Don't Blindly Follow Web Design Trends

This will come as a shock to most businesses wanting a new web design.  However, it is true.

Following every web design trend out there will only date your website.  If you choose to follow the trends just to appease the public, you will have to change your website every time that the trends change.  If you use common sense and user-friendly web design, you will be able to make your website last longer.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't ever follow the trends.  It's important to see what new ideas exist, and you can definitely use some of them, but I see too often web designers promoting these trends without realizing the long-term cost and maintenance that following trends creates.  It's as true in the real world as it is in web design, but for web design it's an obvious truth that following trends means that you have to throw out some user-friendly web design rules.

I'll set a few rules that are good to follow when you are in the process of getting your website created:

• Only use web design trends as a way to follow what is out there and to use the trends sparingly.
• Redesign your website every two or three years.
• Design your website so that it can be used by a wide range of generations (for example, the hamburger menu shouldn't be used on desktop versions of your website, see below).

• Keep the design simple enough, yet also allow the user to be guided to where they need to navigate on the website.
• Make sure the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is up-to-date.
• Make sure your pages are indexed (this is a fairly simple process).
• Don't use too few pages for your website, but don't have too many links on your top menu.  Use sub-menus as needed.
• Make sure that your web pages are accurate.  If you change pricing, or some other aspect, make sure it's reflected on your website and on social media.

That wraps up the rules that I've set for web design.  If you can think of any more, be sure to post them in the comments.

Jeremy G. Woods

Jeremy is co-founder and co-owner of FaithVenture Media.  He's married to Magda Woods, and they have a daughter.  They live in Targu Mures, Romania.  Jeremy is committed to helping Churches and small businesses grow through web design and marketing, and he also wants to help Christian authors (published and unpublished) publish and promote their books.  He and his wife are in the process of starting a non-profit organization, Potter's House Ministries.