Changes and Trends of the Web in 2013

Technological advancements have been constant and quick over the last several decades, particularly in web technology. These developments and their infulence on the web has been narrowed down into three major areas: design, social media and technology.

Design

From the late 90s until 2010, messy graphics, bold colors, and multiple page layouts were all the rage. However, 2011 marked the surge of minimalism. With the rapidly growing trend of accessing the internet via mobile devices and advancement in high-resolution graphics, typography, and photos, minimalism is here to stay well into 2013. From iPads to smart phones, mobile devices are quickly surpassing PC’s in usage and causing websites to use responsive design to cater to various mobile technologies. Large images usually seen in sliders, increased white space, large buttons, and lightweight fonts on a single-page layout have also become increasingly popular. Flash, skeuomorphism (with the support of design powerhouse, Apple), and clustered visuals are out the door for 2013 and beyond. Most people scroll vertically on mobile devices and with less space, content needs to be presented with a cleaner, minimalist design.

Examples:

Social Media

It is undeniable how significant an impact social networking has had upon our daily lives. With the use of devices like a smartphone and tablet, these various social networks are easily accessible, literally, through our fingertips. This convenience has only further intensified our growing need to stay socially connected through the Internet.

Facebook: Launched in 2004, it has grown to include over one billion users making it the top social media network in the world. The social network is constantly changing its user interface, the latest being Facebook Timeline, which was launched at the end of 2011. It will also be releasing what is called a "Graph Search" that can produce results based on "likes." As of 2013, an estimated one million websites are now integrated with Facebook with 23 percent of users checking their accounts at least five or more times every day.

Twitter: It has acquired roughly 500 million users. As of 2013, the average user has tweeted at least 307 times with 163 billion tweets being “tweeted” since its launch in 2006.

Instagram: This photo-sharing and social networking mobile app was released in 2010 and has garnered over 100 million active users. The company was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion, in late 2012. As of 2013, more than five million photos are uploaded to Instagram every 24 hours with 575 likes and 81 comments being given every second.

Pinterest: Debuting in 2011, Pinterest has garnered quite an interest within a short time span. According to comScore, Pinterest was the fastest independent site to hit 10 million monthly unique hits in the U.S. back in early 2012. As of 2013, users spend 84 percent of their time pinning, 15 percent liking and one percent commenting, while using the social network which results in an average of one hour and 17 minutes. Out of its 10.4 million users, half of them have children and 80 percent of are women.

As social media networks continue to grow, there is one central theme: sharing. Whether it is re-pinning a board on Pinterest, reblogging a GIF on Tumblr, sharing a new playlist on Spotify, or posting a filtered picture on Instagram, people want to be able to share information with as many people quickly and easily. With more and more people accessing social media/networking sites via mobile devices, we will continue to see companies optimize for mobile use and the creation of more apps and social media outlets catering to this fast growing trend. These platforms connect users based on shared interests while providing a sense of community. Social media is not only being used to connect friends but to branch out and allow users to connect with complete strangers, professionally and personally.

Technology

Some of the major tech trends influencing the uses of the web are outlined below.

Rise of User Interfaces

Don't expect to browse the web with a mouse and keyboard any longer. With the introduction of operating systems like Windows 8, touchscreens have become the norm especially on desktops and laptops. Several personal computers are now bringing the touchscreen expereince, commonly associated with mobile devices, to home PCs. For example, the Dell XPS One 27 features a touchscreen, boasting the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones. This is also true in the case of consumer spending. According to research by Cisco Systems, 54 percent of consumers said they use or would like to use digital touchscreens in-store.

Popularity of Mobile

Smartphones have long been influential in shaping how the web is viewed and rendered. However, the need to make websites mobile-friendly and for ompanies to utilize technology has grown. In addition to using mobile as a way to utilize social media, a recent push has been made for mobile payments and wallets with apps like Google Wallet and contactless payments. This development appears to be a natural progression as consumers increasingly shop online through their mobile phones. Figures show that 48 percent of consumers would like to use a smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go, according to research released in October 2012 by Cisco Systems.

Tablet Market

Tablets have been gaining traction as the selection and prices vary, including a much better resolution like with Apple's retina display. It is now becoming a common tool to access and browse the Internet. Apple was the first to release a tablet computer with its first generation iPad, in 2010. Over the last three years, companies like Sony, Samsung and Asus have released their own tablet devices with prices set a more reasonable rate compared with Apple. For example, the Archos 80 Titanium tablet costs $169 and boasts a 1,024x768-pixel resolution IPS screen comparable with the iPad Mini, according to Cnet. According to Mequoda, 39 percent of tablet owners spend more time using the web browser than apps with 16 percent saying they use apps more than search and 45 percent saying they spend the same amount of time on app as they do with search. It is also expected that by 2015 there will be a total of 82.1 million tablet users in the U.S.