With time, the world of web design has changed dramatically, as the preferences of users have evolved as well. While web design initially focused on hyperlinked text, lacking attention in terms of pictures, graphics and videos, things have changed nowadays, with the latest web design trend being referred to as flat design, which is basically a more sophisticated version of the minimalism trend.
However, websites today tend to follow different trends when compared to the ones they followed one year, or even a couple of months ago. As I am a web designer, it is essential for me to find new ways of staying ahead of the competition, and I feel like it is my duty to inform others about the latest web designs trends.
To kick things off, it is important to be aware of the fact that a trendy web design scheme doesn’t necessarily have to be new. To put things better into perspective, during the last couple of years, some of the most popular trends were flat, minimal, video sliders, long scroll, background video, CSS animation, hamburger menus, hero images, mobile first, frontend frameworks, responsive and newsletter design.
Throughout 2016 and the beginning of 2017, chances are that the mobile trend will once again gain a lot of ground. Trends will tend to follow practices meant to improve the experience on mobile platforms, thus focusing on decluttering and increasing responsiveness. While the chances of a new design trend appearing are fairly low, it’s likely that current trends will face a period of both standardization, but also refinement.
In this article, I’ll talk about some of the latest and best web design trends, which are most likely to help your website stand out from the rest. Without further ado, here they are:
- Material web design
This is a fairly new design trend, and it represents a new alternative to the popular flat web design trend, as it brings in a couple of awesome graphical elements. This type of web design offers a couple of additional features, including the possibility of separating layers by using image editing software, while also creating animations automatically. The trend is backed by a design language which comes along with a specific, yet clear set of guidelines that are followed by all platforms the design is viewed on.
While material design does look great and it’ll surely propel your own website forward, I believe that adhering to strict guidelines can have an impact on creativity, and bring a standardized look to most websites, which is why it’s always nice to innovate.
- The Mobile UX
As mentioned above, the Mobile UX is probably one of the most hyped web design trends of this moment, as it allows users to quickly find what they’re looking for, while also experiencing awesome graphics. Chances are that the use of images in web design will change with time, as fancier fonts alongside with CSS will be used to help reduce the time it takes for pages to load and overall server strain.
More and more people are actively using their mobile devices to access websites, which is why it is essential to work on compatibility issues. The better your website looks and works on a mobile device, the more users you’ll keep engaged.
- Consider placing greater focus on your article layouts
Most web designers and webmasters are aware of the fact that content is extremely important for websites of all kinds, yet article layout is starting to have more of an important role. Putting pictures at the right place and switching up the way that text looks will surely help people stick around for longer. As an example, check out how this page highlights the promoted jump starter and makes it stand out within the sea of content.
- Add larger background images and consider following the imagery web design trend
For years, people have been using images to communicate their ideas, and to further engage with users. This is the main reason why stock images remain incredibly important today. However, the size preference has changed quite a lot. Users now pay close attention to images placed with reason which contain important information, and tend to look away from those used only to jazz up pages. Based on this, don’t shy away from the idea of using engaging images as background pictures on your website. If done well, this design trend can look incredible.
- Consider juicing up your website with the modular design trend
Grid-based or modular design has been around for a couple of months, so it’s still fairly new in the world of web design. It has managed to get quite a lot of traction as it is user-friendly, very responsive and looks great! Not only this, but it also allows readers to quickly look for the information they desire, and webmasters to reuse modules, and easily change up the way their pages look.
- Focus more on the importance of social comments
Once again, after a long period of absence, people are beginning to comment and read the comments posted on webpages. With this in mind, website building platforms such as WordPress offer great commenting systems, yet users are more likely to leave comments using their social network accounts. With this in mind, it is important to invest in social commenting systems, and also have an active social media account that you can use to express the company’s vision when replying to comments and answering questions.
- Dynamic Storytelling
Last but not least, this is another web design trend which will surely make your website look more professional and attract more readers. It works by allowing webmasters to tell a story by using both images and text, as it guides readers directly through a thinking process, or even a timeline. Dynamic storytelling can facilitate website owners to better showcase the benefits of a service or product, while also sharing the history and vision of the company in question. Yet, dynamic storytelling is only efficient when done right, so the web designer needs to be well-skilled and capable of truly understanding your website’s message.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, by following the tips above, your website will surely look more professional and attract a larger number of readers.