Submission + - Emerging patterns in modern website design
engadven writes: "We design has grown from almost nothing to a huge global industry in little more than 10 years. The technologies we use have changed significantly and this article discusses current trends to see how websites will be designed differently in the future.
Early website design was dominated by the fact that most people got it wrong. We thought that making elaborate designs with super cool Flash intros would tempt people to stay on our sites, but in fact it just made them difficult to or add content and distracted people's eyes from reading the message. Now the requirements for CSS compliance, accessibility, SEO and content syndication have brought a huge commonality in form and function.
Early sites were created in WYSIWYG editors, but these have never been good for working with external stylesheets and many designers have already gone back to their basic text editors. I'm sure there will be good visual editors emerging although the modular format of CSS may see the usable of code libraries being preferred.
Another factor spelling the end of WYSIWYG editors is the benefit of keeping content 100% separate from design so that any site can be given a complete new look in an instant. Also the ease and speed with which large sites can be created with modern CMS packages means that creating each page with a custom layout or by hand will no longer be effective. Again the consistent approach of a CMS is not seen as boring by the user but just easier to navigate around. Blogging has revolutionised the amount of content being created by giving relatively unskilled users the ability to create nice looking, compliant sites, very quickly and easily. It's the blogging technology's basic approach that has allowed it to succeed and this will definitely transfer to traditional websites. Firstly the simple structure is easy for users to follow and makes creating and updating the site very easy. The templates are also basic and easy to customise so unique designs are easy to achieve. Blogging is also mindset that has motivated a lot more people to put information online where they could not or would not have built a website. Perhaps now these same people will start to create websites using the blog technologies and remove the need for a web designer completely.
Ultimately one type of CMS will never be the best for every situation so I'm sure web developers will still be needed to set up the appropriate program for each client. This will probably include a traditional online database CMS and page generator like a blog, wiki or client side solutions. For larger sites where several people need to update the content remotely then an online version is a must, but for the majority of information sites that are created by developers for their clients then a page generator may be more appropriate. These generate lots of sites from one installation so the initial time to build and more importantly, the time to maintain or upgrade later is much reduced. Real page generators can also produce much better structured, low bandwidth, reliable pages which don't suffer the drop in performance caused by high levels of server processing requests when running several online CMS packages on the same server.
Here is a summary of some of the key factors that may determine the future.
1. CSS will stay. The browser bugs will go and growing modular libraries will make it quicker.
2. CMS for every site. 100% split of content and design is a must. The justification for laying out each page separately will be rare.
3. Usability over unique design. Common layouts with text based, accessible menus rather than over complicated designs.
4. Speed and simplicity. Blogging has delivered much more online content because it is so quick and easy. Commercial CMS solutions will become just as easy.
5. Customisable templates. Although site layouts and operation will be very similar, clients will always want individuality and branding so CMS templates will be even more flexible and easy to configure.
6. Maintenance services. If website solutions are instance we won't need so many traditional web designers. However, clients rarely like add their own content so this service will grow.
7. eMarketing services. Internet generated business will continue to grow with off site marketing becoming an important service.
8. Rich media not rich graphics. The early, over designed, graphic heavy sites will never return. Updating text and pictures needs to be easy but will always be a poor form of communication. Sound, video and simulation will deliver messages better.
9. Web2.0 benefits for business sites. Smaller company websites will also benefit from better interaction with their customers.
10. Multiple site CMS solutions. Not installing a CMS for every site, instead a single app that creates all sites will make upgrades much easier e.g. blog, wiki, client side solutions.
11. Performance quality. CMS solutions will continue to change, driven by the need for the best SEO performance, speed, flexibility and bolt on services. 12. As CMS systems develop it's likely developers will have knowledge of several different types to suit each client's size, budget and technical abilities."
Early website design was dominated by the fact that most people got it wrong. We thought that making elaborate designs with super cool Flash intros would tempt people to stay on our sites, but in fact it just made them difficult to or add content and distracted people's eyes from reading the message. Now the requirements for CSS compliance, accessibility, SEO and content syndication have brought a huge commonality in form and function.
Early sites were created in WYSIWYG editors, but these have never been good for working with external stylesheets and many designers have already gone back to their basic text editors. I'm sure there will be good visual editors emerging although the modular format of CSS may see the usable of code libraries being preferred.
Another factor spelling the end of WYSIWYG editors is the benefit of keeping content 100% separate from design so that any site can be given a complete new look in an instant. Also the ease and speed with which large sites can be created with modern CMS packages means that creating each page with a custom layout or by hand will no longer be effective. Again the consistent approach of a CMS is not seen as boring by the user but just easier to navigate around. Blogging has revolutionised the amount of content being created by giving relatively unskilled users the ability to create nice looking, compliant sites, very quickly and easily. It's the blogging technology's basic approach that has allowed it to succeed and this will definitely transfer to traditional websites. Firstly the simple structure is easy for users to follow and makes creating and updating the site very easy. The templates are also basic and easy to customise so unique designs are easy to achieve. Blogging is also mindset that has motivated a lot more people to put information online where they could not or would not have built a website. Perhaps now these same people will start to create websites using the blog technologies and remove the need for a web designer completely.
Ultimately one type of CMS will never be the best for every situation so I'm sure web developers will still be needed to set up the appropriate program for each client. This will probably include a traditional online database CMS and page generator like a blog, wiki or client side solutions. For larger sites where several people need to update the content remotely then an online version is a must, but for the majority of information sites that are created by developers for their clients then a page generator may be more appropriate. These generate lots of sites from one installation so the initial time to build and more importantly, the time to maintain or upgrade later is much reduced. Real page generators can also produce much better structured, low bandwidth, reliable pages which don't suffer the drop in performance caused by high levels of server processing requests when running several online CMS packages on the same server.
Here is a summary of some of the key factors that may determine the future.
1. CSS will stay. The browser bugs will go and growing modular libraries will make it quicker.
2. CMS for every site. 100% split of content and design is a must. The justification for laying out each page separately will be rare.
3. Usability over unique design. Common layouts with text based, accessible menus rather than over complicated designs.
4. Speed and simplicity. Blogging has delivered much more online content because it is so quick and easy. Commercial CMS solutions will become just as easy.
5. Customisable templates. Although site layouts and operation will be very similar, clients will always want individuality and branding so CMS templates will be even more flexible and easy to configure.
6. Maintenance services. If website solutions are instance we won't need so many traditional web designers. However, clients rarely like add their own content so this service will grow.
7. eMarketing services. Internet generated business will continue to grow with off site marketing becoming an important service.
8. Rich media not rich graphics. The early, over designed, graphic heavy sites will never return. Updating text and pictures needs to be easy but will always be a poor form of communication. Sound, video and simulation will deliver messages better.
9. Web2.0 benefits for business sites. Smaller company websites will also benefit from better interaction with their customers.
10. Multiple site CMS solutions. Not installing a CMS for every site, instead a single app that creates all sites will make upgrades much easier e.g. blog, wiki, client side solutions.
11. Performance quality. CMS solutions will continue to change, driven by the need for the best SEO performance, speed, flexibility and bolt on services. 12. As CMS systems develop it's likely developers will have knowledge of several different types to suit each client's size, budget and technical abilities."
