Inclusive, innovative, eco-friendly, distinctive. These are just some definitions of the web design trends of 2021. Find out what makes a site engaging for visitors and qualitatively valid for search engines.
Wondering what the 2021 web design trends are? The question is relevant if you have a website or are planning to build a new one by a professional Atlanta web design firm. The choice of design is a relevant factor for the satisfaction of the public and the user experience. It has consequences on the ranking of the search engine about functionality and usability. If you are looking for advice and inspiration, keep reading.
Web Design Trends: The four keywords
The rules of web design are set in stone and reaffirmed through the changes brought about by recent trends in the sector. Here they are summarized in 4 adjectives:
- Easy: the user must be at the centre of your thoughts when you design a website; the user experience determines navigation success. In all its many facets, Usability is always in fashion in 2021 and will be for a long time to come.
- Pleasant: the aesthetic impact is a factor that is not of secondary importance, and that can distinguish your site from that of competitors and give it a professional and unique aspect. This year’s web design trends interpret this concept by intervening on graphics and colours.
- Organized: The information necessary to get your message across and relevant to your content must be included in a structured and logical way to make browsing enjoyable and engaging.
- Responsive: regardless of which device the user uses – smartphone, tablet, PC – the pages of the site must load quickly and allow optimal viewing of the contents. Based on flexible technology, responsive design is also at the top of web designers’ thoughts in 2021.
Alongside these ‘cardinal points’, new words and new concepts emerge, which outline the changes in the web design sector and which we will discuss in this article. Hence, 3D technology is used to make projects on the web more interactive, increasing sensory stimuli. Companies are also equipping themselves to respond to the need, widespread among users, to find an awareness of urgent issues on the web, such as climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. And, again, we are witnessing a constructive contrast between the minimalist and maximalist schools of thought.
But let’s not anticipate too much and see in detail the 10 Web Design Trends to follow with greater attention.
3D to the Rescue in Web Design Trends
Being able to move objects or change viewing perspectives with the mouse or with the touch of the fingers is the latest trend of 3D in websites.
We are moving towards replacing the static three-dimensionality with an interactive type that allows users to interact with the contents and no longer uses them passively (see 3D video). In particular, for e-commerce made with WordPress or other CMS or by hand, this technology has essential potential because it allows the customer to view the product from various angles, almost as if they were inspecting it in the physical store.
There is still no tactile contact, but who knows, we won’t talk about it again in some time about the following trends in web design.
Discovering Neuromorphic Web Design
The purpose of the skeuomorphism, or neuromorphic style, is to give realism to websites made in CSS. This trend is affirmed along the lines of the success of 3D technology among the recent web design trends.
Specifically, working with shading and other chiaroscuro techniques, the interface components take on depth and materiality on the screen. It is a practical expedient when inviting the user to click, giving them the impression that they are physically pressing the highlighted button or item.
Vector Art: Evergreen among Web Design Trends
The graphics developed using the SVG format of the files make the site look unique and recognizable without sacrificing the page load time or the quality of the images. This extreme versatility, which allows you to resize illustrations and personalized and funny photos, is the basis of a predictable and lasting success among web design trends.
The Dark Side conquers the hearts of Web Designers
Have you already heard of Dark Mode? Probably yes, since, in the wake of the choices of big brands like Apple or Facebook, it has started to take hold in the design settings of sites and apps. The white background has therefore found a valid competitor in the dark mode, of which the following practical and aesthetic advantages have been highlighted:
- Allows you to play with creative elements such as lights/neon and pastel colours, making some design elements more evident;
- Gives elegance to the site;
- Increases the battery life of the mobile device;
- It does not tire the eyes because the exposure to blue light is lower.
Inclusive Web Design: The importance of being accessible
Making the website usable by as many users as possible is a priority for web design. The accessibility to contents also by disabled people is synonymous with inclusive company philosophy and good service offered to users. Sharp contrasts on primary colours and significant or enlargeable texts are design elements that contribute to the facilitated usability of the contents. It is essential to work on the ALT description of the images on the back-end because it will provide information to those with visual impairments. Still, it will help the search engine index the content relevant to the topics described.
Ethical Web Design: The new frontier
We anticipated it at the beginning of this guide: on the web, people are looking for awareness and awareness about urgencies on a planetary level. Getting in touch with your users in an empathetic way also passes through the appropriate use of web design. Like? For example, by highlighting visual elements and interactive contents that underline the company’s commitment, or of the professional owner of the website, towards these issues.
Towards a Personalized user experience
The optimized user experience, in general, is no longer enough. In fact, among the recent trends in web design, the specific focus on personas rather than on an abstract target is affirmed. Having integrated systems for profiling allows you to improve the experience of the individual visitor, who will view content related to their habits and interests. The customized user interface is possible, thanks to Google Analytics tools that provide data on how users interact with the various contents.
Scrolling: An endless trend in Web Design
Infinite scrolling is the technique that allows the user who visits a site to continue enjoying the content without having to click, exactly as happens when we browse Facebook or Reddit and see the news feed seamlessly.
This technique has become common in blogs and sites that have such a large amount of information as to make ‘classic’ page layout less effective. The perfect match requires that infinite scrolling is associated with prefiltering algorithms, capable of presenting the most relevant contents prominently. In doing so, website managers do not run the risk of penalties from search engines.
Extreme Trends: Minimalism or ‘Maximalism’?
Which school of thought are you from? Have you embraced the concept of “Less is more” in your professional philosophy, or do you prefer to maximize your ideas and shout them, so to speak, from the pages of your website? Here are the characteristics of the two extreme positions of the recent web design trends.
Minimalism in Web Design
The minimal style has been on the crest of the wave among the trends of the sector for over ten years. Its application is based on removing all that is considered excessive to highlight the essential elements presented cleanly on empty spaces and with a limited colour palette. The final effect is the user experience’s optimal functionality that produces a positive impression on the user and a desire for reiteration.
What are the elements that distinguish a minimalist web design? Black and white without a doubt, and the use of clean fonts, well-defined colour blocks, and why not? Bold backgrounds. The balanced and skilful combination of a few but chosen components will cause the so-called ‘Wow effect’ among users.
‘Maximalism’ in Web Design
Among the 2021 web design trends, there is also room for creative excess. Adi Huri, Product Marketing Lead at Wix, is sure of it. Here is his thought: “Don’t be afraid to add effects, videos, vector art, animations and unexpected layouts whenever you can. Use design to enhance the spots where you want the most attention on your website “. The suggestion is not to be afraid to dare, adding effects, videos, vector art, animations and non-ordinary layouts whenever possible. This is what other top eCommerce website builders tips also in web designing trends.
With this in mind, the design can be used to enhance the parts of the website that you want to draw attention to. The challenge of a ‘maximalist’ plan, which embraces freedom of expression even at the expense of order, is not to confuse the user, who can feel pleasantly overwhelmed by the sense of creativity but must never lose the thread of navigation.
