Web design has dramatically changed over the past 20 years. It used to be impressive if a company had a website and now it’s become a must-have resource. The design and functionality of your website may be the first experience a customer has with your brand. You want to make sure that what you have online is a fresh and clear representation of what your company is all about. The trends in web design today are not just cosmetic, but they dive into the user experience as well.
Does This Website Make Me Look Old?
We all know an old website when we see one. The bulleted list below highlights some of the most common outdated features on a website. How does the design of your site compare?
- Slow page loading times
- Excessive copy
- Low-quality images and video
- Dull color schemes
- Inconsistent branding
- Loud/busy color schemes
- Lack of imagery
- Broken links and landing pages
What’s Trending in Web Design Today?
Color Palettes & Brand Guidelines
Have a crystal-clear idea of what your color scheme and brand guidelines are before designing or re-designing your website. If your website lacks consistency, you’re sending the site viewer a message that you’re unorganized. For example, bold color palettes are trending in web design right now, but you need to know where/when to accent your web pages with color. There should be a seamless transition as a viewer jumps from one of your web pages to another.
Mobile is the New Desktop
There was a time when smartphones were a luxury and people rarely viewed a website from anything other than a desktop computer or laptop. However, since smartphones have become mainstream, they are being utilized as computers more and more.
Stats report that 70% of online traffic comes from mobile users. Therefore, creating a mobile-friendly site is now a crucial part of web design today. If your site is slow or the format is thrown off on mobile, it’s a strike against the credibility of your business.
Video, Video, Video
When it comes to content, “video” is a marketing buzz word that has everyone amped up. The truth is people don’t want to read paragraphs and paragraphs of text on your website, but they are willing to watch an engaging 2-5-minute video. You’d be amazed at how much information you can get across in a short video! Having video content or your site gives your brand a sense of professionalism and creativity.
Typography
The web design trend with typography is simple. You want to choose a font that is clean, clear and easy to read. Go bold or go home!
Cut Out the Noise
Let’s talk about website copy. When you are writing website copy, you need to remember these few things. Number one, your copy should be informative, but it should also show some personality. A mistake many make is flooding their website with as much copy as possible. Realistically, no one is going to read all that information, and if they do, they will likely be overwhelmed.
Secondly, think about the design of your site when you are composing your website copy. There are going to be areas on your site that are designed for long and short-form content.
Let’s Talk Web Design
Now that we went over the basics of a good website, you’re ready to start flushing out the plans for your next project. A golden rule to follow with web design is that a good website makes things easier for its users. If you keep that in mind during the design process, everything else will fall into place. Have more questions on web design? Visit us online!
The EMPIST Effect
Software provides a gateway to further business innovation. The more that you and your company do to stay on top of software news and actually embrace more software within your business, the more benefits your business will reap. Whether you explore an online ticketing system for customer support (like EMPIST’s own Deskware) or a cloud technology platform, there’s no doubt that it will show more efficient results at your business. Give your company a competitive advantage with the right scaling software. Evolve with software and grow efficiently.
For more IT news, blogs and industry insights throughout the week, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.