They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. However, you can judge a website by its landing page, and the statistics back that up! It takes the average web user 5 to 15 seconds to decide whether to stay on a page, nearly entirely based on their first impression of the home page. It is essential to have a consistent, visually and aesthetically pleasing, navigable, optimized home page. Following website design trends can help you stay in the loop on keeping your site relevant and updated!
Top 10 Best Website Design Trends
Website design trends are seemingly impossible to predict because of the endless possibilities and combinations of colors, shapes, aesthetics, and designs. However, a few standards remain consistently impactful. Here are a few of the top website design trends in 2023 that you could incorporate easily into your page!
1. Designs with Visual Hierarchy
Visual hierarchy is one of the most essential website design trends you should master. This hierarchy is how you rank and display content and ultimately organize your page. You want to ensure the most critical elements have a position of prominence, followed by a logical, easily navigable sequence of pertinent text, photos, or other content. You can use contrasting colors to help other important aspects pop and minimize more minor details by decreasing their size or putting them further down the page.
2. Space It Just Right
Page spacing is a critical website design trend. Perfect spacing ensures your content is well organized, your messages and text are clear, and that users focus on the main components of the page. Use white space between page elements to ensure readers can skim the text. It also helps you group content without creating formal barriers that make a webpage look choppy.
3. Make It Easy to Navigate
Easy breezy navigation is a significant website design trend in 2023. It should be obvious to your users from the start how to maneuver through your web pages. Be sure to use a straightforward header menu and breadcrumbs so your users can find their way back to where they came from or similar relevant topics. Adding a search bar is handy for users wishing to find specific content, such as blog posts. Adding internal and external links to navigate other pages can help users find related content. Alternatively, expandable accordion blocks can provide more information on a page.
4. Consistent Design Elements Throughout
Using consistent design elements throughout your website helps convey a sense of your brand to web users. You want your aesthetic to match your values and communicate that to prospective clients. Creating a logo and defining a color palette are your first steps – choose colors that complement one another and reflect your brand. Select a primary font or two to use across your website that is easy to read. Now, select your global styles – this means details like where each color will go or which font will be used in what type of text. Consistency is vital, so ensure each page follows the same format throughout your site.
5. An Effective Call to Action
Your call to action (CTA) is where you convince your visitors to take the next step – to sign up for your email list, make a purchase, or take another action. Your CTA needs to be prominently placed on your page. Try using contrasting colors, so it stands out, and linking to it in multiple places, so users don’t have to navigate several places to reach it. Combine your CTA with other notable elements that call attention to the action, such as boxes, movement, photos, or videos.
6. Appearance Across All Devices
Responsive design is one of the most extensive website design trends in recent years. It allows your webpage to adapt to whatever type of screen it is viewed on – it has a well-proportioned, automatic display for mobile and desktop users. There is no need to create duplicate websites or for things to be out of place when users visit your page on a phone or tablet. This optimizes your page for SEO rankings and creates a uniform, seamless user experience. Check out this article to find out more about responsive design.
7. Create that WOW Moment
Your website will be the most memorable if it is unique to users. Use alternative colors, animations, or interactive designs to help your page stand out from the crowd. Create videos, moving elements on your page, or artsy pictures. Whatever you do, ensure you have a little wow factor in the design!
8. Never Stop Testing Your Systems
Never stop striving to be better! Your work isn’t finished even when you’ve nailed every website design trend. Routine A/B testing ensures your website is up and running effectively and efficiently. As you continue to make small changes to your website design, run regular A/B tests to help improve conversion rates.
9. Optimize for SEO Rankings
Search engine optimization is not only a website design trend; it is essential to the success of any page. The higher you rank on Google search results, the more visitors you will have to your page and, ultimately, the more conversions. Be sure to pay attention to your site speed – keep your images small and use modern file types to keep your site loading speed high. Add relevant keywords throughout your page, especially headings, to help you rank for these queries. Finally, ensure your site is mobile-friendly!
10. Build for User Accessibility
In the internet age, the web needs to be accessible to everyone. You must build a webpage with that in mind – that anyone at any ability level can interact with it. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are an excellent starting point for web designers to maximize the accessibility of their content for users with disabilities. You can offer text alternatives for non-text context, such as captions, use contrasting colors to ensure text stands out, or allow volume or size to be adjusted. Organize and label pages for easy navigation and ensure your pages do not have flashing elements.
How Spotted Fox Digital Marketing Can Help
Are you interested in implementing some of the best website design trends of 2023? Spotted Fox Digital Marketing can help! We are experts in designing and implementing holistic digital marketing strategies. Our professional team has years of experience in site design; we are passionate about assisting businesses to implement website design trends to stay ahead of the curve. Visit our website for more information, or contact us for website design services today!