Brands need loyal customers who speak well of them and recommend their products. Word-of-mouth is the best way to receive a loyal and organic following. In other words, you need brand lovers.
To make potential customers get in love with your website and brand, you need a modern, relevant aesthetic people love. Humans seek continuous emotional triggers and with brand lovers, your followers, you can't skimp. If your web page design is boring.. they’ll find another brand to love and follow.
Is it important to follow web design current trends?
Sure, it is. Design is a matter of taste, but it’s good to know which are the trends that are taking the most in each sector, so you can use them to your advantage and give your website a modern touch.
It may be right to follow trends at times, but it is more important to use them wisely and test them before implementing them with your audience. So, let's see what are the new trends for web design.
1. Minimalism: less is more
Minimalist trends, simple shapes and custom 3D visuals will continue for the rest of the year. Simple pages are more attractive to the eye and they tend to convert better because it’s easier to capture the user’s undivided attention when we are dealing with a simple design than one full of multiple elements.
This type of design tries to remove unnecessary elements to clear the screen. It is the suppression of distractions taken to the extreme and it follows the same rules of a landing page... A non-distracting design to engage people and focus on a single idea. If you think about it, it makes complete sense, if your design is simple but interesting, you will get attention with a modern vibe.
As a consequence, it can improve conversions and web design trends will reinforce the idea that successful web pages are useful and pleasant for the user, especially the mobile user.
Simple (but powerful) images
Also, adding simple images that reflect emotions will improve your reader’s concentration on what really matters about your product and message. The reason is that complex images overwhelm our eyes and in times when we consume so much content, the use of a clean and different image is a haven of tranquility for the visitor.
2. Design for mobile-first
The custom of every designer is to start with the desktop version, but with the new Google algorithms this is changing and we must focus on the mobile design first.
In fact. your website should look good on all devices, but you have to try to optimize it for mobile because users are making more searches from mobile devices than from desktop. As a consequence, the online industry has put a greater interest in developing new concepts and strategies for mobile web design.
For this reason, the Mobile-First tendency is modifying the creation of webpages by first focusing on the design for smartphones and tablets... And then adapting them to computer screens. With Mobile First, you have some added benefits anyway. The workflow focuses on priorities and the essential elements of your brand, and you get the following benefits:
- You don't spend more time than necessary in programming.
- You get maximum performance on all devices.
- Your information is readily accessible.
- It has personalized designs and thought for smartphones.
- You avoid using large images and unnecessary features.
- Among other benefits.
Do you have to choose mobile design above desktop design? A large number of visits to webpages from mobile devices prove that web design is not just a niche. It became the main market and the priority for many online projects now.
But don’t go and dismiss the potential of web design trends for desktop, it’s not a contradiction, just a smaller screen, which brings some restrictions that reduce irrelevant information and functions. Texts, images, graphics and other multimedia elements are still critical for any webpage.
For example, it’s desirable to have an easy-to-read text structure on small screens, with shorter text blocks and larger titles and subtitles to facilitate the reading.
Regarding images and videos, they should load easily and have enough quality for viewing on mobile devices with high-definition displays. Ideally, this is the general approach for all online content.
In short, in the near future, mobile web pages will need to evolve to bigger screen sizes, but for now, you’ll have to adapt your strategy to a smaller screen compared to desktop screens.
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3. User is king (UX)
There was a time when we considered content to be Kind, but it has since evolved. You must design with the users in mind. If you have good content and intuitive design your potential customers will love your website.
In fact, a positive user experience is essential to keep people visiting your website and make them choose your brand over your competitors’ products. You’ll get more brand lovers as they will follow your brand. Particularly, to facilitate and improve the user experience you can apply practices such as:
- A minimalistic and pretty design to keep your visitors impressed with your good taste.
- Using simple and readable fonts.
- Prioritize the usability and easy reading before design and aesthetics.
