Every year there are fresh web design trends that appear on the horizon or become huge hits which web designers incorporate
The web has been around for decades. Once it was beyond the imaginations of anyone but a few, but today web design is everywhere and on everything.
Many web design trends have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean web designers are simply throwing out the same old stuff with new glitter on it (though they sometimes do). It’s because web design is a living, breathing thing that’s constantly shifting as technology shifts and changes.
Designers are constantly looking for web design trends that will be popular in the coming years and web design tools to help them with their tasks.
There are some big web design trends in 2021 that web designers should prepare themselves for – so let’s take a look at 11 cool web design trends in 2021!
Expanding websites
Since mobile devices have a small screen compared to desktops, there is limited space for web content. That’s why designers prefer not to use scrolling as it takes up too much valuable screen real estate and offers no additional functionality.
Instead, they opt for expanding menus or accordions which expand when the user taps on them. Tapping again collapses them back into place with another cool transition effect included free of charge from your web design tool vendor of choice.
As web design continues to evolve, web designers will have fewer restrictions on how web pages must be laid out. Touch interfaces will become more user-friendly and designed for mobile devices will no longer require such a significant shift in web page structure and the way web pages are organized.
As mobile devices continue their domination of the market, you can expect that web designers across the globe will drastically change their current approach to web design with traditional websites now considered legacy technology soon to be replaced by high-quality web apps optimized for touch-enabled devices.
AR/VR Technology
Augmented reality is a web design trend that’s expected to take off in the coming years with web designers and web development companies creating web apps for web pages specifically designed for AR screens.
Virtual Reality on the other hand will mainly be used in online gaming, but can also be utilized as an educational tool for web page visitors who want to learn about products or services through virtual interactions with computer-generated content.
AR/VR technology will enhance web design by allowing multiple users to share data simultaneously which gives web app developers more opportunities to create new games and interactive programs for consumers.
Some of these VR experiences may even replace many out-of-home activities like concerts, sporting events, and nightclubs among others in the future.
Parallax Scrolling
Parallax Scrolling is a web design trend that uses multiple backgrounds to create the illusion of depth.
This web design style is also referred to as single page web design or continuous scroll and has been popular with web designers since 2012.
This technique works best when used on web pages that feature large images without the text to focus on visuals over the written word.
The main downside to this web design trend is that the lack of written content makes it difficult for readers to navigate and find information quickly, which can lead users away from a site rather than toward its products or services.
Most web design trends change frequently, but this trend requires more time and planning than other techniques while it offers customers a better experience for finding specific product details.
Minimalist Designs
Minimal web design is not a new web design trend, but it has evolved and freshened up as web designers continue to search for better ways to deliver content.
Minimalist web design, as the name suggests, generally makes use of a clean and simple layout to help viewers focus on the site’s content.
The downside for web designers is that this web design trend can be difficult to pull off well since it requires users to have enough space to place the web page in its entirety. Additionally, some web pages may not need all the images or text that a designer might want to be included.
Most web design trends change frequently, but because of their focus on simplicity over flashiness, minimalist web designs require less time and planning than other techniques while they offer customers an easy-to-browse online shopping experience.
Web Apps
Not all web designers enjoy the thought of web designs that are too static and lack flexibility. Instead, web apps trends offer web designers and developers a chance to show their creativity by building web pages that function more like mobile applications.
In other words, web apps have specific functions rather than simply looking pretty on a screen or providing lots of content options for customers to explore. To make these web app features even better in 2021, web designers may need to find new ways of incorporating touch-screen capabilities into web design trends so users can tap directly into websites instead of having to access them through an additional application first.
To take full advantage of this web design trend’s benefits, the technology must load fast without slowing down.
In web design, web apps are web page elements that mimic desktop apps.
These web app examples come in a variety of different styles. Some web apps look like physical machines or spaces, others look like pieces of paper or metal tools, and some web designs include pages that look as if they are hand-drawn with pencil on paper.
Web app design trends vary based upon the type of clientele for each web design because an online web app works best when it helps customers easily accomplish their goals without sacrificing style or quality of service for simplicity.
Interactive Web Design
It not only looks professionally designed to engage web surfers but also has web page elements or web app elements that offer interactive features.
Interactive web design is a web design trend that has web designers using web apps that provide interactive components. These web designs often use HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.
