Web Design Trends: What’s Popular and Why
Introduction:
In the ever-evolving world of web design, staying up to date with the latest trends is crucial to create modern, user-friendly, and visually appealing websites. As we enter 2023, new design approaches and technologies are shaping the digital landscape. This article explores the web design trends that have gained popularity and provides insights into why they are trending.
To help narrow your focus and find the best elements for your site, I am breaking down the most popular web trends of modern website design you can implement to improve your site’s performance.
1. Unique Typography
Most companies have a particular font or typography that they use to help their customers immediately identify them versus their competitors. In recent years, designers have access to a larger selection of fonts making it easier for businesses to more accurately express their brands through typography.
For example, The New Yorker is recognized instantly through its use of the unique font, Adobe Caslon Pro.
Why is unique typography useful and popular in modern web design?
Typography is a singular design element that gives a uniform look across each page on a website. For instance, The New Yorker website leads visitors from one section to another based on the typography and font sizes.
When creating your company's brand, your choice in typography can indicate subtle hints about what you represent. Is your business fun or serious? Functional or informational? Regardless of what font you choose, be sure your designer considers its applicability across browsers and computers. Choosing a font that is not supported by common browsers and computers could mean that your website will display awkwardly on different devices.
2. Engaging & Responsive Hero Images
You don’t have to go far beyond the popular publishing website Medium to see an example of a great hero image.
Images like this one do away with the concept of above and below the fold, instead offering a singular point of view. By focusing on just the image with text rather than a CTA or social buttons, Medium creates a strong visual experience that encourages you to scroll down to read more.
Hero images are also often placed in the background with text and other content overlaid on top. Regardless of the approach you utilize, large images can help visually tell your story without having to rely on just text.
Why is it useful and popular?
Hero images set the tone for your website without the need for text or video — the right image can instantly give visitors a sense of what your brand is about, what you do, or what makes you unique. As a result, it’s a good idea to both brainstorm hero image ideas and get feedback from multiple sources to see which image offers the biggest impact.
3. Background Videos
Videos that automatically play in the background can add a lot of intrigue to a page. They can be used to tell a story and significantly reduce the amount of other content that is needed to explain your business.
Take Wistia's website, for example. When you land on their homepage a large video automatically starts playing in the background, and by clicking on the play button, you get a deeper look at the company:
This background video serves as a brilliant way to get the visitor to click through and stay on the page longer.
Why is it useful and popular?
Background videos focus on enticing the visitor from the moment they land on your page. The video allows your visitor to understand the key points about your company without ever having to read a single line of text.
In addition, video is processed 60,000 times faster by our brains compared to text. While people are often hesitant to read heavy blocks of text, videos appear effortless and can be consumed very quickly. It also helps that connection speeds are increasing and mobile device sizes are growing, making for better video experiences.
4. Semi-Flat Design
Simply put, flat design is any element that does not include or give the perception of three dimensions, such as shadows. Not only is flat design easier for users to understand, but it can also load more quickly on websites without complicated or overly technical elements.
Many organizations — both large and small — have shifted from realistic skeuomorphism to flat design. However, companies like Uber have put their own spin on the style by adding subtle shadows and dimensions.
As you can see in the image below, the graphic elements have a sense of depth thanks to the shadows around them without overdoing it.
Why is it useful and popular?
Flat design helps the visitor understand your content more quickly, and adding some elements of depth can bring it to life. Regardless of whether you fully design your website using a flat design or utilize shadows and other elements, it’s important to be consistent throughout your website. Ensure that your homepage, product pages, and any other key sections of your website all utilize the same design cues so that visitors can instantly understand what they’re viewing
5. Hamburger Menus
Most websites have long menus of options to choose from. The advantage of this is that the menu can take the visitor directly to where they want to go. The disadvantage is that they generally take up a ton of valuable screen space. The hidden, or hamburger, menu changes this. This condensed menu saves space and is intuitive for users to navigate.
Wondering why it's called a hamburger menu?
If you use your imagination, the three lines that are stacked on top of one another look like two burger buns and a patty. Clever.
Why is it useful and popular?
The pages of your website should have a clear path for the user to take. Removing a busy navigation makes the experience cleaner and distraction-free. This increases the likelihood that users will find the information they need to complete a desired action.
6. Mobile-Friendly Layouts
First-generation websites were designed for desktops. As a result, they were built to accommodate larger monitors and point-and-click mouse control. The rise of mobile devices, however, means that web traffic may come from multiple sources — and your website must deliver the same experience regardless of user device type.
In practice, this means creating mobile-friendly website layouts that leverage the principle of responsive web design, which allows website elements such as images, text, and user interfaces (UIs) to automatically rescale and resize depending on the device used to access the site.
Why is it useful and popular?
Mobile device traffic now accounts for more than 54 percent of all web traffic worldwide. This means that if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be losing up to half of all prospective customers.
