Most Successful Trends in Website Design for Mobile Devices
As soon as a new mobile device hits the market, we see dozens of applications in the marketplace, improving their functionality. Users have unlimited number of choices when it comes to both free and paid mobile applications. As we see that the number of people using handheld devices is ever increasing, it’s becoming more and more difficult for website designers to offer utmost browsing experiencing to each of the user.
Without a doubt Android and iOS have become more popular than any other mobile operating system, but there is still a large percentage of population using other devices and operating systems, such as Blackberry, Samsung, Symbian and Windows. Ignoring any of the segments of mobile user directly affects the customer base, ultimately decreasing sales.
Web designers, however, have tried to address the issue by developing and launching innovative website designs for different devices. Some experiments have become extremely successful while others were silently subsided. In this article, I’ll focus on the most common; let us say the most successful, trends in website design for different mobile devices and applications. The results are based on my research on the internet.
- Screenshots
Screenshots are considered as an important part of any website for mobile devices, as they are the quickest, simplest and most effective way to show the user interface and main features. Screenshots show how an interface will look like on a mobile device. In addition to screenshots, a lens is also considered an integral part of a website designed for mobile devices. A lens can help browsers zoom the smaller parts of a website.
- Networking on Mobiles
Mobile applications development for social networking have made mobile devices an entirely new platform for communication and connecting with friends. All major social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter have gone mobile long ago. This is something that web designers have taken advantage of. The mobile applications, allowing users to remain connected with friends are big hits. Stores allowing browsers to use social networking through their mobile website are extremely popular, experiencing heavy traffic.
- Responsive Typography
Adjustable or responsive typography makes it easier to connect with a range of different mobile users. As mentioned in one of my previous articles, it is something that contributes to the browsing experience of the mobile devices. The text adjusts itself according to length and width of a device, offering optimum experience to the browsers. It’s the hottest trend in mobile website design and has still a long way to go.
- Adding Colors to Illustrations
Along with unusual or regular fonts, adding colors to the website design or illustrations is one of the most common and successful trends in this field. It offers additional tone and appeal to the website or application, making it more visibly attractive. Yes, minimalism has its own market but colors have their own effects on the viewer.
The techniques I have put above are amongst the most common but successful trends in website design for mobile devices. However, it is not necessary that they hold true for your business websites. It is important to analyze your target audience and message you want to convey to them.
Kuntal Mehta (KJ) is the managing partner of Seashore Partners, a web development, e-commerce solution and SEO company headquartered in New Jersey, United States. In this article, he discusses the most successful trends in website design for mobile devices.