1. Responsive Design
Responsive websites are not a new web design trend in 2018,
but they’re an important enough one to still include here. As mobile usage only
seems to keep going up – it firstsurpassed desktop a couple of years ago –
making sure your website works at least as well on mobile devices as it does on
bigger screens is crucial.
Visitors quite simply won’t stick around if your website
provides a disappointing mobile experience, and it’s bad for SEO on top of
everything else.
While you could create a separate version of your website
that works well on mobile devices from the one people see on desktop, for most
businesses the better option is to make one website that’s responsive.
On a responsive website, each page has all the same copy,
images, and elements no matter what device you view it on, but they’re arranged
differently based on the size of the screen. An image that shows up next to the
text on your desktop may show up below it on a smaller screen, for instance.
Making your website responsive ensures that your mobile
users get all the same information and value from your website, while still
having a user friendly experience.
As an added tip, if creating a responsive website sounds
intimidating, consider a website builder that offers responsive templates. Most
of the work will already be done for you.
2. Chatbots
You’ve probably noticed in your own internet surfing that a
lot of business websites now have a little window pop up at the bottom right
side of the screen when you land on the website, giving you the chance to chat
with a representative.
Adding a chat window like this to your website means any
visitor with a question can have it answered immediately. But for many
websites, having someone available to answer those questions in real time is
too much of a challenge.
One possible solution: utilizing a chatbot. You can program
a chatbot to answer the most common questions your customers have so that most
visitors still get their answer right away. For questions the chatbot doesn’t
know, you can at least program it to provide details on how best to get in touch
with a live representative so your visitor still knows what to do next.
Chatbots don’t make sense for every type of website, but if
you have a business website and you frequently hear a few main questions from
your visitors, they can save your staff time while still providing your
visitors with a good experience.
3. Animation
Autoplay videos are very much out, but that doesn’t mean
your website has to be completely static. You can add some movement to your web
design with some simple animations.
A growing number of websites are working animations into the
background or images of web pages. A good animation will draw the eye and
capture a visitor’s interest, without distracting from the main information you
want them to see on the page. It’s a web design trend that makes your website a
little more engaging and adds some personality.
4. Microinteractions
Microinteractions take animation one step further in terms
of user engagement. These are animations that respond to what the user does on
the page. If you notice a website changing when you mouse over a particular
spot, or an animation that’s triggered by scrolling down – those are
microinteractions.
These create a positive user experience because they hand
visitors power over what they see as they interact with the site. Knowing your
actions shape the design in front of you is a good feeling, even if it’s only
in minor ways.
Microinteractions are becoming more common around the web,
making them a good web design trend to have on your radar in 2018.
5. Original Illustrations
Stock photography’s easy, but it doesn’t add any personality
to your website. That’s why many website owners are now turning to original
illustrations for the images on their pages.
Custom illustrations do come at a cost – artists must be
paid – but they can transform the style of your website and create an entirely
unique experience. Custom illustrations often feel playful, while still doing
the work of communicating something about your brand.
You get to choose the colors you want to include and can
craft imagery that might be hard to stage in a photo. If you can find a good
artist for your website, they’re a good way to inject some extra personality
into the website experience.
6. Including Social
Proof
So far, most of these website design trends come with a
fairly hefty price tag that may be out of reach for small businesses or
websites devoted to passions rather than profit. This one is much more
affordable.
Social proof is a way to convince new visitors that you’re
awesome by showing evidence of your success with other visitors. For a
business, it could be logos of companies you work with or testimonials from
other customers. For a blog, it could be publishing the number of email
subscribers you have.
You can (and should) tell other people how awesome your
website is in your copy, but your words aren’t going to mean as much to
visitors as proof that other people like them think you’re awesome. Find a way
to work social proof into the design of your website to better highlight your
value to new visitors.
7. Hamburger Menus
This is a controversial web design trend that’s commonly
used on apps and mobile websites because it’s an easy way to provide a menu
that takes up very little space. The hamburger icon itself is very small, and
it opens up your main menu when you click on it. As it’s become more familiar to internet
users with the growth of mobile, its use has started to spill over into the
design of desktop websites as well.