- Use of progress bars because they are a perfect way to measure progress on a website and to break the monotony when performing linear processes. Your visitors will thank you, especially, when filling out long forms.
- Links to Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.), which are great for promoting a website and its content, creating a brand image, and building customer loyalty.
4. Loading speed: your website should go like a rocket!
A fast loading speed isn't really a trend... it’s a must! A fast website will not only improve the user experience but also Google will assess your content faster and you'll have priority over other websites.
More than a trend, it’s a fundamental principle of well-designed pages, but speed is growing in importance anyway. Bottom line: If your website takes too long to load your customers will leave your website forever.
In case your website is taking too long to load, you can add animations to make them remain on the website for some seconds... and better yet, optimize your webpage to decrease the load time. Sometimes you'd like to add many elements to surprise your visitors with graphics. However, take into account that slow connections are more common than you may think. The faster your page load, the better the user experience.
In addition, today web designers are dismissing some superfluous elements to make their pages more agile and avoid slowing down the website.
5. Large fonts and vivid colors
Typography on the web is beginning to get bigger and thicker – and this is gradually becoming a trend. So, using readable big fonts is a good choice.
Distracting fonts, long text and lack of white spaces are killers for conversions. Remember that the key in web design is maintaining a proper balance between words and a minimalist design.
Also, you can enhance your webpage with the use of bright colors. The use of bright colors hasn't lost popularity over the years. However, consider that no matter the combination of colors you use, your website should look classy and convey a feeling of prestige. Similarly, the use of gradients in web design is a great idea in terms of web design since it can generate the impression of freshness and creativity.
6. Animations, but not excessively
Animations are visual effects that make a webpage attractive. They get the user’s attention and it’s a trend you’ll see in the coming years.
Moving effects are much better than images for conveying ideas with dynamism and creativity. And, by the way, animations capture the user's attention easily and they don't affect the loading time. In this way, they help guide users to interact with the page without affecting its speed. So, if you're not using animations you better do it. They will improve your user experience and get you more leads.
7. Chatbots are here to stay
If you have an eCommerce, or at least, a website offering your services, a chatbot is decisive in the purchase process for potential customers.
The main goal of chatbots is to solve the doubts of your website’s visitors and help them complete the purchase. In addition, chatbots will make you feel safer because you’ll know that your customers and potential customers will always be receiving answers to their questions.
For instance, you can engage your visitors as soon as they land on your website by asking them what they are looking for or how you can help them.
Your potential customers will feel that you really care about them and they frequently ask questions that a chatbot can answer faster and cheaper than having someone on the chat all day. That's why chatbots have been gaining prominence in web design. They allow you to automate an important part of marketing strategy and online customer service.
And you can get support for chats, sending tickets, contacting through WhatsApp or Telegram, etc. However, we have to admit that their functionalities are still basic. Chatbots are trendy, but they do require some work to make them your number one software.
8. Multimedia content: more video, 3D and hero images
It’s nothing new. 3D designs had already been protagonists in the last few years, and they will advance by adding a layer of realism through textures and videos on the background
Indeed, videos are a sure hit. People love videos and they increase the value of your brand and message retention. And everything which is in movement is fashionable now since this type of visual content attracts a lot of attention. Videos are here to stay and as they are so dynamic and creative, you can explain almost everything with them.
For instance, the parallax is one trendy effect in web design, since it gives an air of dynamism to the elements that incorporate it. This effect consists of moving the background at a different speed when you're scrolling down.
Let it be!
Make your customers proud of your brand and they will want to continue buying from you. If you are looking for love, give love first, and you'll see how that boomerang effect works.
Just remember that not all kinds of elements match on all types of websites. Each website and brand has its own hook and personality. If your company has a more classic or traditional profile (training, lawyers, etc.), we don't recommend them to get creative.
Are you planning to be a part of any of these trends, or perhaps combine them like many of the designs featured here? Or do you have your own predictions? Let us know!
Easy, isn't it?
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