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The Hottest Web Design Trends of 2014: Updated | JUST™ Creative

The Hottest Web Design Trends of 2014: Updated | JUST™ Creative | Must Design | Scoop.it

An updated look at the hottest best web design trends of 2014 including a showcase of modern web design inspiration.

Marty Note
This @justcreative post hit many nails on the head when it was initially published and Jacob's update of Helga Moreno's post doesn't disappoint either. Things I REALLY agree with:

See Less of (PLEASE):

* Stock photography (no photos? ASK your employees / followers for help but please no more Stepford people in pics on websites).
* Flash (has killed more #seo and sites than you can shake a stick at and fact it is still alive is amazing).
* Capcha - spam sucks but so do capcha forms.

More of PLEASE:

* Content First (implied in Responsive or Mobile First Design is a new way of thinking about, tagging and presenting content).
* Interactive Exploring (BIG AGREEMENT see my post about Time is Money Online https://plus.google.com/+MartinWSmith/posts/RdjAjWoJTHw and tag this next to #gamification).
* Arresting pictures and Video (YES, your great content will be ignored or under-shared UNLESS it is paired with strong visual hooks and supports).

Great post by Helga for Just Creative and so TRUE to our experience of web dev in 2014 for leading ecommerce clients such as Moon Audio.com.

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Time To Go Pageless? 8 Reasons Why Pageless Design is Future of Web Design

Time To Go Pageless? 8 Reasons Why Pageless Design is Future of Web Design | Must Design | Scoop.it

Pageless design frees websites from the outdated conventions of print design and fully utilizes the digital platform they’re built on. 

8 Compelling Reasons Why "Pageless' Web Design Wins (in the end):


* Tells a better story.

* Easier to "digest" or understand what to do.

* Emotionally more powerful.

* Higher Conversion Rates!!!
* Makes updating faster & easier.

* Lowers BOUNCE & encourages sharing.

* Looks great on all devices (mobile included).

* Lower cost to develop.

Marty Note
I confess to not being in love with the "infinite scroll" just yet. One modification we worked out for @Curagami, our Startup Factory funded startup, is to include a Call-To-Action at the top & Bottom.

CTAs help prepare the scroll. Remember "open book" tests? Putting a CTA on top of a waterfall of content helps prep a visitors mind. It "opens the book" for them. With this many impressive benefits I'm going to have to figure out how to start loving "pageless" design (lol).

I bet there are 5 (or so) similar modifications we can make to help us know how to create the paths and conversion we want by going "pageless".  

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Web design trends for 2014 | Infographic + @ScentTrail Trend Predictions

Web design trends for 2014 | Infographic + @ScentTrail Trend Predictions | Must Design | Scoop.it

What do we predict will be the web design trends in 2014? Here is an infographic with our predictions

Marty Note
Here are my thoughts on web design in 2014.

1. Code Free = Disagree, not in 2014, I have tried Webydo and it is as hard to master as code so why bother, until there is a tool that is EASIER than code we will continue to code.

2. More CMS based site - Agree and this is another way of saying more blogs acting like websites. Good idea to read my Websites vs. Blog post on Curatti.com earlier in the week to know how to keep the things that matter from a "website" as your blog fills both shoes: Websites vs. Blogs Which One Is Better and Why http://curatti.com/websites-vs-blogs/ .

3. Single Page Sites - Disagree - I GUESS you could have a robust enough social presence that a single page site would be fine, but you give up a lot and you are asking a single page to accomplish a lot. Google doesn't rank websites they rank web pages, so pagespread (# of pages in Google) can help build traffic via SEO (that is left of it anyway).

A single page website is only viable for strong mobile or social players and somewhere there has to be an engine generating NEW out into the world. If you use a single page, push NEW out and then wipe it clean that is simply CRAZY with the way traffic is parsed and how we gain authority today. Oprah could have a single page site, how an average website could achieve all that is needed with a single page is beyond me.

