In this article, we are going to talk about the best and most important trends in the world of web design. The latest and the most relevant tendencies, but, we will also first know what web design is and what characterises it.

Have you ever been browsing a website, but wanted to abandon it because the design didn’t appeal to you, like the typography or the way the content was distributed?

And what about slow websites that don’t load on your phone or tablet just when you most need quick access to content?

All this makes the experience of visitors to a site very bad and the consequence of this is a decrease in the conversion of these visitors to customers. So that this does not happen with your company’s website, you must have a quality web design. And to understand this concept, keep reading this.

What is web design?

Web design involves work related to the layout and design of online pages, as well as the production of content, although it is generally applied to the creation of websites. In this case, web designers create the pages using markup languages such as HTML or XML. On the other hand, the visual part of the sites is in charge of the CSS, a term used to style the elements written in HTML.

Therefore, it is common for web designers to use both to build a site because together they will define how the pages will appear in browsers.

The site creation process can be done from tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver and CMS which are content management platforms. WordPress is one of the best known and most practical because it has a series of templates that can base the site. The web designer has the task of installing and customising them according to what each client wants.

Also read: website redesign cost

What are the key elements of web design?

When we talk about a good web design, some points are essential and cannot be missing from your site. Here are the highlights:

Responsiveness

As more and more people access the internet only by cell phone, it is very important that your site is suitable for mobile devices, that is, that it is a responsive website.

Scannability

You know those emails that have a “text block” because the entire message is written in a single paragraph? Reading them is too exhausting, isn’t it? Well, the same goes for your site visitors if they don’t consider textual scannability.

Typography

If from this point we started writing this post with a completely different typeface, your reading experience wouldn’t be very pleasant, would it? After all, it is a typeface that would not fit in with the rest of the content. The same should apply to your site.

Loading speed

In a world where everyone seems to be always in a rush, having a fast-loading website is essential. According to Google, sites that take more than 2 seconds to load damage both the user experience and the indexing of the site.

Knowing the basics of web design, we are now going to review the 15 trends that in 2021 are called to be the most decisive and attractive for your web designs, those that will help you to be one step ahead of all and make your website stand out.

– 1. Parallax Animation

One aspect of web design that will be more popular is animations. However, by 2021 this type of animation on websites is expected to be much more complex through the separation of elements on the page, which creates a Parallax effect. The most innovative thing about this type of animation is that it produces a depth effect on web pages and provides a huge variety to the personality of your company or brand.

– 2. Colorful gradients

The kaleidoscopic gradient effect is a trend that arrived in 2019 and to this day it remains one of the favorites in web design. So much so that even Spotify used these colors to capture the entire music count of its users in 2020.

– 3. Simple and direct text

Some websites have chosen to remove the main navigation sections and images to replace them with a couple of straightforward statements that convey the company’s message to visitors. There are designs that use their own home page to briefly describe the contents of their content. It is a modern and orderly strategy for presenting information. Of course, the typography supports the entire design. If you want to implement this type of design, you must choose the typeface that says something relevant about your brand.

– 4. Neomorphism

This trend combines minimalist design with a great touch of reality. It is characterised by having sober backgrounds and the use of shadows and lights. This design tries to resemble as closely as possible all kinds of objects or tools with which you interact in real life or evoke the same sensation. It may be a bit complicated to understand, but this trend in web design will be a boom in 2021 and can help you find the perfect contrast of your product or service to make it more attractive to your visitors. If you are thinking of updating your website for this New Year, this trend can be a great option: it is timeless and its simple forms could highlight your products and services so that users can identify them more easily.

– 5. Illustrations

More and more companies are hiring illustrators and graphic designers with the goal of creating custom illustrations for their websites. After showing flat, minimal designs for years, adding illustrations to your website is a great way to give it personality. For example, you can go for more adorable illustrations or something more abstract.

– 6. Brand appearances in various colors

This trend is really fun and creates a very engaging user experience. The best part is that it does not require large illustrations or complex designs. The idea is that visitors can interact with the different colors as they navigate or with the elements of the page; for example, when selecting a specific product.

– 7. Depth and dimension

It is similar to three-dimensional web design, but with the difference that these sites choose to create depth based on drop shadows and varied colors. It can also be known as flat designs with a three-dimensional appearance.

– 8. Abstract art compositions

Geometric shapes, such as circles and squares, will be in trend in 2021; especially if they are complemented with a simple and minimalist design. The great advantage is that this web design technique opens the doors of creative freedom both to web designers and to brands and companies that wish to express their personality in a distinctive way. Energetic colors are an explosion of creativity that, in a simple way, makes a website much warmer and more pleasant to explore.

– 9. Titles or large images

Many users do not have the time to stop and contemplate many elements or text within a website. This is something that designers and companies will also be catering to in 2021 through websites with larger-than-normal elements. This type of design is characterised by having very large and bold titles or abbreviated messages to more quickly capture the attention of the audience. This trend can also be combined with others, such as 3D illustration.

– 10. Digital interpretations of physical products

Showing in the most realistic way possible the products or services that a brand offers will be a trend to follow in 2021. The big difference with other similar techniques is that the design resources that awaken the user’s inspiration will do all the magic so that they remain more time exploring the site. This trend perfectly responds to the need of customers to combine real experiences with digital ones.

– 11. Dynamic designs

This type of web design trend proposes that sites stop being static and have more responsive and interactive elements to attract users and retain them for longer. Animations and even videos are valid in this type of design.

– 12. Asymmetric designs

Most people are used to seeing well-structured websites, but in 2021 web design seeks to break the rules a bit and innovate with structures that focus more on key products or elements. This results in a more asymmetrical design giving more uniqueness to the entire space as such.

– 13. Warm and comfortable colors

Without a doubt, 2020 was a year in which most people spent more than eleven hours in front of a mobile device, which is why eye strain increased. Therefore, it is not surprising that dark modes in social networks and applications are preferred by users. And this is something that web design trends are also going to address in 2021, through the use of more pleasant and comfortable colors for people. This means that there will be more websites moving away from the extreme black and white, to make way for soft colors like pale pink, brown and pastel green. These colors, in addition to being less tiring to look at, also convey feelings of calm and relaxation.

– 14. Dark and light mode activated

As you could see in the previous point, the option to change from light to dark mode on different platforms and applications is an excellent option for users. It is something that both web designers and companies and brands are noticing and that is why they begin to offer these different versions to provide greater comfort to their visitors and respond to their needs.

– 15. Displacement transformations

User interaction on websites increasingly demands a greater user experience. And this is not only based on responding to fast and intuitive navigations, but also on creating a trip full of surprises and innovations. Nowadays people want to have unforgettable moments, regardless of whether they are only looking at the page of a company or brand. Therefore, web designers are leaning towards integrating more color schemes, animation, fonts and changes in movements throughout the scrolling of users. The idea is that as people go down the site they feel like they are visiting a completely different page.

Web design is an ever-growing and changing market, so it is very important to pay attention to what is going on as it can make a lot of difference to your brand and your business’ development as a whole, so these fifteen trends are a very good starting point, but there is a lot more out there for you to discover and to learn from, which is certainly very exciting.

If you are looking for a modern responsive website contact us.