It is surprising how web designers are coping up with the increasing technical changes to manage to create sites that are user-friendly, clear and innovative matching up with the corporate style and being simply beautiful all together. With the advancement in mobile usage finally taking over desktop browsing, desktop must continue to evolve in its own way to remain relevant. Balancing aesthetics with functionality can be a difficult task but if you get it right, you will set yourself up for increased customer engagement and higher conversion rates.
As 2017 is coming to an end, 2018 is all set to take over some notable web design trends that will focus on designing simple yet powerful websites that will be heavily focused on improved user experience.
1) Making Mobile as the priority
The fact that cannot be ignored is the importance of mobile-friendly web designs that has been increasing tremendously in the past few several years and the trend doesn’t seem to slow down anytime soon. This means web designers must focus on every website to have a mobile version nowadays.
2) Flat Design
Flat design is about minimalism and usability. It’s about getting rid of the extra things that are not needed in your website and focusing on the important parts. Designs that are clean, minimalist and load quickly are trendy and desirable for several reasons – both for mobile users and desktop browsers who want quick loading and engaging websites for their SEO value.
3) Big and Bold Fonts
To complement the modern design styles, web designers need fonts that stand out. The type of font that you choose for your website should be able to create personality, evoke emotion and set a tone to convey the most important information easily. The trend of bold and big fonts will keep users engaged in your website and create an enhanced user experience.
4) Cinemagraphs
Being different from the ordinary GIF images, cinemagraphs are going to conquer the internet in 2018. Using cinemagraphs as a background or an additional feature on your website will make it interactive and increase the conversion rate. The trend of cinemagraphs is becoming more and more popular and has replaced GIF images and full-blown videos.
5) Animations
With the enhancement of browser technology, web designers have replaced static images with animations to engage consumers in their communication approach. It is a great tool to involve users in the story of a website and create an enhanced user experience. They help in engaging customers throughout their experience on the website.
6) Internet of Things
Combining web services to the Internet of things became a trend in 2017 and it will continue to emerge in 2018. IoT devices include objects that are as simple as a refrigerator to complicated objects. These objects use sensors and microchips to receive and act in their environments. 2018 is expected to see more of IoT interfaces on websites that will allow you to interact with smart devices.
7) Voice User Interface and Search
A voice user interface refers to human interaction with a computer or any device in the form of speech. It is now capable of understanding and acting on complex voice commands. When combined with machine learning, this can possibly predict your needs before you even complete the command.
8) AI and Machine Learning
AI has increasingly worked its way into web designs through technologies like conversational interfaces. In the upcoming years, we will see machine learning and AI being introduced to many of the systems that we interact with. This will soon make web interactions seamless.
Customer service through the web is becoming faster and more efficient every passing day thanks to these new technologies.