Never Go Out of Style: Current Website Trends

If you're building a website, here are some trends that you definitely need to know! Plus, we'll take an interesting look at someone who's website follows these trends and does it well: Taylor Swift.

Trends According to McLeman

Donald McLeman uses infographics in this article here to explain the most current trends in the design of websites today. Websites that look old tend to turn people away, so, if you follow some or any of these 5 trends, you'll be good to go!

The first trend that McLeman discusses is the mobility trend. If your website doesn't look good or function well on a phone, you're done before you start. A lot of people in today's world can access the web via smart phone, so making sure that your website works on a phone properly is critical.

The second trend discussed in this article is called "interactive scrolling" (McLeman). There are two types that fall under this trend, and they are called "infinite scrolling" and the "parallax effect" (McLeman). The first type is pretty self-explanatory. It essentially means that people see endless information when they scroll a site, which a lot of people like. The second type that is trending is when you use 2-D objects to make a site look 3-D when you scroll.

The third trend is called a "flat design" (McLeman). Basically, it's just keeping the design of your web page simple with basic shapes and coloring. Simplicity is brought out in a lot of these trends and is crucially important to creating a successful website, so I'm going to use a quote from one of my favorite shows, The Office, to help you remember it:

"Michael always says, 'K-I-S-S: Keep It Simple, Stupid.' Great advice. Hurts my feelings every time."

-Dwight K. Schrute

Minus the "stupid" part, this is a great trick to remind you to keep things simple. Do NOT over-complicate your website. No matter what, remember that simplicity is better when it comes to designing your website.

The fourth trend involves keeping your website to a single-page basis. Some websites keep all of their info on one page with links that lead you to the next one. If this works for your website, it is fully encouraged that you use it because it is aesthetically pleasing. Remember, however, that not everybody can fit all of their information onto one page, so this trend might not be for every business.

The fifth and final trend is similar to the third trend, but more to do with the layout then just the design of a website. Make sure that you keep the layout of your site simple and easy to navigate through. Imaging is also important here, as well as fonts. Remember, keep it simple.

The great thing about Donald McLeman's article is that it has examples of websites for each trend, in case you don't know exactly what he's talking about. There are also statistics in his infographics to back up his statements. This article is definitely something to look at before creating a site, and, if you didn't catch the link above, you can click here to read the full article.

Spotlight

As someone who wants to work in the music industry someday as a marketer, I can honestly say that Taylor Swift's marketing strategies are top notch. Her team, and herself as well, always come up with the most innovative ideas for marketing her music that I have ever seen. Even though this may be considered an "unconventional" business to Spotlight on, her website is very successful on the business-side of things.

When you go to Taylor's website, the first thing you'll see is a page that will show you the current holiday sale that is going on in her website store. Once you get past that page, you'll see the latest news for Taylor Swift, as well as the latest posts on her social media pages when you scroll down. There are also multiple links that lead to an About page, Events page, Store page, and more. The whole design of her website pays homage to her last album, which, to date, is 1989. Everything is clean-cut, simple, and easy to maneuver. The store page itself is also this way, and has plenty of merchandise to choose from in a categorized manner.

Ever since I was a little kid, Taylor Swift was always someone that I admired and looked up to as a role model. I loved her when she was country, and still like her now as a pop artist. I not only appreciate her as a musician, but, as a student who is studying marketing, I appreciate Taylor and her marketing team as business people. Their website definitely reflects they're amazing marketing strategies and is something to strive for when you create your own website. Here's the link to her website in case you missed the one above. Good luck on your own website adventure!

Pictures found on Google Images, and "Style" lyrics belong to Taylor Swift. I do not own these pictures, nor the Taylor Swift and The Office trademarks and quotes. This is being used for educational purposes.