In web design, an interactive web page contains web elements such as buttons, slideshows, pop-ups, tabs, pictures and various other web page components that allow visitors to click on them and find information. Interactive web designs are easier for website managers and business owners who want a professional look for their websites with fewer options.
Interactive web pages appeal to users because of the ease with which they can explore different topics without leaving one web page. Some examples of businesses that use interactive web design are hotels and travel sites.
When web designers use web app elements as part of an interactive website, they can add multimedia content via the web app itself. Interactive web design is beneficial for businesses because it helps web users easily complete their goals with ease in a shorter period than other options.
Interactive web pages are also beneficial for businesses because they tend to have greater value from an SEO standpoint compared to non-interactive websites.
3D Designs
The web design community has been talking about 3D web designs since 2009. Websites with this design trend were modeled single-page, off the looks of video games.
However, many web designers found it difficult to create 3D web designs because web browsers could not provide support for web apps that allowed web users to view interactive three-dimensional graphics.
However, as technology and HTML5 have improved over the past several years, web designers are now able to create stunning 3D web designs on their websites.
The use of perspective in these web designs helps them stand out from two-dimensional designs and adds interest to the website’s layout while also providing a unique user experience for website visitors who want an immersive experience online.
Emojis
Emojis have become an integral part of web design since web users are more likely to click on web links that include emojis, particularly when they represent a topic about which the web user is passionate.
This allows web designers to make their web designs more engaging by adding interactive web elements such as hyperlinks with emojis that relate to the rest of the web page’s contents.
Web designers are now utilizing web apps that can be integrated into websites and can interact with custom-designed emojis.
For example, Twemoji lets you upload your emoji and use them in your website’s CSS for better integration with its overall design.
Neumorphism
This web design trend involves web designers adding real-world elements to web designs, which can give a website a sense of place.
The web designer might include real-life images and textures in their web designs, or they might even use 3D objects for web features such as buttons and dropdowns.
For example, the web designer could incorporate an image of a child’s toy car to illustrate the services offered by his business.
They could also implement an image of a brick wall as part of the background of their website to make it seem more homely.
Web designers are increasingly using this web design trend not only because it is engaging but also because research has shown that consumers tend to trust websites with real-life imagery more than they trust sites with cartoon or computer-generated imagery.
Some web designers will even try to sell products from their web designs by using web design trends such as this one.
Full-Screen Backgrounds
This web design trend makes web designers’ jobs a lot easier because it is simply a case of uploading one single image onto the website which will act as the background.
Manufacturers of web browsers are increasing including tools that enable web designers to customize and upload their images into web browsers so that they can be used as web page backgrounds.
When implementing full-screen backgrounds, web designers should always ensure that the content remains accessible to users by ensuring that text remains readable and buttons remain clickable.
Some web designers might even try to include web design trends such as this one to sell products from their websites in the future; however, they must ensure that these products or services will feature within the full-screen.
Scrolling Effects
Since web page backgrounds are becoming more common, web designers are also including scrolling effects on web pages. According to some web designers, web page scrolling can be implemented to create a 3D-like effect that might engage users and give websites new life. However, web designers should make sure that they will include content near the top of the web page to ensure accessibility for all users while implementing this web design trend.
In 2012, Apple introduced full-screen scrolling throughout its new website. While featuring no products or services at the time of writing this article (it has been suggested that it may include them soon), Apple’s website features beautiful landscapes in full-screen scroll within Safari browsers throughout its webpage.
This type of web design trend is beneficial for web designers to implement because it enhances the web design of a website by giving web designers more freedom to create beautiful and engaging web designs without having to worry about outside factors (such as ads) impacting the web design.
Elliot Jay Stocks’ website was one of the first that began experimenting with this web design trend in 2013, but soon after that, it has grown into an increasingly popular web design trend among many other web designers. This type of web design trend provides web designers with new opportunities to engage users throughout their websites.
To make sure that websites are still accessible when implementing this type of web design trend, incorporate a menu bar on top or at the left side of the screen so users can use it to navigate the web design.
Conclusion
Web design has evolved tremendously throughout the years, and web designers continue to experiment with different web design trends. As web design is constantly changing, web designers will always find new web design trends that can be implemented into existing web designs or used to create entirely new ones.
What are some of your favorite web design trends? How do you think web design will change in the future? Please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments section below! Thanks for reading 🙂
If you need assistance with your website, contact us at Pixel Street – Web Design Company!
