It’s that time again when the new year is almost upon us. You know what that means, it’s time for us to reveal the top web design trends for 2023!
Web design and digital marketing are fast changing due to popularity changes and regular algorithm updates. Not to mention that consumers know exactly what they want and when they want it.
Consumers in 2023
In recent years, consumers have become more aware of web design and can easily spot a site that’s outdated or not running efficiently. More often than not, consumers will leave these sites pretty quickly and fail to return. After all, no one wants to waste time waiting for a website to load.
A key aspect of creating a great website is to prioritise the user experience. This helps to ensure that users can take the actions they want easily. In addition to creating a site that works well, you need to make sure it looks good too!
Standing out from the crowds with web design
Getting your business online is crucial and opens the door to many more business opportunities, whether that be reaching more customers, increasing sales or building a community.
The requirement to be online comes with its own challenges, such as how you stand out among competitors. While this depends on your industry, some features can be used to distinguish you from your competitors. Let’s take a look at some of the latest web design trends for 2023.
Web design trends for 2023
Page load speed & smart content loading
Your web page speed has been an important factor for web design and SEO for a few years now, so if you haven’t already checked it out, we recommend doing so. There are a few ways to reduce page load time, such as optimising your images and altering how your site loads.
Many websites load all the content from the top to the bottom of the page, regardless of where the user scrolls to. You can reduce the load time by changing your site to only load content as your user gets to it.
As we mentioned, no one wants to sit around waiting for website elements to load; they’d rather go elsewhere. This leads to a poor reputation and low engagement.
Parallax scrolling
Consumers may be getting bored of endless scrolling, and who can blame them? Parallax scrolling is the perfect way to tell a story and give consumers something more exciting to focus on. It also puts you in control; your website visitors will see what you want them to see when you want them to see it, allowing you to take them on a journey through your website. This can be supported by carefully placing call-to-action buttons.
Images, graphics or both?
Web design goes through different phases. Sometimes it’s on trend to have lots of real or stock images, and other times, well-selected animations work best. Depending on your industry, you may find that you can create content that combines images and graphics.
This can also support you with social media content creation, as it offers you another style of content to post. Remember that your marketing communications should be consistent with your brand identity to build consumer loyalty.
We offer branding and graphic design services and can support you with logo design and other graphical elements.
Video content
The use of video is on the rise on many platforms, as it can provide an easier way to consume content, particularly if captions are included. Video content can be used in many places on your website. For example, businesses may use a smart video to introduce the company, share product information or use it to support a blog post.
Removing distractions
You know when you visit a website and there’s far too much going on, it can often be overwhelming and lead to you leaving a website sooner than you expected. But, in 2023, that’s set to change, with businesses removing distractions and creating a better website experience.
Removing distractions can often be achieved by adding more white space/negative space to the design of a website. A minimalist design often allows elements such as text and images to stand out more, grabbing the user’s attention.
Voice integration
Google has released several updates focusing on natural language processing and semantic searches. This, combined with more recent updates, such as Google’s Helpful Content update, means that it’s more important than ever to write for your users and not just the search engines.
Voice search has been a popular trend for a few years now, so it may be worth keeping up with algorithm changes to see how you can incorporate suggested changes into your website’s design.
Virtual reality, augmented reality & artificial intelligence
Over the last few years, virtual reality has become much more popular. This is only set to continue with the introduction of Meta and more VR and AI opportunities. eCommerce businesses, in particular, have a real opportunity to stand out from their competitors with the progression of virtual reality.
Many larger brands have already introduced VR and AR to their websites by allowing users to preview what a product would look like in their homes. This is a clever feature that could reduce the amount of time users spend pondering before proceeding to the next stage of the buying process.
Provide interactive elements
When we say provide website interaction, we don’t mean adding a game to your site; we mean adding helpful elements, such as finance calculators. Not only does this make life easier for the user, but it also provides you with further information on a potential customer.
Some businesses choose to follow up this information with an email, perhaps offering a discount code to the user to encourage them to return and make a purchase. This can help to build brand loyalty and appears more personable.
Other web design trends to watch out for:
- Dark mode (to reduce visual stress)
- Horizontal scrolling
- Replacing the hero image with bold typography
- Custom illustrations
- Glass textures on images
What users expect from your website:
- Impressive web designs
- A responsive web design (works the same on a desktop version and mobile devices)
- User-friendly navigation
- Data security
- Inclusive solutions
- Incorporates the latest trends
Roll on 2023!
Well, it sure sounds like an exciting year for website design trends. Which web design trend are you most looking forward to? Our expert web designers can support you with all aspects of your site, from initial ideas to the completion of the website.
We complete WordPress web design for businesses of all sizes. Our team have experience creating all kinds of modern websites, including eCommerce stores and custom-built websites. Check out our portfolio.
Don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team for support with your website design; we’re always happy to help.