Consider a desktop-friendly site accessed by a smartphone user. If text, images, and buttons don’t resize to match touchscreen controls and smaller screen sizes, it’s almost impossible for prospective customers to find what they’re looking for — after a few misclicks, they’ll likely take their business elsewhere.
7. Speed Optimization
Having an engaging, content-rich website won’t help drive conversions if your site loads slowly and users point their browsers elsewhere. As a result, it’s critical to optimize all elements of your site for speed to reduce the amount of time between clicks and content.
In practice, this means optimizing all images to balance image quality and file size. For example, while PNG images offer higher quality and transparency, they’re much larger than JPEG images; in most cases, JPEGs offer the best balance between speed and quality. GIFs, meanwhile, are ideal for animated images but use fewer colors, making them less than ideal for static images.
It’s also a good idea to compress any files hosted on your site — many modern compression tools can significantly reduce file size without any commensurate loss of function. Site owners should additionally consider their hosting environment: For example, dedicated or VPS hosting will typically provide faster site loading speeds than shared hosting solutions.
Why is it useful and popular?
According to statistics from Google, as page load times increase from 1 second to 10 seconds, the visitor bounce rate rises by 123 percent. The search giant also notes that despite the shift to more robust 4G connections, “the majority of mobile sites are still slow and bloated with too many elements.”
As a result, even small investments into website speed optimization can pay significant dividends, especially since landing page speed is now used by Google as a ranking factor for mobile searches and Google Ads.
8. 3D design:
The 3D design is becoming increasingly popular in web design, as it can be used to create stunning visuals that really stand out. 3D elements can be used to create everything from product mockups to interactive animations.
Why is it useful and popular?
3D design can help to make a website more visually appealing and immersive. It can also be used to create more realistic and interactive experiences.
9. Personalization:
Personalization is becoming increasingly important in web design, as users are looking for websites that are tailored to their individual needs and interests. There are a number of ways to personalize your website, such as using AI to recommend content or products or allowing users to create custom profiles.
Why is it useful and popular?
Personalization is becoming increasingly important in web design, as users are looking for websites that are tailored to their individual needs and interests. By personalizing your website, you can make it more relevant and engaging for your users.
10. Organic Shapes
Sharp edges are out, and curved lines are in. Organic shapes are set to dominate web design in 2023. "Organic shapes can help add some playfulness without affecting the way the information is displayed," Pembroke said.
In the example below from Spring Invest, the organic shapes in the hero section are decorative and functional. The yellow dots act like a cursor, drawing the teardrops that form the company's logo. These shapes add a moment of delight and help reinforce the brand's identity and value proposition to "shape the future of commerce."
Why is it popular?: Organic shapes add personality without distracting from the content.
11. Gamified Design
Gamified design is everywhere in 2023, making it one of the most prevalent website design trends this year. Gamification is an excellent idea because it adds an element of human emotion for visitors. For instance, when they arrive on your site, they have the experience of engaging with your content in a unique, memorable manner. This example by PrettyDamnQuick demonstrates exactly what we mean.
Why is it popular?: This playful trend is more than fun — it’s genius from a user engagement standpoint.
12. Natural and Organic Textures
Natural textures make a great background for a fun but simple font. Choose natural textures that relate to your industry and help your viewer envision your products. Just take Horizontal Design as an example.
Natural textures can also position your company as eco-friendly or a business that cares about natural resources.
Why it is popular: Organic textures infuse your design with vivid tactile-ness and new life.
13. Scrolling Effects
Scrolling effects — animations triggered by scroll action — create more dynamic web experiences, which is why they’re arguably one of the most popular trending web design elements this year. These are increasingly used on interactive websites to intrigue readers to keep scrolling, signify a break in content, and create a three-dimensional experience.
Engineered Floors does just that, combining horizontal and vertical scrolling.
For example, when the user lands on the homepage, they see an image of what appears to be a chair on the right. As the user scrolls, this image zooms out to reveal a living room, which is gradually covered in carpet. This 3D experience is delightful and informative.
Why is it useful and popular: Scrolling effects can stimulate visitors and encourage them to continue scrolling even below the fold.
14. Voice Interfaces: The Future of Interaction
Conversational
Voice-activated navigation, chatbots, and voice assistants create a more natural, conversational interaction between people and websites.
Hands-Free
Voice interfaces eliminate the need for manual input, making it easier to interact with sites while multitasking.
Accessibility
Voice interfaces provide a more inclusive and accessible experience for people with disabilities or those who prefer voice-to-screen-based interactions.
In Conclusion: Stay Ahead of the Design Trends
Staying up to date with web design trends means creating dynamic, visually engaging websites that connect with audiences in meaningful ways. Keep your digital presence fresh and engaging by incorporating these popular design trends.
