Dear web design,

I know we don’t tell you as often as we should – especially when we’ve got updates and backups on our minds – but you’re the one for us.

How do we love thee? Let’s count the ways.

We’re pretty hooked on the fonts you give us. The curves of Calibri, the dependability of Times New Roman and the playfulness of Apparel, Bely and Glamour. And the way you flick the air with your Hs and Ts in Brush Script.

Martin Hancock put it neatly when he said: “Using only one font, you could end up failing to highlight certain key features. While using more than one font you can create a strong impact for many a website.”

Then there’s your colour palettes. When it comes to these you surprise us every day. Who knew when we first met that you’d give us colour palettes inspired by everything from cityscapes to historical eras.

And who knew that roses don’t always need be red and violets don’t always need to be blue.

Gill Graham said: “The colours blow your mind with their vividness and hue.”

Some of us have our particular favourites. Like Marcella Clarke, who said: “[I love the] colours especially red as not only is it one of the most popular colours on the web today then of course it coincides with Valentine's Day.”

But many of us find it impossible to pick.

And we can’t continue to count the ways without mentioning the words involved in web design. Gill Graham hit the nail on the head again when she said ‘it’s like a beautiful garden full of flowery words’.

The words in web design can make the difference between a customer converting and leaving a website. They can make a customer feel connected to a brand or turn them totally off.

Then there are all the fun ways you can play with words – from using bucket brigades to coining portmanteaus.

A special mention must also go to how flexible you are. Daniel Cockburn Evans couldn’t have put it better when he said: “The aspect I love when it comes to web design is the wide range of technologies you can integrate such as Bootstrap, PHP.”

Then there’s the philosophy that’s linked to you. Web design is a language. It expresses ideas. It connects people. It even manipulates behaviour.

Of course, it’s not just us that you make an impression on. Anyone who’s ever been wowed by a website will know how special you are.

Marcia Jones said: “The actual web design itself shows potential clients how they perceive your brand. The first impression you make on them can either get them to remain on your page and learn about your products or dismiss them.”

Sometimes it’s hard to sum up just how we feel about you web design.

Julie Kettle raves about your precision. Helen McLaughlin heaps praise on the way you can make things unique and memorable.

Yes, we’ve had our rocky patches in the past. Let’s not talk about the pop up/pop up blocker phase. But we weathered those storms.

And as for the future?

We’ve not seen anything yet. In 2021, we’ve got trends like bold typography, sophisticated split screens and custom illustrations to look forward to together.

Beyond that there may be VR and AI to work with.

We’ll sign off with a metaphor. Wendy Denny describes the way she feels about web design in the following way:

“A beautiful rose pale pink petals fading then turning into a beautiful vivid red sitting in the middle of a love heart made of hundreds of tea lights glimmering and shimmering.”

Happy Valentine’s.

,