Web Design Trends For 2021 And Beyond

Please note this article was originally published on the WebriQ blog and can be viewed HERE

Technology develops at a rapid pace and website design has benefited from it. Over the years, new design elements and web design trends have been introduced and integrated into websites in an effort to deliver more responsive capabilities that impact the overall user experience.

The improvement of online technology has indeed paved the way for users to enjoy modern website designs that have user-friendly navigation and website layouts that are easy to understand. If your website does not have these to offer, you could see your visitor conversion go down easily.

This is why it is important to stay abreast of the latest technologies and web design trends that are available. It is important to evaluate what these design trends are and how you can incorporate them into your own website to bring more functionality and improve performance.

Mobile-First Design

A mobile-first approach is one of the trends that gain so much traction in the past few years. But if we take a look at web design trends 2021, it is going to take on a more significant role – in fact, it is non-negotiable. Do not confuse it with simply a mobile-responsive design because it is more than that.

When you say website design is mobile-responsive, it means that the features of a web page adjust according to the size of the screen being used to view it. This means that designers are developing a website with desktop users in mind first and then deploying web development techniques that modify the layout to suit the mobile screen.

For 2021 and beyond, this approach is no longer sufficient as there is a growing number of users that use mobile devices first or solely to access websites. It can be said that taking on the mobile-first approach is the best design for a website today. You will definitely enjoy several key benefits.

According to Google, mobile-first websites are going to have a higher rating on the search engine. This makes it easier for your website to get ranked! Another advantage is the opportunity to generate more leads or boost conversion due to the fact that many of your website visitors are smartphone or mobile users. By enhancing their browsing experience, you can also optimize your website performance.

Web designers adopting a mobile-first approach will also enable the utilization of images that look good on the mobile screen. At the same time, it prompts you to take on a minimalist approach to your design and switch to a higher focus on bringing quality content. By switching to more straightforward navigation and layout, you can enhance the overall user experience.

Speed Matters

A modern website design that loads easily is yet another of the important web design trends you must adopt this 2021 and beyond. It is obviously going to have higher importance. In the age of smartphones, web users are also becoming more impatient. They want to have access to the information they want or products they are searching for at lightning speed. No one has the patience to wait more than 5 seconds for your page to load.

That is why a speedy website is now considered a top web design decision. As a web designer, you need to understand that every page element on the website can affect loading speed. This includes HTML codes, images, style page elements, videos, and more. According to this infographic by Kissometrics, your web page should not take more than 3 seconds to load. Otherwise, you could lose web visitors!

When creating modern web designs for 2021 and beyond, it is important to note that you might have to take different considerations for the desktop and mobile versions. The difference in technology for both platforms means that they have different capabilities when it comes to loading speed. Mobile users, in particular, demand faster speed as they want to be able to obtain information while on-the-go. Your website needs to keep up with their demand!

PageSpeed Insights by Google is one of the tools you can use to measure a webpage's loading speed. (Image source: Developers.Google.com)

As of 2017, Google has included page speed as one of the factors that impact their algorithm when ranking websites. Just recently, Google has cemented that by including Page Experience as one of the factors that would impact ranking on searches. Page Experience is used to evaluate the overall quality of a user’s interaction with a website – and page speed is a critical factor in that!

The ability to rank on Google’s results page is just one motivating factor to work on the speed of your web pages. The ability to increase the conversion rate is another. The opportunity to convert website visitors relate to the factor mentioned above that affects rankings – Page Experience. Website visitors that have an overall good experience with your website are more likely to stay and respond to your desired action – make a purchase or subscribe.

Smart Content

Content has always been king. This integral component of the best design of website pages will take on a bigger role moving forward. Content creators need to work closely together with web designers in order to create personalized, smart content for the target audience. Gone are the days when you can dish out static and evergreen content. It is important to adapt your content to make it relevant to the needs of your users. Otherwise, they won’t be able to see the value of staying on or interacting with your websites.

The value of smart content is not just based on gut feel – it is backed by data. According to this report by Evergage, personalizing content has produced better customer relationships.

