When it comes to web design there is always something new and amazing getting introduced. However, there are few trends that are here to stay. Creating a new website or redesigning an existing one – responsive website design seems the need of the hour. It incorporates design with function. It has made businesses update and manage one single site instead of having and designing a separate mobile and desktop version. In addition to working on phones, responsive sites work seamless on all screen resolutions basically that is what responsive means. It responds to the device resolution you are viewing the site from and gives you the best possible user experience.
Another trend on the rise is use of big, engaging and attractive images. They add beauty and give the website a human touch. Your website speaks of the products or services you offer in terms of images.
Minimalistic design: while the concept of less is more has been doing rounds of design industry. It doesn’t always stay true for all business kinds. There are certain businesses that need their websites to be busy, have more ads, or do not want to have easy navigation for a reason. Majority of websites rely on minimal content with clear, crisp and easy to navigate pages. With reducing attention span of users it has become imperative that we need to grab their attention and have them act quickly. Like place an inquiry, shop something, click to call or whatever action we want them to take when they visit the site in those few seconds before they wander off to another link. Use of less but impact full content is on the rise. It is preferred to have fewer lines of content that speak what you do and how you do it and direct the user through use of icons and colors to initiate natural human action to click more and know more about you or your business rather then putting the information in their face!
Icons: flat icons that explain the context and do not take away attention from your intended content and services keep the user engaged and make the web page interesting. Most icons are self-explanatory and are placed to have the user know immediately what you are offering before reading your text. One good example is Apple; they have revolutionized the use of flat icons and have set the bar high for all UI/UX designers worldwide.
Vertical layouts with scroll: placing teaser of information of all your services or products on one single page is a great way to showcase everything at once without having the user to click anywhere. Single page or multi page websites both make use of this design based on how much you information needs to be displayed. Long scrolls are easy and more fun to navigate than going to separate pages.
Parallax design: this goes in hand with the rest of design principles explained above. When most of your deign is clean, has less content, parallax adds character and makes the page more engaging. They not only look very attractive but also help in impressing your users. Moving images with content looks very intriguing to the human eye. This trend is definitely catching on. If your website is using parallax element in it ensure that you have important call to action or information displayed as human mind prefers images to text. And has higher chance of click through than plain textual information.
Videos: we have noticed videos replacing the more traditional image sliders. They are easy to share and are more user centric than images. Quick video messages, which explain and can speak in more descriptive manner rather than written text gather more attention and are self-explanatory. These can be explanatory or explainer videos, your CEO talking about the company and it’s policies, or your customer speaking from a users perspective on how great your product is. They are replacing the main images that were traditionally used as they add human face to your online presence. Users can get the feel of your company or service and feel more comfortable sharing their email address or phone number on your inquiry forms when they hear someone like them talk about their experience.
Every business is different and not one design can fit all needs and kinds of users. Understanding the goals, target market, users who are accessing the site and their behavior is essential before you jump on any one particular look or design. Marriage of design with function that is custom created for your business is your ultimate web design essential. And no matter what trends come or go this one is here to stay!!
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