Trends in Responsive Web Design

The advent of multiple devices such as tablets and smartphones have forced the idea of responsive web design to steadily evolve over the last five to six years. In reality, the concept has been around since 2001 when Audi unveiled the first variable width browser website. The last few years in particular have seen a few trends taking place that are noteworthy enough for you to keep an eye on.

1. It's All About The User – Somewhere along the last 20 years or so, we went from being merely user-friendly to striving for high usability, and finally in 2016 we are firmly entrenched in ... "The User Experience!" All marketing jargon aside, the key idea is simple: It doesn't matter if you're talking about a website on a laptop, desktop (some people still use these things), a tablet, or a smartphone; the user still needs to be at the center of the design. Implement plenty of user testing early in the process, so that your responsive web design is performing up to expectations. Content is still king in a lot of ways, but that content better be user friendly, or highly usable, or have a great user experience ... you get the point.
2. Don't Just Consider Mobile, Start There – Even as recently as two to three years ago, the mobile experience was more of an afterthought than anything else. Guess what? Don't do that anymore. Everybody from tech savvy professionals to blue collar workers, grandmothers, and even high tech toddlers are using a smartphone these days. Mobile applications need to be at the forefront of your responsive web design or you will be missing a giant portion of your user community.
3. Flat Design 2.0 – There have been some great advances made in the area of minimalist web design that are here to say. But, we're starting to see more of a middle ground with more descriptive icons and navigation menus to let people know what's happening a little better. Like anything else, you can go too flat if you're not careful. Users still need some form of guidance in the form of visual cues to understand what they should be doing, and the evolution of flat design is steering us firmly in the direction of somewhere between minimalism and creative.

"Contensive" is a company dedicated to solving complex mobile and website problems. Please contact us today for more information on how we can work with you on your responsive web design, online integration, and more. Let us show you how we can make complicated look easy.