In order to personalize content to suit your audience, you need to collect information about their user behavior or their browsing behavior. This will provide you with an insight into what users consider is valuable or interesting and, consequently, help you arrive at the coolest website designs that will impress them. Based on that data, you can deliver content that they would find most appealing. This is a simple change in the algorithm that you can integrate into your websites' design but can produce a significant impact on overall user experience.

Data collection is an integral part of this process that will enable you to personalize content for your audience. It is important to be upfront and honest to them about this practice, especially if a better user experience is what is in store for them. A pop-up notice or a cookie notification about collecting data and enabling them to have a choice in the matter is advisable.

Delivering smart content is extra work that you need to take care of. However, it is one that also brings promising results – by segmenting and targeting how you provide content to your audience, you are able to address their unique wants and needs.

Chatbots

In the digital age, information is accessible to almost everyone in one click and in a matter of seconds. Make sure your websites' design capabilities are up to this standard. Otherwise, you could see your website traffic go down the drain.

The integration of chatbot capabilities to your website is one of the prevailing web design trends for 2021 and beyond. In this digital world that people live in, they expect to get access to information in real-time. How do you make this happen? With the help of a chatbot feature on your website!

This is WebriQ's chatbot, Rick.

Chatbots have become a huge part of today's web trends. They have become crucial in making the user experience desirable and productive for your visitors. When people visit your website, they come in there expecting to get information. When they could not find the information they needed, they would turn to chatbots to provide that information for them. Without a chatbot, it can lead to frustration. With this in mind, it is easy to see why chatbots are part of the design trends that are sweeping across the internet.

They are necessary because they can provide quick answers to your website visitors, especially if no one is available to provide them the information they need. They are especially helpful when resolving issues or getting detailed answers to queries. With more advanced chatbot technologies available, visitors are no longer turned off by them. The advancement in technology has enabled them to feel as though they have real human interaction on your web pages.

The most important thing to remember when integrating chatbots to your website is this: they serve to connect your visitors to a human. Since your staff won’t be available 24/7 to answer your customers’ needs, the chatbots are there to supplement that interaction. They can provide answers quickly and easily. If there is a need to escalate the issues, the chatbots can connect your customers to whoever is most equipped to address those issues within your team.

Accessibility and Usability

There are many cool website designs out there right now that fail in their execution. Why? Because of the lack of accessibility.

Accessibility is one aspect of website design that is often overlooked. For website designers that want to deliver an inclusive experience, then it is something to think about. This characteristic refers to a website’s ability to provide an equally positive user experience to those with disabilities within your website. A top web design, therefore, must be equipped with tools that make it easy to understand, navigate, and use for those with disabilities.

Accessibility features of a website are not limited to the visual aspect of the design. It can also refer to technologies that are compatible with assistive technologies that people with disabilities rely on. A good example of that is the integration of voice recognition software. It can also refer to the visual aspects that do not create significant barriers to users with learning and cognitive disabilities. The most important thing to remember is that your web designs should not exclude anyone from being able to use it.

On the other hand, usability refers to the efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction that your website design brings to every user. It encompasses the inclusion of accessibility features so that everyone, including people with disabilities, can benefit from the use of your website without limitations.

Micro Interactions

When it comes to modern web design, every detail matters. The need for micro-interactions in your web pages is a perfect example of this and is becoming one of the major web design trends for 2021 and beyond. The micro-interactions refer to the small details that provide user feedback on the actions being done on your web page. This is designed to not only increase interactivity but also to make your portals easier to navigate and use.

An example of micro-interactions is the changing of the font colors on a text that comes with a clickable link when you hover the mouse over it. This will signal to users that clicking on that text will open up a new page. In some more advanced interactions, there might even be a preview of the page that is being linked from your website. This will provide your web users an idea of what the page being linked to is about.

Small details such as this can have a huge impact on the overall user experience on your pages.

Micro Animations

Another vital component that you need to integrate when designing modern websites is micro animation. This has been used for a while now but the technologies behind it and how it is implemented will become more sophisticated.