A hamburger menu removes the list of pages in your main menu
from all the pages of your website and puts them behind the hamburger icon. If
you want a website that has a very clean design, it allows you to include fewer
elements on each page while still providing the navigation items your visitors
need.
As mentioned though, it is a controversial web design trend.
It may not be right for your audience. This is a trend you should be very
intentional about considering – only use it if you have a good reason.
8. Rounder Edges
For a while buttons, windows, and containers on websites
tended to have sharp corners. Recently more web designers are starting to shift
their website designs toward softer, rounder edges.
This is a web design trend you can see in buttons and chat
windows around the web.
Plenty of websites still maintain their sharp edges, and
some use a mix of both. This isn’t a trend that’s outright replaced the former
way of doing things. But if you want to keep the shapes on your website a
little softer, you’ll be in line with one of the web design trends of 2018.
9. Tactile Design
Another common trend of the past was keeping web design
flat. Many websites are now starting to buck the old trend by adding more
shadowing and depth to the images on their pages.
Tactile design can bring the images on your website more to
life for your visitors. In addition, it provides a way to add emphasis to your
images. The difference is often subtle, but it changes the user experience of
your website and adds a little more realism.
10. Unique Fonts
Choosing a unique font is an easy way to add some
personality to your website and make it stand out a bit more. Fonts are part of
a website that many visitors don’t really notice, but you can use your font
choice to add some additional style to your website and draw more attention to
important words.
Make sure that any font you choose is easy for your visitors
to read. Style shouldn’t trump clarity here. But as long as you keep the text
on your website legible for all your visitors, you can use your font choice as
a way to add some extra personality to your site.
11. Asymmetry
A bold choice that’s showing up on some websites now is
asymmetric design. Using asymmetry in your web design provides a unique
experience for your visitors, especially as it’s still not a particularly
common design choice at this stage.
This web design option definitely isn’t for everybody.
Because it’s uncommon and unexpected, it might be less intuitive for some
visitors. And it can complicate a website’s ability to remain responsive. But
if you want to provide a website experience that’s outside of the box, going
asymmetrical can do that.
12. Accessible Design
If you don’t have any disabilities yourself, you’ve probably
approached web design in the past without thinking about how people with
disabilities will experience your website. That’s unfortunately normal – many
web designers just haven’t had accessibility top of mind in the past.
But that’s beginning to change. One of the web design trends
of 2018 is working to make websites more accessible for everyone. Design
magazines and blogs have started to provide tips for more accessible web
design.
Designing an accessible website requires broadening your
perspective and doing a little work, but when you commit to it, you open up
your site to an audience that was left out before.
13. Data
Visualization
“Big data” has been a buzzword for a few years now and
businesses in all industries have seen the growing influence of data on the
tools and latest trends that shape how we do business. Perhaps it was only a
matter of time until the influence of data made its way to web design as well.
Many websites are now incorporating data visualization into
their design. In some cases it becomes a part of the main website, in others
they launch a separate site to highlight valuable data they’ve created.
In either case, data visualization becomes a part of the
story the brand tells and the visual identity they have on the web.
14. Bold Colors
A lot of the web design trends for 2018 are about standing
out and this is no exception. Many websites are employing color schemes that
are bright and bold. Bright colors provide a distinctive experience that make
your website more memorable.
You can use your color choices strategically to draw
attention to parts of the website you most want people to see.
This is another website design trend that isn’t for
everyone. Some brands will be better served with more subtle colors, but if
you’re looking for a way to make your website stand out and really get
attention, making bold color choices could do the trick.
15. Floating
Navigation
Most of the websites you visit have their navigation in the
same place: across the top of the website. Some websites are experimenting with
different options though. We already talked about the hamburger menu option,
but another possibility is floating navigation.
Floating navigation stays visible even as you scroll down
the page. It provides a unique experience, but also offers the practical
benefit of keeping all the navigation options present and visible no matter
where your visitor is on the page.
You can see an example of what that looks like on the Anchor
and Orbit website. As yet, it’s not a particularly common web design trend. But
for any website owner looking for another way to stand out, it makes your
website a little more distinctive.
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