Design is always changing – from clothes, to home décor, to websites. Each year brings forth new trends, determined by the changes in our lives and the evolution of our tastes. While some trends are enduring and are so-called classic features, every now and then there is a definite shift in the way design trends evolve.
When it comes to websites, having a modern design in line with the most recent trends has a huge impact on how potential customers perceive your business. If they feel that the design of your website is outdated, they take it as a sign of a lack of professionalism. Or, if your website does not offer optimum browsing experience on any device, they will leave it quickly and look for another supplier.
Today we will share with you the biggest trends in web design which will define the year 2018. Even if you did not plan a huge website redesign, it would be helpful to perform a few tweaks and face lifts. Your customers will note the small changes and welcome them, and new website visitors will perceive a modern and professional looking website.
- Mobile Website Comes First
So far, web design best practices made provisions for having a mobile-friendly website. Now mobile websites have become the norm. There is far more internet traffic coming from smartphones and tablets than from computers.
Even Google will start rolling out a Mobile First Index – favouring mobile website in its ranking. This means that your site should be first of all designed and tested for mobile devices, while desktop view becomes secondary in importance.
- Spectacular Typography
2018 will be the year when typeface and fonts are among the most noticeable elements of a website. Many brands will opt to have their own proprietary typeface created by a professional designer. The others should strive to embrace a combination of fonts that stands out and gives personality to their website.
Large titles are not just a way of conveying information through content but also a key element of décor, and the perfect combination between typefaces creates a great visual appeal which encourages reading on.
- Unusual Colour Combinations
From the point of view of the colour palette for websites, we see a resurgence of the 1980s. Unexpected combinations – like purple with red and yellow. Strong, stark contrasts are the mainstream trend in terms of colours, standing out and keeping the eyes focused on the web page at all costs.
- Micro Interactions and Scroll-Prompted Animations
These two aspects are specific changes in people’s behaviour while browsing websites. The smaller size of the screen, combined with the gesture of moving the thumb over it to scroll down make mobile browsing quite difficult. To make things more exciting, small animations which appear at the moment of scrolling will make website visitors curious and excited, keeping them engaged in the browsing activity.
Micro moments are the small interactions people have, especially on the social media. Facebook™, for example, allows people to choose from various reactions, and to express their feelings with emoji and animated GIFs. These types of minute interactions are meant to keep people engaged – considering how quickly they get bored and have their attention distracted by something else while using their mobile phones.
- Retro-Style Illustrations
Even though a photograph is worth a thousand words, illustrations with a retro touch will be the most effective types of graphics for websites in 2018. One explanation may be the overuse of stock photos, to the point where customers recognise them as such. Illustrations, by definition, have to be 100% original, branded and designed for a specific purpose.
Last, but not least, chatbots are becoming an increasing presence on websites. Even if they are not a design element per se, you should consider adding a chatbot to your website to offer your visitors 24/7 customer support and assistance during shopping.