Do you remember those really annoying GIFs of the 90s, or more recently the minimalist flat design that was the latest must have in web design? If you do, then you will know how much technology and human behaviour has changed. If you don’t remember, then you are at a good starting point to look forward to the latest website design trends coming our way this year.
Here we look at some key areas of design:UI (user interface) design patterns
With the big rise in the use of common WordPress sites and their generic themes, coupled with the need for a responsive design, we have a lot of websites that look vaguely familiar when you enter them. The other issue being that everyone wants to copy each other, particularly if there is an amazing web design out there from a large organisation. This is by no means a bad thing and the trend is likely to continue with many similar UI design patterns out there, albeit on a maturing scale. You can liken it to something that the user feels familiar with such as a user login or a checkout. There is no need to reinvent them as they are what they are and the customer is used to them. The way they work and the back end may evolve but the design will stay very much the same.
Scroll bars
The introduction of the long scroll is ideal for mobile users and as such the old method of keeping everything important above the scroll bar is no longer relevant with the latest in responsive design. These are a great addition, particularly for those sites that want to storytell to entice their customers.
Presenting in bite sized chunks
By using this method, you are likening it to a pin board which everyone is familiar with. These are being used more frequently as the information is available in bite sized chunks to the customer which makes it easier for scanning through details quickly.
Animations
These are being utilised more and more because they not only look good on the web but serve to enhance the information that is already available. Customers are visionary, and as such, a good animation can tell a thousand stories and lure people into the buying process.
However, animations need to be used carefully. There are large-scale and small-scale animations, and as such, consider where they can be used for the best user experience. If you go with large-scale these will make the biggest impact. Pop ups can be included within this too. Small-scale won’t require any user input and tend to be loading bars and hover tools. Either way, nowadays animations shouldn’t slow down a website load and nor should they include sound.
All this can be achieved relatively easily and if you are looking for web design in Toronto there are several exceptional companies willing to help with your design.