As 2018 comes to a close it is timely to look back at the year and contemplate the trends and technologies that dominated the Toronto web design landscape. It is this reflection that may give us a glimpse into what 2019 has in store, and what new trends may be worth investing for your Toronto web development project in the new year.

Website security was continually at the top of the news cycle with major data breaches reported by almost every industry sector. From Facebook to FedEx, it appeared that no one's data was safe as countless companies admitted to lapses in cybersecurity. It is for this reason that Rebel Trail doubled its investments in securing our client's data at both the local and Toronto datacenter levels and is committed to being on the forefront of Toronto website development security.

Speaking of security, is your website SSL compliant? When you visit it in a browser, is there a little lock icon beside the URL? If not, this is the year that Google started to penalize sites that won't offer this extra layer of protection. It's actually quite easy to get this certification for your Toronto web design project, and usually just a matter of requesting it from your hosting provider. If you're unsure about the process, just give us a call and we'll walk you through it.

The mobile market continued to gain ground and in 2018 has surpassed the desktop computer as the largest website viewing market. This means that more people will be viewing your website on their phone, than on a desktop computer. So, if your website isn't mobile compliant, you're likely going to be penalized with your search engine rankings. Luckily, every website produced from our studios is fully responsive - meaning that the website design will reformat itself for the small and large screen alike. Google is known to give websites with a responsive design a bit of a boost in their rankings. If you are contemplating a redesign of your Toronto website in the next year, be sure to plan for a responsive website counterpart.

Social media stats climbed even higher this year, even with the controversy surrounding Facebook and your personal data. Every solid Toronto website development project includes a social media plan that outlines the need to keep content current and pushed to multiple platforms. A good website content management system will allow you to easily push new content to all of your social media sites with the click of a button. If you're still manually updating Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn you should look at an upgrade to your content management system. In 2018 you should input once and output to multiple platforms.

One of the fastest growth sectors in the Toronto web design market is in the area of LMS and e-learning systems. LMS is an acronym for 'Learning Management System" and e-learning and e-testing systems are basically referring to the same sort of application. While there are a number of out-of-the-box solutions that will provide these functions for your Toronto website development project, more users find that these systems are restrictive and cannot perform critical custom functionality that is normally required of a full LMS solution.

In the Toronto web design creative and technical environment, the terms “UI” (User Interface) and “UX” (User Experience) are being used more than ever. While they seem new, these terms are referring to specialties and ideas that have been around for years prior to the introduction of the acronyms in the Toronto website development market.

With the current landscape of Toronto Web Design it's difficult to tell when its time to give your website a fresh new design. There are also many factors to consider such as your current Toronto web design versus that of your competitors as well as the overall functionality your website utilizes. Upgrading the functionality of your website is just as important as keeping the website design current. Further, there are always new technologies that can vastly improve your website's performance, and if left ignored, these can benefit your competitors rather than you. At Rebel Trail Web Design, we have complied the top 4 signs your Toronto Web Design is in need of a refresh.

Hardly a day goes by without web design Toronto companies receiving a call from a prospective client that is looking for a 'WordPress Website'. Every web design Toronto firm should know this platform very well and should also have a number of web development projects that have been exclusively designed for this system. WordPress provides the environment for simple content management as well as a host of other display and functional tools for the Toronto website designer. However it does have it's limitations - and that's something your website designer Toronto should let you know.

We're over halfway into 2015 and it’s once again time to see what trends are at the forefront for the Toronto website designer. 2014 ushered in a number of new tools for Toronto web development, and this year we have seen the evolution of those tools, plus some exciting new technology as well.

One of the most frequent questions we are asked by our clients is “How important is it to have a blog on my website for web design in Toronto?” A blog is considered to be a section on your website that is updated frequently with informal news or information on your company, products, or services. The answer differs from client to client, but generally if search engine placement is a high priority, then a blog is a must have for your Toronto web design project.

One of the most vital components of your Toronto website design project is a system that you can use to update content. This is typically referred to as a Content Management System or CMS. The CMS allows you to keep the content of your website design current, which is mandatory for high search engine placement.