The future of web design is mobile, but also scalable. I recently asked Mark at Geeks Chicago, a web design company based in Chicago, for his professional expertise and opinion, and these points were the most predominant:

Mobile and desktop combined

The mobile design philosophy of responsive websites is arguably the biggest change that has occurred in the web design world in recent years. However, its proliferation initially ushered in a sharp distinction between desktop and mobile sites, with apps becoming the norm for websites. For a while it looked like browser websites might not be the future of mobile devices. With the massive improvements in mobile hardware, however, and new responsive design techniques, the gaps between mobile devices and computers have been bridged to a reasonable extent, making it possible for developers to easily add mobile capabilities to websites of old. Cutting a design for mobile and desktop now takes less manpower than before, but designers still have to carefully think through their designs.

With the help of HTML5 and the dropping of some common web design technologies, website designers can now design websites that can be rendered on a 3.5" smartphone or on a 60" TV, without losing anything.

Choose the hierarchy carefully

All developers need to accomplish this is to focus more on the main constituents in user agents and browsers. A site that is heavily reliant on JavaScript in both design and content will be a failure with browsers that do not support JavaScript. Therefore, the key to proper scaling of sites is to know which browsers our target audience is using and what they can and cannot do. The next thing to focus on is the information hierarchy and how it is perceived by users and the search engines. A basic design structure that properly takes hierarchy to heart when formatting content will always appear much more desirable than one that renders pages badly, while trying to incorporate the most elaborate design styles.

How do we avoid totally different mobile site designs?

When we take into consideration the different browsers that don't have all the features we may want as a developer, we might think we will end up creating a mobile site that is optimised to look very different from the desktop version. Fortunately, there are solutions to facilitate cross-browser rendering: Fluid layouts and Media Query function. Fluid layouts have made it possible for designers to move from a laptop screen all the way up to a TV. Scaling down beyond laptops was a big issue for designers until Media Query function came into the equation. With the Media Query functionality, the browser is asked for its width and the design is scaled accordingly. This is basically the technology behind Responsive Web Design. It allows developers to use the exact same code and structure to scale a site from a phone all the way to a High Definition TV, without dramatically changing the overall layout. So, the future of web design is scalability.

Designers no longer have to develop a mobile site and a desktop site separately. Instead, we can now see mobile websites that can fit easily on any screen or user agent.

Creative Phenomenon Calgary Web Design (http://www.creativephenomenon.com/) is boutique digital agency based in Calgary Alberta Canada , dedicated to championing your brand through a combination of award-winning web design and strategic inbound marketing. We’re a fiercely creative team of developers, designers and website marketing strategists who collaborate with one goal in mind: to connect with your audience and drive big results for your brand. At Creative Phenomenon, we offer a wide range of services including Responsive Website Design, Internet Marketing Services, Paid Advertising, E-commerce Website Design, WordPress Websites & more. Our creative efforts began in Calgary web design, but have led us to become a fully fledged Calgary Marketing Company.

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