Even though the World Wide Web hasn’t gone through much significant change (for the most part it’s still the same, actually), we are now in a virtual era called Web 2.0, in which the Internet is not merely a window to the world, but a platform in the technical and figurative sense—new uses for it are currently being researched for both developers and end-users, in aspects of business, technology, education and societal purposes.

Of course, with the arrival of this second generation, it’s not just the form or the substance that is undergoing change—its exterior should keep up with it too. Designers now are not just confined to perform the duties of mere visual artists, but they must be their own programmers or data encoders as well. Presently, there are these so-called guidelines that one must observe in order to keep up with the growing and expanding Web 2.0 style.

To make your layout design to HTML file transition easier, it might delight you to know that a plug-in made for Photoshop, SiteGrinder, is available to address those kinds of issues. That aside, here is a small compilation of the styles and elements incorporated in a design for it to be qualified as Web 2.0:

Simple and focused. The lesser the elements, the clearer the divisions, the fewer the columns, the more uncluttered it looks, and definitely better. It will look clean, organized, and professional. Minimalism is the way to go from now on. Also, if you using multiply columns or frame, try to create focus on the most integral part by harmonizing the color scheme, images, fonts and whole flow of the layout.

Bright and bold. Uses of bright, highly saturated colors are in vogue again. Nothing says “fresh and high energy” like warm hues in blood-pumping tones. Rich, dark colors may work too, just make sure they vary in tones and are intense. Otherwise, pale, dull colors will just disinterest the viewer, except perhaps for a few select websites. Remember that good contrast is the key; now is the time to take advantage of different color schemes such as complementary, triad, split-complementary, etc. Study your elementary color wheel, or better yet, try out Adobe’s nifty color-matching program called “Kuler”.

Defined logos, icons and clean, sleek graphics. Take a look at today’s popular website and one thing you’ll notice is that few use the fade effect so used and abused in the days past. A clean-edge logo looks more solid, and will generally look the same even if you have it put up or printed in other mediums. One that utilizes a fade-effect will have to compromise somewhere. As always, keep in mind that your logo should be able to represent you company well, first and foremost.

Critical use of reflections and gradients. When used sparingly, and in the right places, reflections and gradients maximize the sleek and finished look of your site. Be careful in overusing them, as the effect desired might just backfire.

Creative addition of Flash. Whether it be for an animated header, or navigation bar effects, or whatever you have in mind, tuck little pieces of small but functional flash effects, to create a dynamic feel throughout your site. A plug-in that will be useful for this is PSD2FLA, which lets you open and edit .fla files in Photoshop.

Now that you know the look of Web 2.0, feel free to design away!