As a website designer myself it’s important to keep up to date with the latest trends that evolve overtime. New functionalities are being used to make the user experience easier than ever. Here are some of the possible trends you could see carry on throughout 2018 and beyond!

1.The comeback of gradients!

When a user lands on a website you want the homepage to give a great long lasting impression. I find myself using gradients a lot more in my websites now as it gives it a more stylish and modern feel…it’s important not to overload it! Using a bold, white text over the gradient will contrast well and make it easier to read from a longer distance. Here is an example of a recent website I did for East Coast Sales Ltd.

2.More mobile friendly

More people now own and browse the web using a mobile device. In the process of designing sites I always think about how the user will interact with the website on smaller screens. I can do this by reducing the font size, minimising the navigation bar so it scrolls down when clicked, and adding/removing features that may be taking up a lot of space. You are likely to get more people visiting your website on a mobile as time goes on, so it has to be just as good as the main site! It’s also becoming increasingly popular for Google Search rankings.

3.Better UX Design

Many website designers now focus on a better user experience. People don’t want to be reading bunches of text, the whole point of a website is to take them on a journey through each page ending up at the most important point, usually either the ‘contact us’ or purchase button. If the design is exciting it’s more than likely going to make your customers stay on the website for a longer period of time.

Here are some extra points…

4. Less is more

Yes it’s important to have all the relevant information on a website but are people actually going to read it all? Many website designers now use animation and imagery as a way of communicating to the user rather than a mass of content. Text is often separated by negative space, a large line height and letter spacing which makes it look a lot cleaner and simpler to use from a customer prospective. I think over the next couple of years or so this is the direction all website designers will be going in.

5. Animation

The amount of customisable design tools now is endless, website builders allow you to enhance your websites functionality by animating components to make it a better experience for the user. I’ve also found that GIFs are making a comeback along with animated logos.

6. Creative layouts

When phones and tablets grew in popularity, responsive design was introduced. Most recently web designers are going for the asymmetric look. So rather than the typical “text-align: left” right or centre, designers are going beyond the limit to make content appear all over the screen. I get a lot of my website inspiration from Awwwards which you’ll see examples of how webpages are changing.

7. Colour palettes

In the process of designing websites the choice of colours are very important. This will make it more consistent. For example, if a client’s logo is red and white I should use the same colours and straight away the brand will tie in with the colour scheme of the website.

8. Sound Effects

Possibly one that hasn’t quite developed yet across the internet is subtle sound effects. This could be very useful in the near future as it will make it easier for people with hearing problems to be able to navigate across the site. Audio has already been around for a while however not all websites have this.

Tips for a professional website

If you are getting into website design consider a few points which I’ve learnt throughout my apprenticeship:

• The font-family and colours to be the same as close to the branding as possible, giving it a consistent style.
• Don’t use a lot of links to other external websites, this will case a higher bounce rate.
• Include plenty of call to actions, present it at the bottom of each page and style it in a larger font and colour.
• When using images get a professional photographer to take them for you, this will make your site look better instantly. Alternatively use high quality stock photos.
• Not too much content, if a website is text heavy not many people will actually read it. If you want to explain something, make it simple and straight to the point.
• Ensure there’s always a contact page with information about how people can get in touch with you directly.

Thanks for reading, hope you found it useful. 😎✌🏼