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Don’t Miss These Web Design Trends in This Year

By Team #ARM Worldwide
August 27, 2017

The online world is a space which constantly keeps evolving, which is the same case when it comes to web design. The designs which were popular in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 will simply not work as well in today’s date – such is the pace at which technology changes. So, web developers have to constantly update the look of their websites, such as their templates, navigation, action buttons, etc. They need to keep on experimenting with these in order to evaluate which design of the website attracts more customers and enhances their experience. With the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR), web designs are going to get even better. If you are on a lookout to refresh your web design, here are some web design trends you must try in this year. This will help you drive more traffic to your website, and keep your users engaged:

#1. Bolder and beautiful fonts

Many websites are cleaning up their home pages by using bold, eye-catching headings, and keeping the rest of the page minimal and clean. This makes the design of the home page look beautiful, and takes the focus to the content. For example, the men’s clothing retailer Frank and Oak uses big, bold fonts and large photography to keep their homepage extremely eye-catchy, while putting all the emphasis on their content.

#2. Use of bright gradients

Most of the brands are experimenting with brighter colours and duotone gradients all over their homepage. They are no longer sticking to using just single, solid tones and cramming the homepage with information. For example, Impossible Bureau uses very vivid colours and contrasting gradients on their page to make it look striking.

#3. Custom-made graphics and illustrations

More companies are turning to graphic designers and illustrators to create astounding illustrations and graphics for their websites, which resonates with their users and reflects their brand. It is a big break from flat designs and minimalism, which could be seen on the websites a few years back. Illustrations and graphics inject life into a simple, plain website, and helps to build the personality of a brand. For example, Dropbox uses an interface which is extremely easy to understand, and its hand-drawn and light-hearted illustration reflects its friendly personality and puts the user at complete ease while using their product.

#4. Microinteractions

Microinteractions are single, specific moments when a user is interacting with your website. These may be scrolling effects and/or hover-and-click animations. Most of the designers think of it as an important component of a website, which adds delight, creates surprise, and offers something attractive, engaging and exciting to the users.

#5. Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs such as high-quality videos or GIFs that run on a smooth, continuous loop, have been widely used to propagate the content to a user in an interactive and visually appealing manner. It breaks the monotony and adds life to an otherwise static page.

#6. Duotones

Many designers are experimenting with visually appealing duotones for their pages. Some are even experimenting with mixing more than two colors. For example, MyUKmailbox, uses duotone very beautifully in its design, to reflect the personality of the brand.

#7. Mixing Vertical and Horizontal Texts

Web designers keep on experimenting with the aesthetics of their web page, and mixing vertical and horizontal texts is one great way to do so. It is a relief for the user from the usual clutter of text and it instantly catches his/her attention. This also provides a fresh dimension to the page.

#8. Modular Design

This is one of the latest innovations in the world of web design. Modular designs are surely a spectacular way to create a clean, accessible website that will keep the users engaged. For example, Script & Seal, an illustration studio site, uses a modular design to make navigation easy for the user and makes the UI clean and very attractive to look at.

#9. Card and Grid UI’s

While there have been many new designs which have been on the rise currently, Card and Grid patterns are something which is going to stay. It was made popular by Pinterest and followed by likes of Facebook, Twitter, etc. It instantly shows the headings of the content which the user can expect on the page, hence enabling him to quickly scan the site in a visually appealing manner. For example, dribble.com, an invite-only sharing platform for designers, is a great example of a functional card UI with a simple grid. Each element is clear and accessible, allowing a user to scan through the content easily.

#10. Innovative Scrolling and Parallax

With innovations being made in web designing, the function of scrolling has changed, and it is being used in more creative capacities to deliver content online. Earlier, designers emphasized on keeping the most important content “above the fold”. But this concept is vanishing now, since the “fold” is now harder to define, with users viewing content on screens of all sizes. Designers have innovated basic functions such as scrolling to deliver content to the user in a more engaging and convenient manner. Infinite scrolling is one such innovation made towards the delivery of content. In this web design, the content loads as the user scroll down the page. This design would prove great for sites which have a large amount of information to disseminate. It is also widely used by social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter, where numerous updates are required to be delivered in the user’s news feed. Also, many more smart features in scrolling are being constantly developed. For example, it works well with video-based content, where the video can auto-pause as the user scrolls down, and resume when he scrolls up. Another way in which scrolling has been innovated is the implementation of parallax. It involves the background moving slower than the foreground, thus creating a beautiful 3D effect. For example, Apple is a brand which makes great use of the scroll feature on their site. Keeping all the important product information static on the left, a series of watches Cascades when you scroll, creating beautiful and seamless transitions on the page.

#11. Geometric Layering

Another innovation made in an effort to make websites look more attractive and exciting to users, the popularity of geometrical layering has only risen. It was first propagated by Google in their Google Material Design and has been used by designers ever since to add life to images that are otherwise plain. For example, buildings, interior designs, people working, etc. The greatest advantage of using geometric layering is that it is easy to work with and integrate with the rest of the design. They can also work with any type of content, putting direct emphasis on it. For example, Bailey and French – a Management Consultancy company – has beautifully incorporated geometrical layering in their design, which makes their sites highly attractive.

Minimalism

It is said, “less is more”, and this couldn’t be truer for website designs. Minimalistic designs are trending with companies nowadays. This design lets go of all the unnecessary elements from the framework of a site, leaving only what is most required. Most of the minimalistic sites use neutral colors, dramatic typography, large and vivid photography and very simple navigational tools and visual balance. Because there is a usage of very few elements in this approach, designers must be careful in choosing what to keep and what to leave. If designed and conceptualized properly, minimalistic design can work wonders for your website. For example, ‘Oh My!’, a Digital Design studio uses a large white background for some high-contrast effect and a very simple navigation to provide a great UX. These are some of the web design trends to look out for in this year. These will surely make your website stand out and keep your users engaged and wanting for more!