5 Web Design Trends to Look For in 2016
5 Web Design Trends to Look For in 2016
Every year brings with it new website design trends.
2015 was the year of endless scrolling, 2014 was all about flat design, and 2013 gave us social media badges and minimalist landing pages. But if you’re considering a new website—or trying to figure out if yours will stand the test of another year—you may be curious about what the hot trends of 2016 might be.
And though it’s hard to predict with certainty—there’s always a few surprises in store!—it’s pretty clear that a few key elements and ideas will carry over from the remainder of this year, and become more ubiquitous in the year to come.
Get the Big Picture
Giant, high-resolution images—on landing pages, in blog posts, and on social media—have become a standard element in web design, and we don’t predict them going away any time soon.
Image quality is paramount in design now, and marketers need to know where they can get beautiful, larger-format images. This explains the popularity of sites like Death to Stock and Pexels.
Clever Microcopy
Beginning in 2014, everyone seemed to suddenly begin paying attention to microcopy—the little bits of language peppered throughout website 404 pages, load screens, email capture boxes, and other places where companies communicate with users.
Personality-driven companies like Slack use fun, quirky microcopy to add character to otherwise typical or stagnate areas of their user interface, but even brands that aren’t particularly youthful or punchy can steal this trick in 2016. On your website, try to find ways for your microcopy to be more direct, helpful, or useful. Not only does this improve user experience, it also helps your customers see that details matter to you.
Movement Everywhere
Whether it’s a video that plays on the landing page, animated .gifs on your blog, interactive data visualization, or other small, subtle animations in your site, designers are finding ways to build movement into their work.
Animated loading screens, video instead of static photos, or flipping cards are all elements that add a playfulness to design without interfering with user experience.
Responsive Everything
At efelle, we offer several ways to ensure responsiveness in web design—because we know it’s what our clients want, and what users expect. Don’t expect the use of mobile devices to to die down any time soon; instead, 2016 is the year to retrofit your existing website, or to give it a full revamp that works on phones, tablets, and whatever other screens may be developed in the coming years.
Storytelling Endures
In 2014 and 2015, everyone was talking about storytelling, and 2016 will be no different. Whether it’s the story of your brand, the story of your happy customers, or the stories you tell on your blog about industry-relevant trends and ideas, telling stories is how we communicate as human beings.
In design, finding ways to tell your story can help customers connect with your business before they ever convert, and keep them coming back.
This year, focus on what you’re projecting, both to existing and potential clients. How do your email newsletters help color their understanding of your company and its values? How are you keeping them informed about new services or ideas? How would they describe your company to a friend who’s interested in what you offer?
Many of this year’s biggest web design trends will be building on those of the last several years—but how you and your design team decide to put them to work will be up to you.
Ready for a more modern website design?
efelle creative is an award-winning, Seattle-based web marketing firm that specializes in website design and development, website content management, search engine optimization, and other online marketing services. Since 2005, efelle has worked with hundreds of businesses to help them with their web development needs. Call us at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to get in touch with a custom web design specialist.