Every year brings millions of new advances in web design, so trying to determine which features are simply fads and which will be essential to the continued success of your website can be a challenge for any website owner. Over the past couple of years, web design has risen to the challenge of preparing websites for mobile devices and incorporating the rampant popularity of social media and these factors continue to influence web design in 2011.

Facebook has a lot to answer for when it comes to advances in web design in recent times, with the “like” application spreading across all manner of websites, but mobile phones have also had an influence on contemporary web design with QR Codes coming to the forefront. While there are many new web design features emerging every day, here is a quick look at what is currently on top:

1. Social Media

One of the most essential web design features for 2011 will be the integration of business or product Facebook accounts with any other social media accounts, and the addition of a live-streaming Facebook feed box to the website. This syncopation of Facebook activity with the main website will allow site visitors to “like” content on your website, such as videos, new products and images, quickly spreading this information in a viral manner. Simultaneous feeds generated to and from other social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn have the capacity to drive even more traffic to your Facebook fan page and your website.

2. QR Codes

QR Codes have been one of the top web design trends in online marketing over the first few months of 2011. When displayed on posters, billboards, stickers and other promotional materials, they tend to inspire curiosity in potential customers and are compatible with one of our other top tech toys – the smart phone. The web design for the mobile site launched by the QR Code should include links to your Facebook fan page, as well as basic company and contact information. This will generate traffic to your Facebook page, which can be linked to your website, as described above.

3. Blogs

So this isn’t exactly news for 2011, but a blog is something that no web design should ever omit. Not only do blogs provide an interactive and personal point of connection with potential customers and an ideal platform for presenting regular updates on new products, services and company developments, they can include links back to your Facebook, Twitter and any other social media pages to provide additional exposure to those feeds. Of course, if well written and posted strategically, blogs will also work as a highly effective search engine optimisation strategy.

4. Video

Video is becoming increasingly popular on media sharing sites such as GoogleVideo and YouTube so incorporating video in your web design is a must this year. When produced correctly, videos are lively, entertaining and informative, meaning that they are a wonderful way of holding the attention of potential customers and easier to absorb than blocks of text. Videos are also very search-engine friendly and can be shared across social media and media sharing sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Pakistan telecommunication authority has ordered to ban Twitter in Pakistan due to sacrilegious contents.Over the past two days, Social networking sites and social media junkies are suffering a lot.Pakistan telecommunication authority has been banned the access of facebook,YouTube and now twitter.

User of Twitter were unable to log into Twitter after internet service providers blocked access to the site.
When users tried to log into site, there browsers displayed a message that said “this site is restricted.”

The crackdown began after the High Court issued an order for blocking Facebook over a page hosting a contest for blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Mohammad.

What do you say about the restricted orders to ban facebook,Youtube and twitter in Pakistan.

It seems that future of Social networking Sites in Pakistan is spoiling by Islamic leaders.This is the sudden attack on social media junkies from Pakistan.Recently facebook has been blocked in Pakistan after the order of Pakistan court.

Yesterday Pakistan court ordered to shut down YouTube after facebook.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said it had ordered internet service providers to “completely shut down” YouTube and prevent Facebook from being viewed within Pakistan.

Facebook and Youtube has been barred as  part of a crackdown on websites seen to be hosting un-Islamic content.

“Such malicious and insulting attacks hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world and cannot be accepted under the garb of freedom of expression,” Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said about the page.

In the war of URL shortens,Youtube has been launched URL shortens service YouTu.be.It’s just like as TinyURL.

To use youtu.be manually, simply take a URL like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdeioVndUhs and replace the”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=” with “http://youtu.be/” to get: http://youtu.be/FdeioVndUhs Plug that shorter URL into a browser, and you’ll see it redirects to that video.

Technology is growing rapidly in this fast changing world.These days microwave has been getting more attention because it’s not a simple microwave for making the food but you can watch YouTube videos on this microwave.

Chris Crum says: “It’s called CastOven, and it plays YouTube videos while you cook your food. Not only does it play videos, but it plays videos specifically catering to the amount of time you have the microwave set for.”
The CastOven was created by two designers from Keio University in Japan, Keita Watanabe, Ph.D. and Shota Matsuda.

CastOven Developer Says: “CastOven is a future microwave oven, which plays a You Tube movie clip to fit into your cooking time. Watching movies, playing video games, and browsing web pages are fun, but all of them require certain amount of time of us to spare. For example, one would hesitate to purchase a new roll playing game, because it would take him some tens of hours to clear the game. We think differently. One should not make his activities adjusted to a length of contents, but the contents should make adjustment to it.

Our effort around the concept of “Ubiquitous Society” was over. We have been taking a novel step along the idea of “how those products and services have users spent their time?” The next business market is placed at the core, where a time as a flow of user’s activities.”

CastOven has won following awards for this innovation:

• Best Demonstration / WISS (Workshop on Interactive System and Software) 2008
• Outstanding Performance Award and Jury’s Special Award / Mashup Awards 5

Note: What do you think about this innovative product ?

Spotlight Videos is a periodic module showcasing interesting and timely content from our community and partners, all organized around an event or theme. Spotlight videos are not advertisements and are not based on any commercial relationship.

2009′s most popular homepage spotlights were:

1. Michael Jackson’s Greatest Hits
2. Michael Jackson Tribute
3. Reality TV (at the height of the Jon & Kate Plus 8 frenzy)
4. Susan Boyle / Britain’s Got Talent
5. Iran Protests
6. Mythbusters: YouTube Edition
7. Hannah Montana Concert and Vlog
8. Twilight-Inspired Parodies and Rant
9. World Oceans Day
10. Before They Were Stars, featuring Adrian Grenier, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Catherine Zeta Jones in early roles

Some of  most popular spotlights in ’09 centered around newsy themes or celebrities that gripped the whole world.