03 Aug Web Design Trends
Website design remains a fluid topic as users are perpetually changing the way they consume content. Here are some top trends that will keep you ahead of the game when it comes to what you should be looking for in a website.
Scroll, don’t click. Remember hunting for the scrollbar on the right when we wanted to see more content? Websites used to be so scroll-happy that they even encompassed multiple frames and windows that scrolled independently! In those days, getting clicks was the most important goal.
Now, in 2015, it’s so much easier to scroll than it is to click, especially on mobile devices. As a result, we should expect more and more websites to be built around scrolling first, and clicking second.
As mobile takes over, website designers are responding by creating fewer links, more buttons, bigger ‘clickable’ areas, and taller pages that expect to be scrolled. Websites that spread their content onto multiple pages haven’t yet caught up to this trend, but they will if they want to stay in the game.
No more fold. With advanced scrolling becoming popular, the old fear of “falling below the fold” isn’t so relevant. You no longer have to cram all of your information on the top of the page. Now website designers are free to fill their pages with large, stunning images.
KISS (keep it simple, silly). Today web users are multi-tasking kings and queens, hopping between multiple tabs and applications. We’ve become an impatient society, and it’s more important than ever to keep things simple.
Designs that slow the user down have the same impact on their audience as these websites that don’t load at all. Simpler designs are easier to scan, which means they’re faster to appreciate.
Remember, simplicity and immediacy are top trends in 2015.
Movement is hip again. Flash animation may date your website, but movement is back on the rise. Mobile apps have redefined what a user expects. Mobile apps use motion to convey meaning, and websites are just starting to do the same.
GIF animation is back, not only in website design but in the digital ad space – you can effectively create a lot more information in less space when there’s movement involved.
image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
