2014 Web Design Trends To Follow or Not to Follow?

The year 2013 and even 2012 saw several changes in trends for website design due to several large influencers. Google made several changes to their search engine algorithms in more than a few updates in past couple of years, forcing more websites to really cater to their audience in usability and content. The release of HTML5 gave designers a lot to play around with, which sometimes resulted in an overboard of animation, unfortunately. Responsive designs became much more necessary as mobile access to the web became much more prominent.

These examples are just a brief snippet of many of the changes that have influenced recent trends and that will continue to guide web design trends in 2014. Keep in mind, though, that most trends come with a downside - usually in the event of overuse. It's also wise to remember that not every trend will be right for every single one of your clients. As a web designer or web developer, you have the responsibility of both keeping up with current trends as well as tailoring a website to your client.

So, read through some of the more popularly predicted trends below, and then decide on a client-by-client basis which of these trends to follow and which you should leave behind.

Flat Design

When Apple rolled out the iOS7 update, not everyone was a huge fan of the all-new flat design. Yet, Jony Ive seemed to know that it was the perfect time to let go of skeumorphism and introduce a much more minimalististic, clean, and straight-forward design. After the release of iOS7, flat designs started appearing all over the web. This year will probably be no exception in the continuing growth of flat design. It is not only mobile-friendly but also strips down a design to basics, often creating a much more organized look and feel.