Top Ways To Future Proof Your Website
Chad Faith
Director of Content
Technology is constantly changing and evolving. Take a look at smartphones today compared to mobile phones two years ago and that will be immediately apparent.
While this is a good thing for the most part, it makes it difficult for web based businesses to keep up, and if you happen to run a website then you need to constantly keep adapting to these developments as they occur.
But better than adapting to changes, is to be ready for them in the first place. This is what it means to future-proof a website: it means building it in such a way that it will stay relevant even as times change. That way, even if you don’t have the time or budget to redesign, you can ensure that your site will still be useable on new devices and that it won’t look horribly outdated.
If you want to ensure your website is future proof, then consider the following changes you can make to protect yourself against forthcoming changes.
Use WordPress
Using WordPress is a good idea for webmasters and bloggers for many reasons. One of the very best of all however, is that it is constantly being updated and is supported by a huge number of third party developers. WordPress updates will ensure that your security is taken care of and that your site is as fast and as efficient as possible, and new plugins and designs will allow you to keep adding new features and updating your design with ease. Here are some more good reasons to use WordPress.
Avoid Jumping on New Trends
Web design trends change about as often as fashions in clothing, meaning that you constantly have to keep updating in order to make your site look modern. One minute script fonts are all the rage, the next they’re horribly dating your site. One minute every site has a lengthy Flash intro, the next we’re told this is one of the very worst things you can do for your site.
Of course another option is to avoid going too over the top with any new design trend which is destined to look dated at some point. Be unique and stick to timeless design principles and your site will have fewer elements to make it look older. Otherwise, your design choices could be outdated.
Stay Minimalist
One design trend that probably isn’t going anywhere fast is minimalism. Minimal designs make sense because they’re adaptable and because they are optimal. In terms of managing your site, they also ensure that there are fewer elements that you need to edit which means fewer things to look dated and less work when you want to modernize. Here’re some great inspirations for minimal design.
Use Responsive and Adaptive Design
Responsive and adaptive design is quickly becoming the more popular option for websites that want to be viewable on both mobile and larger devices. What’s great about responsive and adaptive designs is that they should work on displays of any size, which means there’s a much better chance that your site will work on any new computers, phones or tablets that roll out in the coming few years.