As a web agency, we closely follow web design trends. Our web builders love to share their knowledge when it comes to website design and show you in this blog what the most important developments are in their field. Below you will find the first eight, of a total of 15, trends that our technical friends believe will be on the horizon in the near future.
Table of Contents
#1 Mobile first
Actually, we can no longer speak of a trend, but mobile first is indispensable in this list. There is still an increase in the percentage of the population using the Internet on their cell phones. Therefore, this remains an important part of usability and thus a good user experience on a mobile device. A new trend has now been added to this, call it a side branch of mobile first, called "mobile menu."
Mobile menu
The name already says a lot about what this trend entails, which is optimizing the menu for mobile users. In this case, it's about where to access the menu. This is in the place where your thumb normally sits when you hold your smartphone: in the middle, fairly at the bottom. It may take some getting used to, but it certainly improves the ease of use on the smartphone.
Want to get started with mobile first? Check out the tutorial below!
#2 Frames with white space
White space in your web design offers a number of benefits. By adding quieter pieces, it draws attention to the main product on your website. It doesn't matter whether this is text or an actual product. Still not convinced about this trend? Maybe the fact that no/little white space on your website deters visitors convinces you of the importance of this trend.
#3 Dark fashion
Dark fashion is a trend that has since been picked up by several well-known apps. Whatsapp, Nu.nl and so on. Dark mode is a lot better for the user's eyes and the battery power of a device. This is because of the change in color settings that dark mode causes. The predominantly light settings are flipped to darker and especially quieter colors. This trend continues to grow and has now found its support on websites, in addition to many apps. A large group of Internet users has already been converted and the major providers are going along with offering this dark mode as a default setting.
Getting started with Dark fashion? Check out this tutorial.
#4 Gradients 2.0
In recent years, there were mostly dissenting voices when it came to gradients. It would only make websites too busy and no one was looking forward to that anymore. This only meant that one web design quickly became like another and there was little distinction to be found on the worldwide web. This is slowly changing again. It is seen as necessary, and especially cool, to stand out from competitors.
#5 OVERSIZED FONTS
OVERSIZED FONTS MEANS NOTHING MORE THAN EXTREMELY ENLARGED TEXT. IT DRAWS THE WEBSITE VISITOR'S ATTENTION TO THE MAIN PRODUCT AND GIVES THE VISITOR MORE PEACE OF MIND TO SCAN THROUGH THE PAGE. DID THIS EXTREMELY OVERSIZED TEXT CATCH YOUR ATTENTION? Yes didn't it? There is also another perk that oversized fonts bring. These oversized fonts also lend themselves perfectly to the use of H1 and H2 tags, which in turn boosts your SEO, the findability of your website.
#6 Less is more
Within various branches of design, "less is more" has been around for a while. Even the world of copywriting is familiar with it, where it is better known as "Kiss": keep it super simple. But that's another story. The web design world will go along with this trend for two simple reasons.
Busy websites with lots of stimuli have a negative impact on the bounce-rates of a website. This is because these crowds are more likely to be perceived as unpleasant by visitors, rather than cool. Secondly, all these bells and whistles do not benefit the loading speed of your website, which again can have a negative effect on Google's ranking. And, of course, you don't want that!
#7 No more videos in the header
This trend fits seamlessly with the trend of "less is more." Websites are getting a little quieter and a video in a header definitely does not fit with that. The expectation is therefore that these videos will disappear and make way for some more tranquility and, for example, more white space.
#8 Light app
The light-app is one of the bigger and far-reaching trends currently playing in the website world. Basically, a light-app is a website, but with the look and functionality of an app. However, it is a lot more budget-friendly than an app and there is a technical difference. In fact, a light app is not developed with Swift and Java, but with HTML, Javascript and Ajax. This creates a wonderful alternative to developing an expensive application, while as a web builder you don't do much other than build a website.
Curious about more? Keep an eye on our blog for part 2 of web design trends 2022!
