One of the most indispensable trends in the technology industry today is web design. Creating aesthetically pleasing layouts for websites or catchy logos and social media pages helps to establish and expand one’s web presence in a number of ways. Very much like the rest of the technological or digital world, new concepts and trends arise fast and frequently. Before we miss the next trend in all things online art, let’s take a look some hot  new techniques that exist in the world of web design today.

A popular website design trend that is very much in demand right now is using texture. Texture serves either as an add-on or as a part of the inner area of the design. Although they say that texture only gives vigor or intensity to the design, it may also be used in numerous ways, like giving a page backdrop to an individual element in a text or picture. Texture might be one of today’s must-haves when it comes to designing the latest web layouts, but don’t be fooled by all of the recent hype. The use of texture in website design has been around almost as long as websites themselves. Texture has always been an essential part of web design. However, it seems as though this technique has undergone a bit of a makeover, being used in a lighter and a softer mode as a means of alluring the eye of the viewer.

Another popular trend in web design is the use of web shadows. Web shadows are known as one of the most recent fads in web design on an international level. Drop shadows help boost the perceptible face of the design and give impression on the surface being used. Keep in mind, however, that web shadows tend to work best when they are subtle. So remember that less is more when it comes to this latest design trend.

Next in line in web design trends are the use of larger fonts. Although smaller fonts were used years back, larger fonts gave web design more style and legibility for the benefit of readers. This also makes the page of every website easier to scan and read. Web designers tend to use larger fonts that work to grab the attention of visitors or provide an easy to read introduction or announcement on a page.

The use of white space has also fallen into the online art world’s spotlight lately. Originally, web designers considered it an unnecessary part or space in the scheme of web design layouts. However, in more modern times, this notion has changed. Website design experts realized that white space actually makes the page simpler, cleaner and more readable for the general user. As a result, we tend to see increasingly greater use of white space to help provide greater clarity for the reader.

New web design fads can come and go quickly. The effects of using these types of designs for your website, however, can help lead to lasting effects, in regards to the success of your website. Remember to keep your website design looking fresh and modern at least every couple of years. Doing so will show your visitors and your target market that what you’re offering is cutting-edge and up to speed with the times.

Celebrity websites are becoming more popular as technology advances. Fans are so invested in what their favorite stars are doing that they flock to any information that they can get; and what better place to go than to a celebrity’s personal website? Of course, celebrities do their fair share of Facebooking and Tweeting, however, personal celebrity websites are just as important. These websites give more background to what the stars are really about and are able to reach out to fans and let them know what’s happening next in the celeb’s life—and perhaps let fans know where they can go see the celebs in concert or when their next movie will be coming out. Personal websites are so important to celebrities, specifically for marketing purposes and growing a sturdy fan-base. Whether or not you want to love or hate a certain celebrity, hopefully it is not based upon the fact that they didn’t have a website for you to look at, but maybe it should be. Soon enough almost every celeb is going to have a website—how much effort being put into them is another question—and hopefully there will be more good than bad ones to take a peek at.

Top 5 Celebrities With Great Web Sites

1. Britney Spears
Link: http://www.britneyspears.com/

I don’t know how she does it, but after all of these years Miss Britney is still on top of the world. Not only is she still dishing out number one hits on the radio, but her website isn’t too shabby either. Although the layout hasn’t changed much over the past couple of years, there have been tweaks made where necessary, and that is what keeps fans coming back for more. The overall design of the page is pretty bubble-gum and popish but it is very welcoming and pleasant to look at. The social networks such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have also been added to the home-bar of the page, making it more easily accessible to visitors. The website also seems to be keeping up with her current material, which means that they are keeping their fans happy with the newest updates in Britney’s life.

2. Ellen DeGeneres
Link: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/

Although Ellen’s website may not be as funny as she is, it still brings in a lot of visitors. There is so much information that you can grab off of her website, and it’s not presented in a “system-overload” kind of way. There is a lot of scroll area you can browse through, but it’s all so entertaining. The best part is that the page loads quickly even with its multiple components—it has a multi-faceted personality, just like Ellen!

3. Katy Perry
Link: http://www.katyperry.com/home/

Katy Perry is an interesting character, on and off stage it seems, and so is her website. Don’t let the “buy now” buttons fool you or scare you away, because the website is pretty nice. The layout and color scheme is simple, but the background image is what gives the page  a cool vibe and gives that laid back approach to its visitors. The site also does a great job showcasing her music.

4. Taylor Swift
Link: http://www.taylorswift.com/

America’s sweetheart has a pretty sweet website. The design is really unique—it gives off a sort of antique feel with a modern twist—and its quite picturesque. The image at the very top of the page has a great design and it leaves you on the edge of your seat to see what else the website has in store for you below. Although it advertises for Taylor it is not overwhelming because it is so well incorporated with the layout of her site.

