Over the last few years, social networking sites have taken over the World Wide Web (WWW) like a forest fire. It has not only got people hooked into it, but has been a source of major income revenue. Much of its credit goes to the design behind these sites. This is because, most of the content of social networking websites such as Face book and Twitter are user generated. Therefore the design should be such that user data can be dynamically displayed without major hiccups.
Some of the features of the social media design trends are:
a. Real time uploading and display: Users can upload pictures, videos, blogs and see it getting displayed in a real time basis.
b. Ease-of-use: Since it is users who provide content, designers ensure that it is easy for them to upload content. A simple web layout is their best bet, but it should be attractive as well.
c. Security: This is extremely important, as there should be mechanisms to prevent users from uploading offensive content. Since, most of the work is automated; such security measures are generally incorporated in the design itself.
d. Dynamic and modular: Every aspect of the design is modular and dynamic, letting users decide on how they want to see their section. Themes are an example of the dynamic approach. Moreover, the modular approach helps in protecting the document when the design is being modified.
e. Maintaining large volumes of data and user: The flipside of a successful social media site is that they have to handle huge volumes of ever-increasing data. Thus even with huge traffic, sites are designed in such a way that they can handle the load.
Social networking has described the imagination of millions of 'netizens' and it is certainly going to broaden its horizon in the coming years, which signifies that newer and innovative design trends are in the offing!
