“Web 2.0” style?

During my experience as theme designer, I’ve been asked many times to make “Web 2.0” style themes. And I’m like, “what?”. That tells nothing if you know the actual meaning of Web 2.0.

In simple words, Web 2.0 is the kind of interaction between users on a website. It’s different from the Web 1.0 because the end user is no longer just an spectator, now the users can form part of the site show. They can participate by commenting, uploading stuff, interact with other users and the site’s author, etc.

Glossy ≠ Web 2.0

Yeah, this is very important. Many people thinks that a very glossy design is Web 2.0, but it is not. At the start of Web 2.0, people thought glossy was cool and Web 2.0‘ish because it was the new technique. Now, it’s some overused. But it’s still looking good if you know how to use glossy elements.

If you’re making a glossy theme, you’ve got to be very careful on how many and where you use glossy images. If you use glossy images on every single thing, the final result won’t look as good as it could be.

An actual Web 2.0 theme

1. If you’re to make a Web 2.0 theme, there are some things you need to consider.
Have a close eye on usability of the site, make sure breadcrumbs are up and easy to find by the user. Also make menus easy to understand, if necessary, take away all that fancy things surrounding each menu element.

2. Use proper semantics for your templates. Use lists for menus, do not use tables, don’t add img tags to give shapes to the site (is much better to manage that through CSS backgrounds), etc.

3. Keep accessibility as a top priority. Make texts readable, and try to emphasize what triggers and action and what cancel it.