Designs of all types are constantly changing each year, and sometimes, each month! This is true in the fashion industry, and even more so in the web design industry. Every business wants to stand out, and that means making their online storefront unique and different than the competition. Web design trends are always evolving, and that means that as web designers, we must always stay at the forefront of the latest trends and techniques.
Here is CryoDragon‘s list of top 5 web design trends that we have noticed in 2018, and our comments regarding these trends!
1) Broken Grid Layouts
In the past, websites have always been clean, linear, and structured. To get away from that and stand out, why not try something that is less linear, and less structured? Lately, a lot of websites have been using something called “broken grid layouts”, where the screen is broken up into uneven rectangles and squares, each with different types of content. Instead of having content limited within the boundaries of a box, this content can now cross over to other boxes and overlap adjacent boxes to create unique and creative juxtapositions of media and text. Here is an example:
Will it last? As designers, the broken grid layout is a new way to present information. However, it shouldn’t be overused. Since there are many website themes available with broken grid layouts, the look and style of these websites may become too popular. Although we believe that the themes themselves may become outdated in the next couple of years, the broken grid layout will always be available, and can be used as an effective tool for emphasis and creative in certain portions of a website.
2) Rounded Corners
Has anyone noticed that many popular social media platforms and websites now use rounded corners for boxes and input fields? We have! Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other platforms have adopted rounded corners for their cards, input boxes, profiles, and more! Buttons on modern websites are now rounded as well, with a high radius of curvature for each corner. This is all in an attempt to make these features look more organic and different than their clean, squared predecessors.
Will it last? We believe so! Squared buttons and input fields are already the norm. So for someone to stand out, rounding a corner is an easy way to make one aspect of your site different than others. On top of that, you can adjust the radius of curvature for each corner, allowing for many different modifications and designs.
3) Variable Fonts
Fonts on a website are crucial to design and reader satisfaction. Currently, in order to use a Google Font on your website, we have to “call” it in your CSS code. In other words, we have to preload a particular font and its weight (like black, bold, thin, etc.). Each variation (font style and font weight) requires a separate call function.
Pretty soon, variable fonts will be the norm for custom websites, which will allow us to call one entire font family just once and modify different aspects of each font including its line width, height, and features. This is definitely a trend that will last, because it not only offers ease of use, it saves time and allows for some pretty neat animations!
If you don’t know what a variable font is, check out this website, where you can drag the sliders on the left to adjust the font width and style manually.
4) Chatbots
When you go to a website that has an online store or forum, are you greeted by a chatbot? A chatbot is a little window pop-up at the bottom right side of the screen that engages visitors as soon as they reach a page, or a site. It encourages visitors to chat with a representative, but before doing so, the chatbot can be programmed to answer common questions immediately.
Over the past year, we have seen a huge rise in the use of these chatbots, because it is an automated process that helps save time and money for business owners. As a result, we think it will stick, and we think it will be improved upon even further throughout the years to help answer more types of questions without the need for a live representative as backup. However, sometimes these chatbots can be very aggressive, popping up on every page that you navigate to within a site. As a result, it’s important to find a balance between having a site that is engaging, or just annoying.
5) Animated Components
More and more websites are included animated components into their pages. We’re not talking about text fading in and zooming in, or even autoplay videos. We’re talking about animated graphics. If you have a custom site and want to explain your product or service to site visitors, a custom animation can do wonders. It helps illustrate the problem, how your business fixes that problem, and any additional features you want to emphasize.
We believe that animated components is a trend that will never fade away. You always need something interactive and visually enticing for visitors to stay on your website. And adding custom graphics that are animated to any website will always draw more attention than a plain, static site with lots of text and no interaction.
If you’re interested in working with one of these design trends, or another one we haven’t mentioned here, please contact CryoDragon! We would be more than happy to help implement them in your website!
Thank you for this amazing post . If our website isn’t up to par in comparison to the constantly advancing technological world, then our ROI will suffer. If we want our website to run at peak performance, then we must regularly reevaluate its design features as web design trends change greatly from year to year, constantly raising the digital design bar.
Agreed!!