There are many trends around and we could go on for pages. It's also quite tricky with everything changing in a blink of the eye to choose trends that won't be old hat by the time you read them, but here aresome of the more lasting ones we feel.

• Quality content matters. Yes I know I’ve harping on for years about content being king (not only for users but for search engines) but it’s not going to be just a guideline its going to be essential. Google really cracked down last year with its Penguin and Panda updates – which means any ploys for building first page ranking used by unethical seos are going to be penalized. There’s no doubt about it. Every business that wants to stay relevant on the web needs to invest in content.

• Responsive Design. Responsive web design will alter the layout of your site to fit the specific device or resolution that a viewer is using. This allows for and consistent and functional design on tablets, laptops, mobile phones, or any other device you can think of.

• Multidevice design. There’s been such an explosion in mobile devices the prediction is that focus will shift to mobile devices first with desktop being the legacy design rather than vice versa over the coming year. Depends on target market to a degree.

• Scalable design. Seeing the development of methods for designing websites capable of being displayed on screens with both low and high pixel densities with no loss of quality.

• Better page layout. There’s been a lot of focus on technology over last few years but many designers and developers worldwide are predicting more of a swing towards design and typography improvements not just code.

• More videos . As barriers to entry to using video continue to fall, for example internet speeds, we’ll find a lot more online this year.

• Fixed header/menu bars. Means that as visitors scroll down your page there is a constant way for them to navigate around. This is not using frames but CSS.

• Infinite scrolling. A great example of this is Pinterest. You can search anything and the results page will continually load as you scroll down. Works beautifully.

• Backgrounds comprising large photos. It’s an excellent way to capture your visitor’s attention and it can look great when done properly. When blended into your layout, this design technique can give your website a major edge.

• Transparency in websites. The new CSS3 allows for opacity edits on any website page's element which means you can generate transparency in any modern web browser!

• Minamilistic landing pages. A landing page is about capturing new leads for your product or service. Trends are following the idea of minimalism: keep everything simple and focus on your core product.

• Design resource pooling. Greater contribution to open source code and design and maybe even community type laboratories for testing designs on various devices rather than every design company or agency having to own hundreds of different ones!

If you would like to talk about these in relation to your website here's our email.