, android is hovering close behind. Today, there is android on almost every device: refrigerators, televisions, car stereos, headphones and even cameras. While some sections of the market complain that the user interface is too complicated, the point is that the UI layer can always be changed, but if it is android running in the background, then the platform will remain the same.
The matter has been complicated by the growth of the tablet market. Many PC manufacturers are feeling increasingly left out by this opportunity, and are opting to allow people to use android on their desktops, use android emulators or new brands such as PC plus. Android combining with the browser is likely to push windows to third place.
For web developers looking to join a tech company, options often fall roughly into two categories; tech leaders and legacy tech. Tech leaders are often relatively new companies that develop and maintain innovative applications. Their work is often heavy on the client side, meaning the use of such languages as JavaScript. Legacy tech companies are those whose tools and technologies are old, but their reliability and working condition make them favorable to certain businesses and organizations.
Working at legacy companies involves a lot of back end work. While the demand for web developers is generally bound to increase, the demand for the full stack developer, able to handle both back and front-end work is bound to reduce. As organizations look to specialize and handle complex projects, they will require specialized back or front-end skills. Naturally, developers will need to learn aspects of both front and back end skills especially as they move towards senior level positions.
HTML falls in the basics to design a website. However, one major drawback of HTML is the fact that it is a markup language and not strictly a programming language. In HTML, it is difficult to create new tags and reuse components. Web components by HTML5 solves some of these problems. Even search engine company Google has labelled web components as the future of web development.
With this tool, elements like image sliders, which normally would require HTML, JavaScript and CSS can easily be tagged for reuse. This trend has been described as a tectonic shift in the web development world. Although web components will change how developers write apps as well as the end user experience, it will take time before the effects of this new trend are fully felt.
Legacy tech companies like Google and Apple will continue to influence web design trends. For instance, Apple has inspired a trend in background images in web design. Background images are now large enough to cover the whole screen. Two versions or themes will continue to dominate background image design: static and dynamic. Static versions have large still shots, while static versions are more sophisticated, like a short video clip. Google continues to set the trend in terms of the use of vibrant colors and interactive texture.
Another important trend in terms of web design that must not be ignored regards the evolution of the user. Today, almost all adults are expert website users. The impact of this is that websites will be forced to be increasingly faster technically, and easier to understand. Websites must adapt to the fact that users are becoming more perceptive and impatient. Websites are going the way of apps, which use minimal interfaces and flat design.
Conclusion
As technology advances, the web is surely going to change to be a place where almost everything is possible.
