Web design is a dynamic field and it evolves regularly. Staying on the cusp of those developments is important, as it ensures that you’re able to benefit from a website that meets your audience’s expectations and needs, delivers a positive user experience, and connects with your brand. While trends come and go, and we would never recommend simply following the crowd for the sake of “being in”, it’s important to understand how the industry is changing and how those changes may affect things like consumer search and brand perception.
1. Voice Search
When you think about voice search, you may not really connect it with web design. It’s about content, right? Well, yes and no. Voice search should be implemented with the bones of your website – things like meta tags and image alt tags – as well as with page content, blog posts, and the like. Like it or not, voice search is here, and it’s just becoming more popular. Driving this trend is the consumer adoption of virtual assistant technology, such as Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, and the like. Making voice search part of your web development considerations is vital for visibility and online success, and will only become more so.
2. More Focus on Typography
Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about when the words themselves can be considered pictures? Typography is becoming a more and more essential consideration with web design. Yes, imagery plays a central role, but many websites can perform very well with only a few images and some carefully designed letterforms that work as graphic elements within the site.
3. Curves and Other Organic Shapes
While some websites can be quite successful with rigid, grid-like designs, a lot can be achieved with organic shapes. Free-drawn elements that include curving forms can mimic everything from flowing water to paint spatter to hills mounting to the horizon and can bring depth and feeling to a website that would be impossible with squares, triangles, and rectangles.
4. Chatbots
Like voice search, chatbots don’t seem to fall into the web design category. However, more and more companies are using these to their advantage, and chatbot functionality needs to be baked in from the very beginning. With advanced AI algorithms, it is now possible for chatbots to help deliver a positive user experience by answering common questions and even setting appointments and the like. Also look for chatbots to become more and more visually integrated into websites through brighter colours, more prominent positioning, and the use of friendly icons and even mascots to help consumers connect with them on a deeper level.
These are just a few of the web design trends that you should be aware of and that should inform your overall design strategy. Ultimately, your website should reflect your brand’s personality and how it is perceived by your audience, while delivering the best possible user experience, whether you run an ecommerce shop, a content website, or something else.
Are you about to embark on a new site build? Redesigning your old site? Get in touch with Galactus – we’d love to help.
Sources:
https://99designs.com/blog/trends/web-design-trends-2019/
https://www.awwwards.com/web-design-trends-2019.html
https://webflow.com/blog/20-web-design-trends-for-2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielshaoolian/2018/12/27/why-voice-search-will-dominate-seo-in-2019-and-how-you-can-capitalize-on-it/#342f7c8b30ac
