We are kicking in 2014 very swiftly. It is hard to believe it is already April. As it turns out, 2014 will be yet another exciting year for developers and designers. There are countless trends to look forward to this year, many of course originate in the last few years and it would seem they are not going to die anytime soon unless of course technology surpasses them but that seems a little unlikely at this stage. Many trends to be discussed for this year actually originated last year and they have carried forward just like that. It is likely that these trends will grow even more this year and that is exactly the reason they are referred to as trends.

Let’s not make you wait more. This particular list is about 8 Web Design Trends to Look Forward to in 2014. You may be familiar with most of them or all of them, but we thought it necessary for you to know what is sticking around so you can develop your websites and design stuff accordingly. We certainly hope you enjoy the reading. Do let us know if we missed out an important one. As always, your comments and opinions are welcome.

1. Responsive Design

We are certain that you are already aware of RWD or Responsive Web Design as may all it. At this point in time, it is not new and it is no news if it is referred to as one of the top trends of 2014. Of course, it did not originate in 2013, but it is still is a trend.

Responsive Web Design will allow your website to adjust the resolution automatically based on the screen size and resolution of the device or screen it is being viewed on. Responsive design also makes sure that the elements of your website are not disturbed. Using RWD, your website can easily be viewed on any handheld device (with internet access) as it would be viewed on computer screen.

This year, it is expected to increase even more and chances are that the concept will be applied quite extensive this year. if you do not already have a responsive website, your website is pretty useless to all those smartphones user so you may want to come up with the responsive template starting right now.

2. Exciting Typography

It is always exciting to experiment with typology and fonts. This is one of the more expected of trends to take off this year. Fonts are the prime personality of your website and it is important that they suit the niche. Of course, usually the fonts used on a website are very typical, but it wouldn’t harm to experiment. Even if you are accustomed to typical font styles, you may want to experiment because even those fonts can be stylized and given exceptional looks and feel. So keep experimenting because as it would seem, 2014 will definitely be about exciting typography.

3. Flat Design

Everybody these days is preferring minimal and flat design elements. The overall design of the websites, the colors used, and even the icons. Everything seems to be going flat for some reason. People have shed the vibrant and flashy stuff for something that looks more elegant. That’s not just the case with web design, even interior décor is going towards a rather flat design so it would seem that ‘flat’ is the new awesome in literally every industry. So if you are looking to develop a website, do not be afraid to go flat, rather make it so that you do.

Tip : 15 BEAUTIFUL FLAT LANDING WEB PAGES SITES

4. Large Hero Areas

Hero Area is basically an intro area. This intro area is often utilized with an image that contains a little amount of text on it. It is placed at the top of the website. These Hero Areas are turning out to be really huge. If you are concerned about the biggest trend this year, 2014, this will probably be it. Real Estate websites are most common with these huge hero areas. The reason they are taking off as a trend is because they provide you with content, they are attention-grabbing, and most importantly, they get rid of those annoying sliders.

5. Increased Focus on Mobile

We have mentioned over and over again exactly the technology is advancing really fast and that is the era of smartphones. Well, they have definitely made it into the top trends for this year so it is safe to assume, that the focus on mobile will be increase henceforth. The websites being developed these days have a heavier focus on mobile devices, because even though a laptop or a desktop PC is not available to you most of the times, chances are that you will still have a smartphone on you with active data connection. That means you will be browsing the internet on your smartphone and web designers also aware of this fact.

6. Long Scrolling

Everybody has become very comfortable with vertical scrolling and looking for data that they need. It is not only common on websites but also on documents. It would seem that long scrolling websites are slowly creeping in and they will be THE thing in no time. See, a few years ago long scrolling was introduced but the data was not very organized. Now with all the development tools available, long scrolling presents data in a way that makes a lot of aesthetic sense and they do feel pleasing to use. So brace yourself, and get ready for the long-scrolling storm.

7. Simple Color Schemes

As discussed above, flat design is coming in. one of the more important aspects of a flat design are the colors that are used. It would seem that simple colors are not kicking in. Nothing flashy, nothing vibrant, nothing bright and nothing uneasy on your eyes. Most of the times, websites would even go with just one color splashed across the entire website and it actually looks amazing. Websites are coming up with very little color and you may want to start thinking about that.

8. Drop the Sidebar

Last but not the least, as we see more and more websites slowly making their way to the top, it would seem that the sidebar is losing its edge that it had a few years ago. A lot of websites these days are losing sidebars and come up with unique, more interesting ways to display content that originally belonged in the sidebar. You may want to design something extraordinary without the sidebar, so start thinking because this will go big in the year 2014.

IM Creator has released over the past month many templates that follow these design trends. We welcome you to check them out and tell us what you think.