Micro animation technology will be more useful and functional in an e-commerce setting. It increases interactivity on a webpage and provides users more feedback on their activity. For instance, a clothing store can use it to demonstrate how a certain piece of clothing will look like when worn. Micro animations for that particular product will be visible when users interact with it.

Organic Shapes

Gone are the days of earlier web design trends that are based primarily on lines and sharp angles. Nowadays, you will find that websites tend to use more organic shapes that blend seamlessly into various elements on a web page. The fluidity is beneficial not only in terms of the aesthetic appearance of a website. It can also refer to the user experience. With the use of organic shapes, it becomes easier to browse from one product on a page to another; consequently, it makes navigation a breeze.

Color Psychology

Color psychology broken down by Conversioner.com

The choice of colors on your web page can have a significant impact on user behavior and perception. When designing websites in 2021 and beyond, you can use colors to manipulate website visitors and their actions by evoking certain moods or emotions.

This is one of the top secrets that marketers have relied on for a long time. General feelings associated with certain colors will prompt website designers to be more intentional in choosing colors to use. For instance, blue creates an inviting space for your website while also depicting trustworthiness. On the other hand, the use of black evokes a sense of sophistication and professionalism. A light blue web page, meanwhile, offers a calming space.

Decide on what type of content you have or the type of business you are building a web page for. From there, choose colors based on emotions you wish to evoke from your audience.

Smart Video

The addition of video on your website design is considered a great way to retain visitors and keep them engaged. But there is a way for you to make this marketing tool even more effective - you need to make it smart.

What does it mean to create a smart video? It is video content with a purpose that fits with the needs of your target audience. You cannot expect to get the same results by merely embedding a Youtube video to your home page. It has to be high quality and well-thought-out to reflect your brand and messaging.

Text-Only Hero Images

The hero section of your website is one of the most important areas to focus on when creating a website design. This section refers to the area above the fold – much like where the headline is in a newspaper.

If you can capitalize on this, it can not only grab the attention of your website visitors, it can even convince them to stay and spend more time on your page. In the past few years, web design trends have relied on the use of a hero image to grab users’ eyes. But replacing the image with unique and bold typography can be just as effective, if not more.

Dark Mode

A modern and clean Dark Mode design for a webpage dedicated to the musician, Michael Korstick

Another web design trends in 2021 that is worth paying attention to is Dark Mode. While this isn’t going to be the new standard for the future of web design, expect to find more websites that use this concept. The main reason for this choice is practical - it helps to reduce eye strain. It also gives a modern touch to your website. At the same time, using the dark mode in combination with enough white space makes all other elements stand out.

White Space

The presence of white space will become more prevalent in web design trends in 2021 and beyond. Gone are the days when you see websites cram information in one page. The minimalist approach to design trends is all about using white space to make it easy for users to navigate a page and find the information they need.

 WebriQ makes full use of the beauty of white space.

Illustrations

If you’ve relied on stock imagery for your web designs, you might want to change that moving forward. The use of such images makes your pages look unprofessional and generic. A great alternative to this would be to use custom illustrations. They add more personality and keep things fresh. Users love fresh and exciting content! It’s a great way to showcase your uniqueness as a brand.

Full Height Homepage Hero

The general approach for web design trends for the future is that there are no rules. This is why making your homepage hero section full-height is a design trend that is becoming more common nowadays. Why limit yourself to just the header when you can use an entire page? Exploit this opportunity for storytelling. It is a great way to build focus on your brand as your visitors are not distracted by other forms of messaging.

For this to work, make sure you have the dimensions right across all platforms so that your web page will look good on any device.

Gradient

As technologies for developing websites become more sophisticated, so have the tastes of website users! The use of gradients is not entirely novel. But for web design trends for 2021 and beyond, it has evolved into the use of more subtle color overlays that add depth to a web page. As a result, it creates texture to your page so it pops up even more. When paired with bold typography, it can make your website design stand out visually.

Conclusion

There are many exciting web design trends on the horizon and 2021 is sure to be yet another year of great development in the webpage designing industry. Take a good look at these design trends and see how you can best adapt them to your webpages and benefit from them. They are here to stay and will surely bring about more modern revolutions on the internet and online businesses.