2015 saw the popularization of many web design trends such as storytelling centered design, unique typography, and minimalism. Many of these designs were effective in getting visitors to focus on the content and less on the visual aspects of the site. Despite that, these designs still produced attractive designs reminiscent of focus and minimalist elegance. With 2016 in sight, there are new emerging trends that are standing out. Some may work wonders for your site while some may be lackluster. Let’s take a look into what we can expect.
The first trend that’s been on the spot light is the hamburger menu. This is basically a menu that pops up when users click on a square with three bars in the middle (hence the name). The great thing about this icon and menu design is that it creates more free space and puts more emphasis on the main content. This can be very helpful to your website if it’s a mobile site, but its also suitable solution for the responsive site as well. We seen that trend being utilized in desktop targeted sites frequently as well. A good amount of tests have shown that having a standard menu or a link to a menu outperformed the hamburger menu across the different age groups and demographics. You really do have to test to see if it will work better than the standard menu, or combination of two.
The second web design trend is the front page carousel. This design is basically a motion driven box where users can click on an arrow or numbered pages below the box to move the content along. You may have come across some of these designs used with restraint on eCommerce sites but some websites are using this design on the front page of standard sites. While it’s a different approach, it does seem to be quite effective in engaging visitors to click. That being said, there may be some creative ways to make use of it like using it to deliver an main brand message.
The third trend you’ll see more of is the animation style design. It is more of a style rather than a format. Using animation and bright colors are really attractive to the eye and it seems like many websites are doing well with the style. It really does add character and a personality to a website but this may not be everyone. Obviously, your business does need to be able to fit into this style to pull it off so that you don’t become the joke of your industry. But if you are able to pull it off, you’ll find that it really makes your website stand out in a way that few designs can. Do note that it may not work well on mobile sites and may be taxing to responsive sites in terms of load times.
Finally, there’s the long scrolling websites. Whether it’s focused on storytelling or more of a sales oriented action driven website, more businesses are taking a chance with this format. This format is similar to direct marketing campaigns that were adopted in B2B industries, particularly biz-op oriented markets. It can really work if you have a compelling message and can keep the reader engaged from the very beginning to the very end. Obviously, you’ll need a talented writer to pull it off which will eat into your budget.
These are just some of the web design trends to look out for this year. Keep in mind that some of these trends are working with desktop users in mind and may not be ideal for responsive sites.