5 Web Design Trends For Your Firm To Adopt A Winning Strategy
Several web design trends are flooding the Internet, and many companies hasten to adopt the new designs in an effort to remain relevant. The problem is that not every trendy design element serves a deeper purpose. Sure, you’ll get a very attractive website, but without planning for your business, you could end up with a beautiful dud.
Here are some web design trends that could actually boost your online strategy. Before you put any of them into practice, be sure you’re aware of the potential drawbacks.
More Rich Media/Less Text
Rich content is always a great idea. If you can get your point across with images, your site will be cleaner, easier to look at, and perhaps more engaging. Consider SnapChat, which uses a video introduction and tutorial, or this photography website that features example photographs. Both are striking examples of how business sites can draw in customers without overwhelming them.
Two things present challenges: page load times and Google indexing. If you choose rich content over text, make sure you upload compact versions of your images and videos.
Customers aren’t likely to wait more than 15 seconds for your page to load. Also, be sure to use alt-text when labeling the content. Without the text Google doesn’t have a lot to go on when indexing your site, which means you need all the help you can get with search engines.
Scrolling Options
With much of the world viewing websites on mobile devices, scrolling through several pages rather than clicking through makes browsing much easier. The design is easier to execute, which makes it a win-win for companies hoping to provide usability for consumers.
Parallax is hugely popular and growing, horizontal scrolling changes things up for companies who hope to offer something a bit different, and infinite scrolling makes life easier for all involved. Just remember, too many choices can often paralyze buyers, which is a danger with infinite scrolling.
Responsive Design
One of the biggest web design trends is responsive design. There is no drawback to responsive design, unless the lack of creativity is employed. Mobile devices don’t have a lot of screen space for content, so many forego images in favor of white space and text. Using a mix of both will be beneficial in the long run. Another huge bonus? The code for responsive design doesn't just make one website compatible with all devices; it also makes it compatible with devices that haven’t yet been invented.
Micro UX
A dynamic website is one way to really stand out from the crowd. Micro UX makes it possible for sites to interact with users, with hover effects, lightboxes, progress bars, and many more.
When consumers have the ability to customize your website for their use, they essentially “buy in” to your design. Customization and personalization are the future of marketing, so anything you do to promote this will improve your strategy.
Moving Backgrounds
Textured backgrounds are moving aside in favor of video and animation. These offer something dynamic behind your necessary text, which meets the wishes of your users while also fulfilling your needs.
One huge company that has adopted this to great effect is PayPal, but many others are following suit. There are some drawbacks, especially if you don’t implement this correctly. The images could overwhelm the text, confusing your site visitors, or your moving background might just take too long to load. Before going live, be sure to test the site several times.
What other web design trends do you think are headed our way this year? Will any of these appear on your website in the coming months? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a comment!
