The last few years have revealed some of the most impressive website designs since the dawn of the Internet. Whether it’s non-traditional navigation or mind-blowing visuals, we’ve come a long way. But as the landscape evolves, popular trends change in web design…as in all creative fields. In fact, much has changed and will continue to change. So what will be the web design trends for 2018?
Next year’s website design concepts will offer interactive animations, chatbots, intuitive assistance, and richer experiences. Technologies like virtual reality, machine learning, and speech recognition are now advanced enough to be mainstream. You can expect it to be streamlined, clean and simple. Simple designs that do not overload the senses and leave room for those new technologies to attract the online visitor.
Priority in mobile navigation
In 2018, design concepts and engineering for mobile devices will take precedence over desktops, laptops and other equipment. While this won’t make headlines, cell phones and tablets have recently become the equipment of choice for online browsing. A fundamental in the coming year will be Mobile Performance (or optimization of the digital experience), so 2018 will see innovations in functionality on mobile phones and tablets. Things that we have never seen before, in any medium.
A sleeker, cleaner design
Recently, designers started creating sleeker and cleaner website concepts for better browsing performance. Image-heavy pages take time to load and frustrate visitors. Simplicity will be elevated to a whole other level in 2018, making smarter use of negative space. White space is nothing new, but among the web design trends for 2018, developers will find better uses for it. Particularly on mobile devices, light and fast downloads will be essential.
Extravagant and elaborate designs are ruled out. Now everything is there for one purpose: to increase conversions. Negative space draws attention directly to the point of engagement or conversion, with less distraction.
eye-catching typography
Beautifully crafted typography is known for imparting character, arousing emotions, and creating a mood for a page. As visual displays evolve, designers will further innovate typography, engaging users and attracting more visits. We’re already seeing bold, expressive, and artistic fonts take the place of images, and we should expect to see more unique, hand-rendered typography. Among other web design trends for 2018, expect to see lots of bold headers and text links instead of buttons. This will also have a filtering effect on SEO techniques and content marketing practices.
Video becomes more important
Throughout 2017, we saw the continued increase in the use of short videos on corporate websites. While video is not new, it is still a multipurpose medium used for marketing, education, and with a more modern twist than still photography. Indeed, an alternative approach to storytelling for businesses. Yes, video is catching on and will become an even bigger web design trend in 2018. Inspiring more engagement, we found that most of the online giants are giving more weight to video as time goes on. Facebook, Twitter and Google are among them.
Websites in 2018 will take video to new and exciting places that not too long ago seemed like crazy, fantastical dreams. You will see websites equipped with 360 videos, 360 modeling, video mapping and interactive applications.
subtle animations
Technology has evolved and web browsers handle animations much more efficiently than ever before. Animations used to be tacky and distracting, but 2018 will welcome a new dawn of subtle and informative animation. Expect to see cinemagraphs and scroll-activated animations, among others.
Cinemagraphs – Striking the balance between a static image and a traditional video, cinemagraphs will be seen in every web design trend for 2018. Not as time-consuming or data-intensive as a video, these quick clips create dynamic images that do what enough.
Scroll-triggered animations – While not new, they will be used differently in 2018. They will be used for one purpose: to draw attention to critical locations on the page. Simplistic and tactical, these scrolling triggers will be designed to increase engagement and conversions. The animation entices the user to keep scrolling, drawing them to the point of conversion, while telling them about the product.
Voice user interfaces
Perhaps the next big thing that will revolutionize web browsing. Voice user interface is also known as voice search, digital assistant, or natural language processing (NLP). It refers to a person’s interaction with a computer (or mobile device) through the spoken word. Don’t be surprised to find websites with their own voice user interfaces among the web design trends for 2018. With voice search on the rise, make sure your company’s website content is compatible, as people they speak differently when using voice commands directed at the machines. This will be especially important for open searches, starting from an engine like Google or Bing.
microinteractions
Microinteractions allow the user to interact with a website without reloading the page. Historically, the Internet has been very static. Each new submission meant a page reload. While this seems minor from the outside, it actually creates a hiccup or bottleneck in user enjoyment. Some visitors will simply lose patience and jump ship, and you’ll lose usage data or potential conversions. Micro-interactions help eliminate those hiccup delays, leading to richer interactions for visitors, who are now more likely to stay and engage with your site.
Progressive Web Apps
Many designers, recognizing the popularity of mobile applications, have begun to develop a combination of traditional application behaviors with web page behaviors. This hybrid of website and app is called a Progressive Web App.
As Progressive Web Apps become more popular, we’ll see website functionality update to include things like push notifications, splash screens, offline mode, and animated page transitions. We will see highly refined cognitive abilities, a greater reliance on natural language processing, and more automation. Apps will learn and then react to your personal preferences and style.
the power of facebook
Facebook is becoming just as valuable, if not more valuable, for offering all of the content typically found on a business website. Facebook is struggling to become a content destination, offering a platform for blogging, reviews, live chat and live streaming. This is especially true since the public discovered how to use hashtags on Facebook. In many cases, customers discover a Facebook Page before a business website and don’t even click through; they will simply call or message online and become an immediate prospect.
In 2018, building your business experience on Facebook will be more important than ever. You’ll use Facebook to drive people to your website, rather than the other way around.
responsive design
If you haven’t heard of responsive web design before, it’s a method of building a website using CSS media queries and flexible layouts to design a single dynamic experience. It then adjusts the display of the content, according to the type of device it is displayed on. There will be a huge increase in the number of businesses leveraging this among their web design trends for 2018. Businesses will use responsive design to achieve the search rankings they want; keep consumers happy and informed during their online visit.
Security
Security will gain in importance
In 2017, malicious hacking became an even bigger problem than before. The malware was bad enough, but the ransomware outbreak was much worse. As you think about your web design trends for 2018, be sure to consider the security of your client’s information. Make sure your security certificate is always up to date and on all pages.
Trust will always be one of the main concerns of users from now on. your downloads? Your contact form? Your personal information? Will your website infect your desktop or other device? People will only interact with your website, download and share your information if they trust your technology.
Is your web design ready for 2018?
As there are thousands of innovations and patterns rapidly emerging each year in the world of web design, it is difficult to predict the future. One thing is for sure, the online landscape will continue to change, and it will change rapidly. The important thing in business is not to be left behind… in 2018 or beyond.