So much has changed in the past 12 months in terms of trends in website design, visuals, algorithm updates and marketing. Your website may look sleek and modern today but in the next few months, it’s going to be old and outdated. The secret in making sure your website will never look out-of-style and will still look great for several years is to know how to spot a trend in the industry from a passing fad.
What to look out for in 2019?
Year 2019 will be all about user experience. People are expecting websites to be designed to provide the ultimate in user experience, apart from having a unique and modern feel. Websites should also prioritise speed and mobile-responsiveness, and simple, uncluttered and focused designs with asymmetrical layouts and video backgrounds are also being preferred next year.
Here are some website design trends to watch out for.
Simplicity of logos
Logos have gone from playful wordmarks to serious typography. According to marketing experts, a lot of brands moving to this type of logo design want to express that they have grown as a brand and have now attained a sense of maturity. This trend is also their move towards a simplistic design that audiences can feel comfortable with.
Minimalist designs
Early this year, web designers started creating clean and simple websites to accommodate the preferences of the mobile users. Image-heavy websites are no longer the best option as they greatly affect loading speed. More importantly, flat websites, as they are known, hold higher SEO value. This is because they tick Google and other search engine’s boxes when it comes to the speed requirement.
By minimalist or flat, we mean prioritising usability. This way, you can get rid of the clutter and focus on the parts you want to highlight in your website (e.g. sign up for an account, register for a free trial).
Gradients
Gradients are becoming a popular design aesthetic for websites as it is eye-catching and creates the illusion of depth, making the website appear three-dimensional. This illusion can sometimes lead your users to the next step of the sales process (e.g. to sign up, request a quote, call now). Other similar design techniques include using drop shadows or two-tone colour schemes.
Interactive designs
Users are spending more time on websites that are mobile optimised and encourage user interactivity. Users are now looking for other things to explore in your website, and website owners should take advantage of this new trend increase your audience’s time on your webpages and to build brand awareness.
Abstract shapes
We are also fans of abstract shapes! These elements add a little bit of intrigue and quirkiness to a solid-coloured web page. These are great add-ons to simple and minimalistic websites. Geometric shapes add interesting curves and edges to flat websites and they are engaging and eye-catching enough without affecting your website’s load times.
Depending on your brand, you can use shapes sparingly or over-the-top. They can help you draw attention to pages and parts that you want your visitors to notice—such as sign up button, your brand story or any call-to-actions.
Video backgrounds
In spite of the popularity of simple, quick-loading websites, video backgrounds will still be popular in 2019 onwards. Large media files are known to bog down a website, but interestingly, videos are shown to help increase conversion rates.
Videos are incredibly effective in telling your brand story, showcasing your products and engaging your customers. What could take you three lengthy paragraphs to explain can be accomplished by a video in a matter of seconds. If you are exploring this option for your website strategy next year, we recommend making your videos short and muted with the right resolution.
Giant header titles
Everything happens so fast today that users are spending less and less time on websites. One way for us to keep up is to have large, bold, chunky titles and shortened sentences. This way, websites can capture audiences’ attention fast and encourage them to convert quickly.
Chatbots
Over the years, chatbots have gotten smarter and easier to utilise—thanks to improved artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. In 2019, we’ll be seeing more websites enhancing user interactions using chatbots. Now, chatbots are capable of interacting with customers and visitors on your behalf and provide customer service upfront, helping you start a good relationship with a prospective customer and at the same time, gathering helpful user information for your sales team.
Ready to take your website design to the next level? Getting to know these trends and staying on top of changes will help you future-proof your website and keep it relevant. We at Brand Shack can will give your website a complete overhaul and incorporate some of these awesome trends.