Like other technology, web design trends continue to evolve and improve every year. In 2021, a top priority is to implement web design trends that create fantastic user experiences without sacrificing site speed or functionality. After all, what good is a beautiful website that is hard to use? That’s like driving a luxury care and then the steering wheel popping off. It may look good, but you can’t drive that car. It’s the same approach for designing websites – there must be a balance between the visual design and UX (user experience). Keep reading to check out some of the top design trends surfacing for the new year.

1. Dark Mode

In the past, the web design community created white space (empty space) on a website using a white background. However, dark mode has become an alternative option, which creates empty space on a website or app using dark background colors. Created several years ago, this dark mode concept has become increasingly popular for both big and small business sites.

Aside from the modern visual appeal, there are some great benefits for site visitors too. Studies have shown that dark mode is better for users’ battery life and their vision, as it lowers our exposure to harmful blue lights. For those that spend several hours a day online, this can give their eyes a much needed break from less glare and blue light exposure. Let’s not forget battery life, which is all too important for our digital-driven society.

As dark mode continues to become more popular, it’s important to still give users the option to switch this mode on or off. Some people may prefer using light mode during the day and dark mode at night. This can be accomplished with dark and light mode toggle switches, which enable users to easily customize their user experience.

2. Minimalism

This is not a new web design trend, but one that will continue to play a key role in modern web design. In fact, minimalism is more of a design principle than a specific style. Minimalistic design is focused on using the essential design elements, such as simple shapes, clean text, limited color schemes, and empty space. By only using the core elements, websites can provide simple, functional, and stunning user experiences.

Over the years, minimalism has evolved to include more than just black and white, including vivid and bold colors. These captivating colors paired with a minimalistic design can create a simple, yet memorable website that users will be talking about.

Since minimalistic design focuses on creating simple web designs, this also improves a website’s usability and functionality. Envato UI designer Sean Freehan says it best, “The more we overcomplicate our interfaces, the more users will struggle to use our products.” Indeed, when a website is user-friendly, straight-forward, and visually appealing, this will help site visitors choose your site over a more complicated site.

3. Illustration

Illustration has seen an explosion of popularity among the web design, graphic design, and social media communities. The idea of using hand-drawn digital elements has become a new approach to connect with target audiences like never before. Indeed, illustrations are a great way to create authentic and welcoming elements to websites that users appreciate.

To continue to promote diversity in 2021, illustrations are the perfect opportunity to represent people of different shapes and sizes. This creative style is called “odd bodies.” By doing this, it can help more site visitors feel engaged with a website.

4. Motion and Interactivity

When it comes to videos, users spend 88 percent more time on websites that have video content. Indeed, videos take first place when it comes to the most engaging type of online content. Thus, it’s not surprising that motion and interactive elements are becoming a popular trend this year. This design approach is a simple, yet effective way to create a wow factor on an otherwise simple website. When you can wow users, they will be more engaged and delighted by their website experience.

Aside from videos, web designers can add interactive quizzes, games, and polls to engage with users and bring a site to life. By using motion and interactive elements to engage with a target audience, designers can use this opportunity to learn more about their site needs. To avoid overwhelming or distracting from your site’s purpose, it’s recommended that you strike a careful balance between interactivity and simplicity.

5. Organic Design

Yet another popular trend from this past year, organic design is a unique approach to web design. Organic design gains inspiration from the natural world around us and is focused on sustainability and environmentalism. To represent nature, it’s common to see websites with neutral and earthy warm colors, such as soft browns, beiges, and whites, as well as subtle blues, greens, and pinks. When a bright color is added in the mix, this can make a website’s color scheme pop.

As you can see, 2021 is showing a mixture of old and new web design trends. While these trends can help your websites stay current, it’s always recommended to evaluate your site’s needs, purpose, and goals. Some designs will not be the best choice, while others will be the ticket to launch a successful site. If you want to learn even more about this year’s web design trends, check out this article about the latest web design trends for 2021. We hope you enjoyed this article. If you need an affordable website solution, contact Awesome Website Guys today.