Nothing instills confidence in readers and projects authority like up-to-date web design that's on the cutting edge. As a result, it's important for webmasters from all walks of life to keep their layouts current. In the upcoming year, you can expect a number of trends to emerge, unfold and accelerate.

The following web design principles as advised by Orange Digital will likely experience rapid adoption in 2014.

The flat "Metro" look as pioneered by Windows and copied by Yahoo has become a force to be reckoned with in the design sphere. Designers are taking notice and plunging into the breech in record numbers. Quite frankly, it's a welcome departure from the skeuomorphism that was overly dominant in years past. Hopefully, ever more sites will embrace it shortly.

Block-Based Layouts

As an adjunct to the "Metro UI" trend, block-based layouts are a symptom of the currently fashionable minimalist trend. The Pinterest model of web layouts is taking hold for many sites thanks to its ordered structure. Blocks of all sizes, bolstered by the right color schemes, can provide UIs with a fresh look that's both functional and beautiful in the end.

Spartan Fonts

We've all had a lot of fun with all sorts of wacky fonts over the past few years. Web fonts as delivered by Google Fonts gave designers a lot of leeway in terms of what they could do quickly and easily. Nowadays, a shotgun approach to typography is passé. Moving forward, a few hand-picked fonts that minimalize clutter is the best approach.

Gesture-Based Navigation

Though gesture-based web navigation has been around forever, it's going to take on renewed importance in 2014. You can thank Windows 8 for that. Despite some hiccups in convincing users to navigate via mouse gestures, Microsoft's gambit seems to be having a real effect. The appropriate Javascript library makes mouse-based navigation all the easier for designers these days.

Separate Mobile Themes

It took awhile to come to fruition, but ordinary businesses finally see the value in dedicated mobile web development for their businesses. A separate mobile design that's distinct from its complementary desktop theme is often advantageous for a number of reasons. A mobile-specific theme can be tailored to best address the needs of a mobile audience, after all.

Comprehensive Responsive Design

Though separate mobile and desktop web layouts are appropriate for some sites, a unified look is the proper path for others. Responsive design ensures that visitors see more or less the same thing whether they're using an iPhone or a workstation to access your site. Thanks to responsive frameworks like Bootstrap, it's never been easier to accomplish this feat.

User-Customizable UIs

The biggest design change in the web development field that's in front of everyone's faces but barely on the radar is user-customizable UIs. Again, a bit of Javascript and a little CSS3 can make it happen without much effort. While few are really grabbing the tiger by the tail in this regard, expect more and more to do so in the future.

Making Design Shifts Intelligently

There's no hard and fast rules that dictate how one should integrate new design changes for any website. Try a few piecemeal as you see fit. A little A/B testing will tell you everything you need to know regarding the success of each approach. Regardless, these new trends are going to be big in 2014.