1.13 billion. A number so large it’s pretty difficult for any of us to picture.
This is how many websites there are estimated to be on the internet globally, according to Forbes. It means there’s a lot of competition out there and it’s why website design is such a crucial part of any business.
What’s more, a user forms an opinion of a website, on average, within 0.05 seconds of clicking on it. This means first impressions are really important and designers need to make sure key elements of a site, such as the navigation, the user experience and the navigation, are the best they can possibly be.
A good step in the right direction to achieving this is thinking carefully about current design trends and considering where you might be able to use them in your website design.
The hero image. Every website designer wants theirs to be the best. As one of the first things a user sees when they open up the homepage of a website, it’s a key part of the design that can be the make or break of getting users to stay on the site and navigate to other sections. In short, it’s important.
Enter the glassmorphism effect. Glassmorphism is an up and coming trend that’s sure to appear more in 2024. It’s created by designers applying transparency to the design to create a glassy appearance. If a user likes the look of this in the hero image, it’s likely they will feel more drawn to the brand, want to explore it further and may even take action like making a purchase
Apparently it’s out with the hot pink that’s dominated 2023 – probably because of the hit film Barbie – and in with a much softer version of the same colour.
Pink is here to stay, but 2024’s colour of the year for paint company Dulux is a much gentler soft pink known as ‘Sweet Embrace’. It’s the colour that everyone is going wild for in home designs – so could be a great option for your website as well.
The colour is thought to evoke feelings of tenderness, comfort and assurance, so as long as you not trying to avoid those feelings in your brand identity, pink could be a great colour to base your website design on.
https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/sweet-embrace
It’s not a new phenomenon for 2024 but it’s definitely here to stay, and website designers will need to keep voice search strategies in mind when planning their web design.
Using voice assistance instead of typing your query into a search bar is already pretty widespread, but in 2024 voice interface is expected to take priority as it gives a more natural method of interaction from the integration. It also impacts content and SEO techniques, both of which web designers will need to be clued up on.
Read our predictions for SEO in 2024 here.
Artificial Intelligence – or AI – is now used in so many aspects of our lives, from health care and sports to the automotive sector and, of course, website design. And, like voice assistance, AI is here to stay for the simple reason that it improves the user experience.
AI is often used on websites in the form of chatbots. On shopping sites, for instance, they can answer customer queries 24/7 without the individual having to wait to contact a business during their open hours.
Related reading: Read out predictions for AI and websites in 2024
If you’ve ever worn a virtual reality (VR) headset or played a VR game, you’ll have a grasp of what an incredible experience it is.
VR is already a huge phenomenon in website designs, and so it’s expected that augmented reality (AR), will start being used more and more to take our experience of virtual worlds to the next level.
AR uses a real-world environment and puts virtual information or contents, or even a virtual world, over the top of it. A famous example for anyone who played it is Pokemon Go, where players had to search around their actual local areas to find animated characters. It’s worth mentioning that VR is great on mobile devices but not for desktop users so bear this in mind when you want to implement this technology on your website, be data driven and then decide if your target audience are going to benefit.
Everyone’s clearly feeling a bit nostalgic because some big trends from the 1990s and noughties are expected to make a comeback in next year’s website designs.
Think oversized text and retro illustrations, neon colours, static noise and lots of background imagery. It’s been proven that people have strong positive and emotive reactions to nostalgia in design, so it’s no wonder that website trends are jumping on this and planning to make a statement in the year ahead.
A definite up and coming design trend that experts expect to see more of next year is kinetic – or moving – typography on websites. This is when you add movement to key text on your website to grab the attention of the user immediately and make sure they focus on the moving text above all else.
Moving text also ticks a lot of other boxes. It means you don’t have to fill so many blank spaces with imagery if the moving text will be filling that space. It also doesn’t slow the website down and works well on mobile devices
Telling a story as part of your website design is an impressive and effective way of building a unique brand voice. And with markets getting ever more competitive, interactive storytelling is expected to feature heavily in 2024 website designs.
So what do we mean by interactive storytelling? A strong piece of interactive storytelling will ensure users stay on a website for a long time and have a lasting impression on the user so they think about it even after leaving the site – and hopefully therefore come back.
Interactive storytelling is all about adding features that take the user from point to point clearly without breaking up the flow of information. Websites tend to use things like gamification, immersive visuals and videos to create this effect. But it doesn’t have to be complicated – you can create a story through simple animations and dynamic text.
From how we travel to what we buy to the way we use energy, thinking about the environment is now a key part of all areas of our lives due to the climate crisis. Website designing is no exception.
So as we move into a new year, it’s expected that website designers will be thinking more and more about what they can do to be as sustainable as possible. They will be trying to minimise their website’s carbon footprint by doing things like optimising code and using sustainable hosting solutions.
Many websites will also be looking to promote sustainable living by reflecting this in nature-inspired colour schemes and including content on the site which educates and inspires people to live an eco-friendly life.
Many of the website designs trends for 2024 explored today fall neatly into the minimalism idea. Straightforward concepts like big text and moving typography, the glassmorphism effect and even enjoying a throwback to the nineties all suggest that next year’s key trends are about simple ideas that make a big impact.
Website designers also have the ulterior motive that the simpler the site, the quicker the load times will be – something that’s key to consider in this day and age, when people’s attention spans are so short.
Like we always say, trends and fads will come and go like they do in other industry but basic website principles are to stay.
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