2019 web design trends to get you noticed

It is crucial to the success of your website to stay current with your web design trends. Every year there are many innovative changes regarding visual preferences, algorithm updates and best practices. 2019 will be all about outstanding user experience, speed and mobile design, eye catching simple design with asymmetrical layouts and video backgrounds.  

Speed, Speed, Speed!

We are a one click generation! According to recent studies, 50% of users expect that once they click on a site, it should load in two seconds or less, otherwise if it takes three or more seconds to load they will abandon the site. Hence if you are willing to engage your users, you have less than three seconds! That means that you need to dispense of bloated Javascript, gigantic images and uncompressed large videos if you are aiming to improve your website speed. Whilst large pictures and videos are not completely gone from web design, in 2019 they should be incorporated in a way that they do not slow down the loading times.

Minimalist Designs

Minimalist designs, also known as flat designs, are highly desirable and trendy for two important benefits. Firstly, flat designs allow quick-loading websites on both mobile and desktop browsers. Secondly, they can hold high SEO value. Therefore, minimalist design allows the website to fulfil a greater speed from the SEO.

In spite of being clean and minimalist, flat design is definitely not boring. It provides an outstanding user experience and eye-catching, engaging layout through contrasting bright colours and illustrations with simple images and sans-serif fonts. Furthermore, minimalist design does not rely on images to be captivating therefore the extra loading data when a user navigates to the page is significantly reduced.

Mobile First

Since mobile browsng has overtaken the desktops, it is no wonder that mobile first designs are a major trend. This trend is about to change the way websites are designed fundamentally.

The demand for mobile first design is based not only on SEO or ranking factors. The visual aspect is the first and foremost factor enhancing the user’s experience with the website on the device that they are most likely searching from. Mobile first design is meeting the demand of mobile users, hence it is likely to stay a major trend for a long time.

Broken Layouts

Asymmetrical designs with broken grids are leaving a significant mark across the web design industry. In spite of the increasing demand for flat, clean and quick minimalist design, there is also a large contingent of designers advocating the fresh, striking look of asymmetrical designs.

Many designers prefer creating a sense of depth not normally found in grid based layouts through creative use of typography, use of white space, unusual placements, repeating irregular patterns and layering with different colours/textures. These striking designs are used to improve the users’ engagement and point them towards the main parts of the website through a creative use of visual hierarchy directing the eye on where to look. By using bright colours, asymmetrical shapes, broken grids and dynamic imagery, designers can  direct the users’ attention in a new and engaging way towards the content or the call to action that they want the users to find.

Integration of shapes

Shapes are the bridge between minimalist design and broken layouts due to their easy integration to a design. Simple geometric shapes with bright colours are creating unusual edges and loading quickly whilst still engaging the users. Designs that combine shapes and imagery or that use shapes as repeating patterns, are resulting in dynamism and depth present in the minimalist design and broken grids.

Shapes can be used dramatically or sparingly depending on the brand aesthetic. They are used to establish visual hierarchy and draw attention to specific parts of a website that you want your visitors to notice.

Pageless Design

Speed and minimalism are one of the biggest trends of 2019, which is the reason why pageless design, also known as single page design, is predicted to become a huge trend in 2019.

Single page design has been identified as hard to use particularly with SEO tactics, however, this design brings great benefits. The simplicity of pageless design allows the website to look great on every browsing device and automatically fall into mobile first design. Furthermore, being so simple means that it is more easily managed too.

Single page designs are highly preferred by businesses not only because of their simplicity,  they also tend to gather high conversation rates. With pageless design the user is unlikely to get distracted, every part of the page drives them towards a conversation point and enables them to gather more leads for the business.

Video Backgrounds

It is a well know fact that videos are more compelling than text or images could ever be and therefore video backgrounds are considered to be one of the most impactful trends of 2019.

When a users land on your site, if a video in the background is playing, they are more likely to stick around to watch it because the video has already grabbed their attention. Therefore, the more the users stay on the site, the more likely they are to convert. Hence, the site metrics will rise leading to better SEO tactics!

Furthermore, video backgrounds are allowing you to convey your message quickly and effectively in a matter of seconds. This is extremely useful when there is a complex message to be explained to the audience in the short amount of the time that you have their attention. In order to do that and improve the brand engagement with a sleek and modern video background, it should be  a short, muted video with a high quality look to it.

Micro-Animations

Micro-animations are considered as powerful way to provide a satisfying experience for your audience when they are browsing your website. These micro interactions are used all the time on both desktop and mobile browsing platforms.

These small eye-catching animations create an enriched experience for your users as they navigate the site. As a result, micro-animations create visual hierarchy driving your users towards website conversation points and then rewarding them for filling them out.  

Chatbots

Chatbots have become common micro-interactions on websites. Chatbots are predicted to continue enhancing user interactions with web pages, through their improved auto responder functionality engaging more users and providing excellent customer service from the outset.  

Furthermore, once the conversation with the customer has started, chatbots are not only gathering data regarding sales, but they begin to interact with the prospect aiming to build a relationship with your potential customer. In 2019, this technology will be improved to perfection and will be incorporated into company websites seamless web interactions.

 

2019 will bring many different opportunities for web designers trying to create outstanding websites. On one hand there are tempting visuals of broken layouts and video backgrounds. On the other hand there are the beautiful and practical tenets of minimalist design and pageless layouts. As trends change, so does the industry. Therefore, in order to keep your website fresh, stunning and interactive it’s increasingly more important to stay ahead of the game!