The Future of Responsive Web Design

Information should flow faster than the speed of light. Or at least that seems to be the prevailing idea these days! And why not?? Technology, after all, facilitates us to send, receive, process and understand close to the speed of light! And with most of the information is from and to mobile phones, it is without a doubt the preferred mode and gadget for communication.

On the subject of communication through gadgets as small as most mobile phones, responsive websites are the preferred mode of getting across information if it is about websites. Responsive websites which are a class apart and entirely different from static old-world websites are those which ease themselves to fit any format, be it large-sized TVs to small palm-tops to even mobile phone screens with equal ease. And if you thought that was the very end of technology as far as gadgets go, you could be excused for being naïve! Even with responsive websites and web designs, the world of digital communication has not remained silent! We bring you some of the future trends in responsive web designs. Read on!

Non-Traditional Scrolling of websites specifically meant for mobile screens!

Most of us have seen websites on mobile-phone where for further information, we invariably scrolled down (or up). Innovative brains in the field of UI have now come up with sites where you can get the same information or a part of it by scrolling horizontally i.e., sidewards both towards the right and left. Till now this movement was exclusively for advertisements which were on different screens. Henceforth, this movement will take care of entire information on websites! So, along with scrolling down, you may now need to scroll side-wards! The obvious advantage of this kind of movement is that more information can be stored on sites. The main page can be in the vertical plane while sections within it can be in the horizontal pane! Indeed a neat addition to the overall idea of responsive websites!

Designs which enhance and promote user interactivity

With screen sizes being fairly limited, it was always thought that interactivity on mobile-phone UIs would be severely restricted. But designers and technology have seen to it that users remain on sites AND interact meaningfully with the website for all information- including commerce like buying and selling. The hitch at one point was the costs involved. But with technology reducing costs and website owners seeing the advantages of engaging customers, it is just a question of time before every responsive website anywhere becomes the perfect ground to interact digitally!

Why should sections be demarcated horizontally or vertically? Why not diagonally??

For some strange reason, sections on even the most responsive of websites are designed to move either upwards or sidewards. Why not in any other way? The coming trend would be to use diagonal line design making the whole experience intriguing besides directing the visitor to exactly a needed section of the site such as “Contact us” or “Call to action”. This is one way to increase the number of landings and browsing on the entire length of the site.

Using background colors, shades and shapes creatively!

One color will henceforth not fit every website’s every page. Instead, the UX-UI teams at most innovative design firms have started to use vivid colors (yes, as opposed to a single color) on responsive sites such that every section has a purpose-driven theme-based color which helps the viewer self-navigate thru the site instead of being prodded and goaded to do so.

The other thing worth mentioning here is the use of shades, shadows beside different colors. By using various shades of one color, an entire idea like a 3D view can be brought forth to the viewer’s knowledge making the experience very different and memorable. An example of this could be an organization’s sales process which is shown in different shapes and colors, can be a lot more understandable on a small screen as compared to a flat, single-color screen.

Use of large fonts and abstract shapes to grab attention!

Humanity without a doubt is low on time and even patience. The last thing we want to and that too on a small screen of a mobile phone is to read the small print. The latest UX UI for responsive sites thus is to use large and highly-visible fonts which convey the message at one site. Also, the written content is fairly less which is a boon with large fonts as the whole thing becomes very readable right off!

Adding to the large font in making the responsive site much more accessible are attention-grabbing abstract shapes like cloud callouts and weird geometric shapes which makes the right connect with the viewer. Within and outside when the matter is included, it leads the reader to make a sincere effort to see what is being communicated instead of simply moving on!

These then are some of the things which shall become highly visible in future with respect to responsive websites. There may be more as the field is very fluid and tastes continue to change at the speed of light these days. In days to come, we shall surely try and come back to you with the latest existing then.