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Website Design trends 2018

Published: February 2018

Following on from the bold redesign that both Skype and Dropbox websites went through in 2017, the question on everybody’s lips is ‘What will the Website Design trends be in 2018?’

We will not only see a big shift in how websites look but also how we use them. With the customer journey and user experience becoming more influential.

Mobile First Design

With an estimated 70% of all browsing done on mobile phones and that number expected to rise, mobile first design is becoming the norm and designers will look to optimise the mobile version of sites first and add to it for the desktop version rather than design the desktop and scaling down.

With everything done with a swipe of the finger rather than the scroll of the mouse. We have to think very differently about how users interact with our websites.

Voice search will become commonplace now that everybody has had a chance to get used to Siri and her Android counterparts. In-home devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home are now seen as everyday items. Users are less self-conscious about giving out voice commands.

Customer Journey

The customer journey and user experience will be at the forefront of everything we do. With less steps and swipes to get the customer to where they need to be.

We have far more detailed information on how customers engage with our websites and analysing that data correctly will give us the opportunity to refine the sites for the most positive user experience; which will in turn lead to increased conversion rates.

Sites will become more interactive with quizzes and graphics to engage customers whilst augmented reality will become more prevalent so that websites and apps become part of the environment around us.

Uncluttered Design

For a stress-free customer journey, there is a move to make websites look a lot less cluttered. Simplistic design enforced with bold colours and fonts will be the key design trend of 2018.

Designers are being braver with vibrant colour schemes and dynamic gradients to give stunning effects. Stepping away from flat design and web-safe colours presents a brand as edgier and more progressive than its traditional competitors.

Minimal styles matched with big, bold typography will draw the visitor’s eye without unnecessary distractions. Contrasting both serif and sans serif headers provides exciting new contrasts.

The broken grid layout trend will continue into 2018. More brands willing to experiment with different angles and look to the unconventional.

Video, images and animation

Whilst video content is huge at the moment, the way we use it on websites is changing. 360-degree imagery is becoming more popular and particle backgrounds allow us to experiment with animation without using up too much bandwidth.

Brand match images will be the way forward rather than stock photos. Custom illustrations could replace photos allowing for individuality whilst still getting the key brand points across.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) will be used to keep the customer interested. Therefore highlighting key areas of the webpage or to distract the eye whilst the page is loading.

The trends for 2018 are all about being bolder, braver and moving away from the safe ground of flat design and stock graphics.

Speak to our experienced Newcastle based web design team at Urban River to find out how we can take your website into 2018 and beyond. Call us on 0191 456 6199.

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