4. Interactive Infographics - Agree with this one. The Infographic has legs, or should say the idea of visualizing content has legs. The infographic is an expression of a larger movement - our desire to understand things FAST.

Other 2014 Web Design Trends I see include:

* Lean Design - This movement plays off of #4 and the strength of the marketing visualization movement. Creating more understanding faster is a trending trend.

* Social Net Tapestry - Website designs MUST be social and agnostic about social nets. Including Facebook, Twitter, GPlus, YouTube, Scoop.it, StumbleUpon and 10 more I can't think of right now in ways that make sharing easy, rewarding and not overwhelming is a trend no one has figured out all that well yet, but we will begin to see novel ideas that build on the social media  "widget" idea in 2014 (only much better let's hope).

* Content Curation - we must build websites in 2014 that are focused on KEY CONVERSATIONS and become agnostic about where those conversations happen. Own the conversation, own the traffic.


Curating content INTO a website (or blog) is an important trend no one has quite figured out yet either. Start with traditional ORM (Online Reputation Management) tools. Use ORM to crack some APIs so when something relevant happens to your company, brands or products out there in social media's north forty you

  1. Know about it.
  2. Filter it into your content by having ways (filters) to attach curated content into existing themes. 
  3. Gamify contributors so reward is generous, immediate and competitive.


* Appification of Everything - the Mobile Revolution is not about the phone. It is about redesigning our THINKING about how information creates interaction, engagement and conversion (so a small thing lol). Thinking of everything we do online as an app we will be improving is a very "Mobile First" way to think. Those who understand the "Appification" of everything will win BIG as the rest of the world catches up in 2014.

* Gamification - If your website design doesn't find ways to profile, reward and share (curate) content from contributors you will fall hopelessly behind in 2014. The social web is here, despite few understanding the breadth of that that means, and websites need to promote an ever increasing amount of User Generated Content (UGC). Best way to do that is by using game theory to create web design.

 

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Future of Storytelling Online? Convergence & Mashups as Illustrated By Unknown Spring

Future of Storytelling Online? Convergence & Mashups as Illustrated By Unknown Spring | Must Design | Scoop.it

Unknown Spring

In March 2011 Jake Price, a freelance producer for the BBC, journeyed to Tohoku, Japan to document the devastation left in the wake of the Pacific tsunami.


The  result of his trip is evident in his powerful and beautiful immersive web documentary, "Unknown Spring," which was awarded the World Press Photo Multimedia Awards...'



Via siobhan-o-flynn
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Agree with the @Art Jones note. The mashup of many channels into an immersive environment as illustrated by Unknown Spring is a fascinating and a sign of things to come. The execution on my mac was a tad bumpy, but the convergence of media, narration, navigation, image and "hero's journey" storytelling is powerful.

Here is the link to the Unknown Spring site:
http://www.unknownspring.com


Article about the "new" convergence storytelling:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/whats-the-future-of-storytelling-unknown-spring-provides-some-answers-20140927

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"Snowfall" Interative Web Design Storytelling 20 Examples | Web Directions

"Snowfall"  Interative Web Design Storytelling 20 Examples | Web Directions | Must Design | Scoop.it
Yesterday an article on Medium, Snowfallen, caught my eye. It's about a technique for presenting longform writing online, by embellishing it with integrated
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Not sure how I feel about "snowfall" design. My favorite is the Buzzfeed History of Pong. My concerns are:

* Gets boring to scroll that much.
* Pagespread - is it better SEO to have a single long page or many pages?

The issue of pagespread is tricky. The new Google cherishings engagement and long pages create longer engagement assuming people don't click off.

But Google also likes pagespread (more pages about a topic with social shares and links confirming their importance). I don't know the RIGHT answer her since each approach - long pages or many pages - have distinct SEO benefits.

I find the experience of that long page offputting and wonder how snowfall will play on mobile devices. Mobile may be easier because of the swipe.

In fact, snowfall design may have its roots in mobile (sure feels that way). Whether your website should be 100% snowfall designed is above my pay grade (lol). M  

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