Website Design 2018: What You Can Expect to See

Website Design Trends to Look Out For in 2018

If you thought 2017 was an innovative year for web design, wait until you see the predicted trends for 2018. This year saw a rise in the use of AI chatbots, an increase in long-form content, and an even bigger emphasis on mobile responsive design than previous years. But the website design trends for 2018 are even more impressive.

What is contemporary in website design now, may not be in a few months. This is what makes the web design Norwich industry so dynamic. Any type of design is a continuous process of learning and gaining new skills. Trends and technologies are constantly changing. As such, we thought we’d compile a list of the upcoming website design trends you need to look out for in 2018.

Mobile Responsiveness

You may have thought the coming years were the peak of mobile usage for browsing. However, data suggests this trend is going nowhere. In the first half of 2018, Google will be introducing a new “mobile first index”. This index puts, even more, importance on the mobile version of your site and makes it the first to be seen in search engine results. Therefore, it is essential your website design is mobile responsive.

Bright Colours and Gradients

This design trend complements the current trend of white space separating blocks. When punchy colours, bold text and bright gradients are together, user attention is caught. Colour can be used to draw attention to text, and highlight calls to actions. It can also be used instead of images, especially for mobile sites. Large images can lead to slow load times for websites, so using bright text instead can be good for site speed. Slow loading images are going to be replaced with effective typography.

Graphics and Illustrations

With the decrease in usage of large images that is predicted in 2018, icons and illustrations will take the foreground. Graphic illustrations and hand-drawn icons combined with the typography and colour trends is going to mean some really eye-catching 2D website design. 2D web design means faster load times which in turn means improved UX. Google and Bing look fondly on well-optimised sites with fast load times, and these are the ones that will rank highly on SERPs.

Seamless Interactions

This coming year will see the rise of micro-interactions. With them already being a huge success on Facebook, it’s only a matter of time before websites start to implement them in their design. Asking users to undertake an action that causes them to leave the page, or requires the page to reload can often increase bounce rate. Users get frustrated with having to change their course on the site and instead leave. However, with micro-interactions, users could for example leave reviews simply by scrolling over a number of stars, rather than having to submit a form.  Micro-interactions can help site users communicate in real-time. They also massively help improve user experience.Virtual Reality Video

If 2017 was the year of video being incorporated into web design, Norfolk. Then 2018 is the year for 360, immersive and virtual reality video. Use 360 to give tours of your workspace, office or building. This can allow site users to get a real feel for your business. It also allows you to show off a little! You can also use interactive 3D video for products. Allowing users to scroll around the item and see it from every angle. This could be beneficial if your site is e-commerce, and is better than the standard “zoom in” for more detail.

These are just a few of the website design trends we expect to see in 2018. We can’t predict them all. But, we do hope to see a few more surprises in design next year! If you’re looking for responsive, innovative and design-led web design in Norwich or Norfolk, contact us. We build WordPress sites that are SEO optimised, making your site rank higher in Google from the very beginning. Read about our Content Marketing trends for 2018 here.

Contact Us