5. Miley Cyrus
Link: http://www.mileycyrus.com/

She can’t be tamed, and neither can her website. Although Miley Cyrus may be viewed as a good girl gone bad, she is still one of the top celebrities with the most fans and just so happens to have an appropriately sensual website. Hers is definitely one of my favorites to browse through because of its casually sophisticated design. It definitely gives off a relaxed ambiance where visitors can just come hang out with Miley and forget their worries for a while, which is most likely why it’s such a big hit. It also doesn’t have “BUY NOW” written on every inch of the screen which is definitely a plus!

In todays technological world, small business owners are beginning to fall behind. Here are the top 10 small business online marketing mistakes.

1. Domain Name! The most COMMON mistake is the companies URL! Most small business owners who do not consult a marketing consultant and end up choosing a very long url. Such as thisismyurlandyouwillneverrememberit.com. The shorter your URL the better! Having keywords in your URL is a very imperative thing as well. So you need to consult someone to find out what the best mix is. A URL means everything and can truly be the difference between making your website work or not.
2. Cheap Marketing! While it may be tempting to use your husbands friend’s kid to do your site cheap and dirty, I would stop and rethink that. Most business owners do not have the money to seek the expensive experts, which is understandable. However, again, your website is your store front, your MAIN piece of advertisement, your bread and butter. You NEED to make sure your website is unique, professional, and relays the correct message. By hiring someone cheap, whether a company or freelancer, 9/10 times you walk away with something you think is great, but ask a professional and they will probably think otherwise. A website can LOOK pretty (or look really bad) and still NOT give your customers the correct message, in return decreasing your conversion rate.
3. Only Paper Ads! There’s a large portion of small business owners who are still into the news paper ads and old school advertising (or not advertising at all!). BIG mistake. Those types of advertising are fine, however you need to also explore the web since that’s the first place people go now a days.
4. I Don’t Need a Website! Than you have the “I don’t need a website” population. These are the people who believe that they don’t need a website because either their business is doing well without it or they think that in their industry people don’t use the web to find people. First off, I don’t care what industry you are in! People STILL search the web! If anyone can tell me otherwise, please tell me! Also remember, always save for a rainy day. It’s better to be over busy than not busy at all. If you get busy HIRE people! Don’t not advertise if you have the income to spend it. Getting set up on the web takes time so if your business takes a nose dive you will not have a quick way or the money to get your website to the point where it will sell itself.
5. Templates! Another situation that occurs is when people go to one of those cheap $30/month sites like Vista Print and put up a template. The issue with that is, if they are selling you that template they can be selling that to EVERYONE. You want to be unique, not the same as Joe down the road.
6. No SEO! Most owners put up a website without actually utilizing it. It’s great to have a website up, but if your not getting traffic to your site, it’s pointless! It’s like having a store and not telling anyone it’s there. You can find an SEO company for $400.00/month. It may seem worthless in the beginning, but trust me, you are probably getting more business and you don’t even know it. You don’t need to ask every customer, “where did you find me?”, but I guarantee that if you did you’d be surprised how many say “the web”.
7. Coming Soon: I’m like the neighborhood watch dog. I am always scouting out what all the local company websites are doing just to be curious. You’d be surprised how many actually have “coming soon” for days, weeks, and months. Than if they get their site up, half the pages say “coming soon”. Don’t publish an incomplete website! If it’s not complete, finish it, than publish it. If you are building a new page, don’t display it until it’s complete. If you want to tell people you are putting a new page to get the buzz going, create a section on the homepage, put it in the news section, or blog about it!
8. Boring! One thing that people do that really urk’s me is how people put up their website and than don’t update it for MONTHS. Believe it or not, it really does make a difference! By not putting anything new on your website you aren’t giving people a reason to come back. By publishing new content you are not only giving the search engines another reason to come spider your site, getting new potential users with new keywords, but you are also giving your current customers a reason to come back to your site.
9. Browser Check: I can’t tell you how many sites (even BIG companies!) I have seen that look great in one browser  but awful in another. It doesn’t always have to look 100% identical, but make sure it at least looks good! This is another reason why hiring a cheap designer will not do a small business any justice. To master IE 6,7,8,9 Firefiox 2,3,4, Chrome, Safari 2,3,4, and now the mobile web is a talent!
10. Web Hosting: One major issue people have is that they always choose the cheap or free hosting. This is not the right solution! The reason is because most of the time these cheap hosting companies have a reason why they are cheap. I have had clients sites go down and than ask me, “why is my site down”. And my answer is “you chose a cheap hosting company”.

So to be honest I could probably come up with 5-10 more mistakes small business owners make when creating their online presence. But I think you all get the point. The moral of the story is you get what you pay for!