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You know how they say, The first impression is the last impression. Well, it holds true in the digital world too. In the virtual world, your website is you—your avatar, your customer-facing persona. And humans being the visual creatures they are, 94% of first impressions relate to your site’s web design. Naturally, this means you cannot look shabby and outdated online.
So, whether you have an existing website or are starting afresh, now is the time to incorporate the latest web design trends into your digital home.
Top 7 web design trends of 2023
Before we jump into the world of codes, colours, formats, and typography, let’s lay out a couple of basics you must always keep in mind:
● Build mobile-friendly, responsive websites.
● Optimise for Search Engine discoverability.
● Website load time and page speed always trump design – ALWAYS
● Think through your navigation.
→ 1. Micro Animation
Motion excites, impresses, and keeps users glued to websites, but they can be heavy to load. Enter – micro animations! These small and subtle animations are usually just a few seconds long and are the perfect solution to keep the user engaged without making the entire site heavy or costing a lot of development time or budget.
They are typically used as button presses, loading indicators, menu transitions, notifications, icon feedback, page feedback, and more. The aim is to enhance the user experience, create an appealing user interface, and guide users to take action.
→ 2. Neo brutalism
Gaining attention and brand recall in the crowded online world is not easy unless you break away from the norms by turning design trends on their heads.
Neo brutalism is all about stepping away from the ‘over-produced’, sleek designs that have become common and shocking jaded palettes with bold and unusual shapes, colour juxtaposition, hard contours and blocky shapes, and an overall raw aesthetic.
If your brand positioning allows for a departure from the ordinary, then we highly recommend including an element of neo-brutalism to shine in a dreary crowd.
→ 3. Drag Interaction
Giving users a measure of control over the website is a sure-shot way to engage their attention and leave a hefty reminder of your brand. Including drag interaction into your design can mimic the action you want your users to undertake on the page. Drag and drop, scrolling, and picking objects to interact with them are some examples of drag interaction. You might have seen it on eCommerce sites, where you can move an item around to see it from all angles. Drag interaction is also widely used in online games.
→ 4. Ultra-minimalism or over-stimulation
Not everyone who wants to stand out on a cluttered field might want to incorporate the neo-brutalist vibe. However, there are other ways to avoid the run-of-the-mill look and feel. You can choose from two diametrically opposite aesthetics: ultra-minimalism and over-stimulation.
Ultra-minimalism makes a case for a bare look, shocking users accustomed to more information and text online. It can be great for user experience and website performance, but it might not be a great option if you have extensive offerings that require explanations.
Overstimulation, on the other hand, is all about bombarding the user with too many elements and information; it is chaotic and cluttered and, therefore, memorable. It can lead to a poor user experience unless executed with a limited colour palette and consistent typography.
→ 5. Big, Bold Typography
Making a statement with a big fat block of text is another design trend that seems set to endure beyond 2023. An attention-grabbing tactic, it works well for businesses across genres.
→ 6. Motion
Static websites have been deemed passe, and design trends are now moving towards incorporating motion in various forms:
● Kinetic Text: Typography that animates with the design to add an interesting feeling of flow and motion is easy to integrate and provides a 3-dimensional feel to the entire site.
● Scrolling Effects: Animations triggered by scrolling actions are being used more steadily, keeping users engaged and curious while scrolling through the website.
● Animated product reveals: hover animations that unveil product visuals and information are hugely popular with eCommerce businesses.
● Cinemagraphs: continuous loops of high-quality micro-videos, or GIFs, have become an easy, fast, and affordable way to bring motion to web pages. They are a sure-shot way to keep visitors glued to the page and browsing longer to discover more of them.
● Animated illustrations: the obsession with custom illustrations is not new; however, now web designers are animating these illustrations into small GIFs to add a fresh look to their designs.
→ 7. 3D World Building:
Fully rendered, complex 3D worlds are finding champions among the ranks of web designers. Several brands are using highly detailed 3D modelling and sound mixing to create memorable impressions on visitors. A great option if it is relevant to your brand and possibly within your budget.
Designing Tomorrow’s Digital Landscape With Trends That Fit Your Business
A virtual storm of creativity is blowing through the web design industry. Every year, new design approaches and aesthetics take over. But as more and more people live highly digital lives, web development agencies MUST move beyond aesthetics and put their focus on providing experiences that don’t stop at the click.
To pull off the perfect combination of functionality and fascination, partner with an experienced web design agency and get the perfect digital package to showcase your brand, its story, and its products to the world.
