94% of that first impression is related exclusively to the design of your site. Meaning the used colours, fonts, structures, effects, and other elements could be crucial to a successful visit. Even if the quality of content includes exactly what the user is looking for, it can be overshadowed by poor web design.
That’s why we feel it is extremely important to keep the websites we design up to date with the hottest trends in design and user functionality. So if you’re looking to create, improve or rebrand your website, we have seven handpicked trends that can help you to find inspiration and to achieve your goal.
This trend follows the “less is more” approach, and is distinguished by creating the design around the content. The principal goal is to centre the user’s attention onto the content. Making it easier to digest and create an easy user journey for visitors.
Minimalist websites have the benefits of recording faster loading times by keeping only what is strictly necessary and retains a more streamlined flow for responsive design.
The use of horizontal scrolling in web design is a trend that has been become more and more popular over the last couple of years. It uses the horizontal strips to provide specific containers for each page area, using the full dimensions of the user’s monitor.
This trend is popular for catalogues, brochures and galleries where the focus is around imagery.
The principal characteristic of this trend is the use of the “hamburger” menu to either hide secondary navigation options and give more attention to the primary call to actions or include all of your website navigation in a hidden menu thus giving more attention to the content in a cleaner design.
Find more details about the “hamburger” icon here.
Following on from number 3, experimenting with the position of the navigation has also been a recent trend. Depending on the focus of the website, creating a quirky design by repositioning common components can make a real impact.
Some examples of this are the following sites, including their navigation as a vertical column, on each corner of the website or even changing to a keypress of the space bar.
A trend popular on e-commerce websites inline with the rise of superfast internet, the use of the images and video to introduce users to new products and features. Using a 3D or 360° perspective, it is easier for the user to understand if a product is fit for purpose.
It also transforms your website into an interactive one for the user, one that will captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression.
This is a trend that has been constant for many years, but a higher focus on the style and use of cinematic photography has given rise to a new trend. They can be used to highlight the context of a website or to apply emphasis to a product or service. Either way, they are an absolute way of ensuring viewers rapidly understand the main objective of your website.
The combination of these two elements, if implemented well, can give a sensation to the viewer of interacting with “real people” and not just another faceless website.
The importance of an interactive website is that it attracts and encourages more users and site visitors to read and engage with the site contents. That’s why is necessary to have a balance between the interactive/animated elements to avoid the sensation of overwhelming for the user.
The following examples are some sites that we consider are making a good job of keeping balance.
Do you have a project you’d like to discuss? Why not take advantage of our free no-obligation web design consultation? As part of our digital strategy consultancy, we will work with your team to help determine what trend suits you more.
Get in touch to request yours now.
