Gone are days when the only goal of web design was to gain visitors’ trust. Today, you need to make the website as comfortable and clear as possible.

Trends are very fickle, but it doesn’t mean you can ignore them. Here are seven new tendencies that will be in the spotlight in 2016.

 

  • Websites standardization

 

We bet you have noticed that most of the websites look a bit similar. At least, you’ve probably heard about it. Is it critical that websites reflect a uniform appearance?

Website designers have come to a certain image of the “high-quality” website:

  • Design across the entire screen.
  • Photos and videos in the background.
  • Logo on the left.
  • Hamburger menu on the right.

This template exists because it’s a proven layout of the interface operation and management. Moreover, it takes into account the expectations of users. Users have become accustomed to this interface, and it has become recognizable and familiar; in other words – comfortable to use. Designers continue to apply this template, avoiding significant innovations. Of course, too strict adherence to the pattern kills creativity.

There are several reasons for the growing popularity of the uniform appearance:

  • Interest in a flat design.
  • Responsive websites.
  • HTML5 native video.

These features have helped visual trends to become mainstream. Thanks to all these technologies, now it’s quite easier to design an interactive and attractive website.

Responsive design allows you to create flexible solutions which best use the screens of devices – from mobile phones to TVs.

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  • The End of Rotating Banners

 

In the last few years, many websites have been used rotating banners as a way to transfer images, movement, and content on the homepage without overloading the user with a large amount of material. However, it becomes apparent that people do not notice banners and, therefore, miss information.

According to researches, so-called banner blindness appeared as a result of overloading with online advertising. We expect that banners will be replaced by full-screen backgrounds or videos that are dedicated to providing the general context rather than to report specific information.

 

  • Mixing of Mobile and Desktop

 

2016 is a year of mixing the elements. This trend appeared along with the “hamburger” menu, which refers to the menu icon with three horizontal lines. If your goal is to target visitors to a few pages, this can be useful. But note that all other pages are considered as secondary in this case.

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However, hiding the menu can be harmful to the online shopping and news portals, where the visibility of sections plays the key role. Extra movement irritates users and worsens the user experience (UX).

Specialists say that a hidden navigation can lead to an increase in bounce rate. Despite the complexity of the design and maintenance of a global navigation, we recommend you to show top-level categories from the very start. Also, you can add the word “Menu” to make the icon more evident.

 

  • Long Scrolling

 

The “above the fold” term is a relic of the newspaper industry; it’s used to identify the contents without fully opening a document. This concept has been dominant for many years, but with the advent of responsive web design, many ignore it in the favor of sites that require scrolling. Long scrolling has become especially popular with the emergence of numerous themes which use one page only.

Still we’re not sure you need it. While visitors scroll and get additional content, they must have certain reasons for it. This means that the device that uses a design or narrative element indicates that more detailed information can be found below. Nevertheless, studies have shown that the elements at the top of a page are viewed twice as much than the elements below.

 

  • Animation and Microinteraction

 

Microinteraction is started by a visitor who calls the animation or movement, which provides feedback to the user. An example of microinteraction is a registration form, which changes color to indicate the password strength or a paragraph of text that expands when you click on “more.”

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In 2016, we expect more designers start finding ways to use animation and interaction on websites.

 

  • Use of Patterns

 

Today, more and more designers use very convenient patterns – ready samples – to complete the forms on the website.

 

  • Deep Focus on the Content

 

Companies include more text content in their websites to provide the user with essential info. The ultimate desire is to give the audience the information they are looking for, and by this increase brand awareness and loyalty.

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It also means that the design of the website should be set up in a way that allows to increase the audience at maximum by the creating of landing pages where users can see the valuable content.

The trendy site can quickly become out of date, so before you apply some trends in 2016, please think twice.

If we look at the beginning of 2016, we can note that the primary trend is still an adaptation of websites to all types of devices. There is no such category as “websites for mobile devices” – there are just “websites” and “old uncomfortable websites.”

Many websites now look very similar, but creativity is still alive! Now it’s an exciting time for developers and designers since web technologies are as strong as ever. Supporting of WebGL, audio and video formats without the use of plugins provides excellent opportunities for creative solutions. You can reach the top if you’ll wisely use the power of digital devices and the potential of modern technologies. Create new solutions and experiences rather than just websites!

 

Brian Jens is someone who never misses anything new related to web design. Since he works at DesignContest website, he’s always aware of what’s going on in the world of design. Brian loves to research and share the results with the audience.

 

 

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