2018 Website Design Trends
One of the greatest things about web design is that it is a constantly evolving thing. Let’s say that you got people interested in your business with social media ads. Now they are on your website. This is a point where you should persuade them to try your product. And nothing says “we know what we’re doing” such as a combination of a good website design and content. Watch out for those web design trends for 2018, and make sure you choose the right one for your brand (or maybe two or three, we won’t judge)!
1. Bold Color Schemes
This year is the year for bold color schemes! In the past few years, web designers were stuck with minimalism and web-safe colors. Nowadays, vibrant and clashing colors are a great tool for new brands to instantly attract their visitors’ attention. It is also a perfect style for urban and cool brands who don’t want to be perceived as traditional and dull.
You can definitely learn a thing or two about this from Essentially Geared Wine Co. and Folk.
And how do you feel about a combination of minimalistic backgrounds and vibrant design elements? We give it a huge yes! And Nike is just doing it right!
If you have a simple site layout, such as this example below, don’t be afraid to experiment and add a bit of color. It will be worth it!
2. Particle Backgrounds
Do you want to create memorable impression and to inspire visitors to read content on your website? You cannot go wrong with particle backgrounds.
These animations are lightweight JavaScript that allows movement to be created as a natural part of the background — all without taking too long to load. Many SEO bloggers suggest that your website has to load within 2 to 4 seconds, or the users will leave. By using particle backgrounds, you avoid all the possible problems that come with video backgrounds.
Furthermore, motion graphics are becoming popular on social media, too. Impress people with cool ads, and then sweep them off their feet with even cooler landing page!
We loved home pages from Heystack and Heco, and we’re sure you will find them inspiring, too!
3. Custom Illustrations
Be fun, playful and friendly! Although this trend seems perfect for businesses that are cool and urban, you cannot go wrong if you implement it on a brand that is perceived as serious and not-so-approachable. Hire an experienced artist who can make a few illustrations that are full of personality and tailored to your brand’s tone. Sounds like a winning strategy, right?
Stride, Crater Labs, Zingle, FlowMapp, NewActon and Basecamp are killing this trend so far!
4. Bold & Custom Typography
Typography is a powerful visual tool, able to evoke emotion and create personality on a website, all while delivering important information. In 2018, device resolutions are getting sharper and easier to read, which will increase the use of custom fonts.
Browsers can support handmade typefaces that are enabled by CSS for web browsers. Web designers won’t revolve around a few typos — a combination of 5–6 typos will be used. Jumbo size characters will replace images, too. If you decide to use this style, make sure that the rest of the page is kept minimal and clean.
Some of our favorite examples? Femme Fatale Studio, agency Huge, M-S-D-S Studio and KIKK Festival.
5. Asymmetry & Broken Grid Layout
Do you want to appear unique and distinctive to your website visitors? Asymmetrical and unconventional layouts were introduced in 2017, and this web trend will be huge in 2018.
This type of layout is good for new brands that don’t have many content on their website. Large-scale brands with a lot of content can still use this layout — for example, as landing pages for their products/services.
Check out how is DADA / DATA doing it!
Do you want to level up your game of standing out in a sea of tidy and organized websites? Just add convention-defying structures to your off-the-grid layout. This style is called brutalism, and it is characterized by asymmetrical, nonconformist visuals and a distinct lack of hierarchy and order. And to be honest, no one is doing this better than Gucci (be prepared to spend at least 15 minutes on their very cool website).
6. Web Animation
Animations can be hard to produce, we get that. But they are also worth your time (and money, if you’re hiring a professional designer). Why is that? Nowadays, everyone is in a hurry and animation can easily convey complex ideas in a short amount of time, while also engaging and informing visitors. So, instead of writing 1000 words on your landing page about your business idea and how it would fit your visitor’s needs, use a simple animation. After all, you know what they say — an image is worth a thousand words.
Unlike the particle animations mentioned before, smaller animations are helpful for engaging the visitor throughout their entire experience on the page. You can use animations to entertain users while the page is loading, or to showcase some interesting facts. Or, you can go a step further and create an animated logo! We loved the example from INTURN.
And if you want to use real-life animations (like people flying a kite in a park, or waves hitting the shores), you can achieve this with cinemagraphs — high-quality videos or GIFs that run on a continuous loop. Full-screen loops, like this example below, create immediate interest on an otherwise simple page. Danish agency CP+B is killing this!
7. Fluid Shapes
This trend comes as no surprise, just take a look back at the geometric-focused designs that dominated websites in the last few years. The idea of this trend? Geometry rules, but it doesn’t have to be so severe all the time. And if you want to give your shapes depth and movement, feel free to do so!
Just round some of those sharp edges on your website, and it will be ready for the rest of 2018! Get inspired by Bubblewits and Fyne.
This year will be all about being audacious, “out of the box” and original. Use this creative freedom and create web designs that everyone is going to talk about!
