1. Embrace new, exciting technologies
HTML5 and CSS3 are on the minds of all website designers at the moment because it provides a much easier, more efficient way of doing certain taks. It has made functionality that previously was only available in Flash or Java Applets possible right within the the native browser.
Browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9 already support many of the new API's and features that HTML5 brings. HTML5 promises to increase the capability of websites and applications the world over.
HTML5 doesn't just allow you to mark-up documents with meaningful semantic tags, it also offers new functionality. From watching videos without having to have a required plugin, native form features, the canvas, application caches so information can be stored offline to geolocation. Whilst these are in no way the finished product of HTML5, there is no harm being ready to embrace them.
2. Keep your design fresh, and striking
The design of a website now days is the most crucial element in my mind. Every day I see more and more websites going in new directions and using current design trends to get creative with how they lay their website out.
Image sliders across the top part of your website’s home page are a great way to convey quick bits of information and direct visitors to particular pages while minimizing the clutter. Again, keep it simple. A maximum of five sliders is recommended for most websites.
3. Be social, talk to other websites
Make sure your website is using the right forms of social media and sharing. The Facebook Open Graph API allows for such rich social integration that makes it alot easier to connect with your users and for your users to connect with you.
Consumers are more connected than ever before, and they expect to stay connected even while on the move. Integrating your social media sites into your primary website, and providing user-friendly mobile website versions and apps are a must (Continued in Point 5). If you're not doing this, you can bet your competition is. Retailers, restaurants, advertisers, nightclubs and other businesses whose customers often make their destination choices while already out and about are prime candidates for this kind of web design functionality.
4. Keep it simple, less is more
Although this may seem contradictory to point 2 above, there is room for both styles of design. These two styles of design can be very carefully blended although it must be done with care. It is often the wiser choice to go with simply one or the other.
Clutter can be a website killer. Today's website designs trend toward the simple, uncluttered look in both layout and animation. Clean lines and minimalistic backgrounds with fewer, but more dramatic (striking) images.
5. Responsive Web Design
There was a time when web design would mean designing a website for access from your average laptops and desktops. Most developers didn't even develop websites keeping in mind that users can access their website from mobile phones. In the last few years there has been a surge in people using hand held devices to access the Internet. The popularity of smartphones and tablets has given a completely new dimension to custom website development.
In technical terms the basic concept of responsive web design revolves around the process of developing websites which can react to a user’s actions and automatically detect the medium or the devices which is being used to access the website.
"If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?"
- Steve Jobs
