Web design trends 2022
Web technologies are continuously evolving and thus web design can always break new ground. Technology and trends in web development influence each other. A website is not timeless, because it has to adapt to the technical requirements. A lot has changed in recent years, as search engines work smarter, there are more and more different end devices and users become more demanding. Thus, nowadays a website must adapt to the appropriate devices and should be easy to use.
A modern website is oriented towards current trends
However, technology alone is not yet a trend, but only provides possibilities. The technical implementation is decisive for the success of a site. This results in more or less useful web developments. A modern website is oriented to current trends, but should not adopt everything from them.
Preferences change quickly, as they are bound to the corresponding time. Not everything that is possible always turns out to be useful. Nothing should slow down a site or interfere with the user experience, so technology always has a say.
The users decide on the success of a website
How much you take from this for your web presence is up to you, because the users decide. The users are your audience, who will use your site enthusiastically or bounce right back.
This is also partly dependent on the industry, as the intended target group has a certain expectation. User-friendliness is important here, because the web presence can look as good as it is, if the user can't find what they're looking for, they'll bounce. There are certain industry standards that have become established for this purpose.
Mobile Internet and lots of choice
What awaits us in web design 2022? Much has become more mobile, as people increasingly go online with their mobile devices, such as smartphone or tablet. Pure desktop design is fading more and more into the background. Visitors to a website should be active instead of just passively browsing the homepage. Animated elements catch the eye and arouse curiosity. Clicking, wiping and dragging offers an interactive user experience.
The user thus uncovers all the secrets of the website. However, it should not be too playful, as the website usually has a specific goal. The page should prompt the user to take an action that will bring sales to the company. Active engagement with the service should not obscure this.
Therefore, the webmaster should not renounce tradition, as users have become accustomed to a certain look over the years. This offers a certain security, because with established layouts everything can be found in the usual spot. Many websites therefore resemble each other in order to attract enough customers.
These standard layouts have become established
Certain layouts are established, this is predominantly because workflows have become standardized. Web building kits, WordPress themes, as well as front-end frameworks mean that websites often look similar. In addition, content is becoming increasingly important. On the web, people are looking for information with added value. Search engines want to deliver relevant search results and index well-written texts.
Focus on the essential remains the trend
The focus on the essentials remains in the new year. Minimal design, consisting of tidy content, clarity as well as focus is still in trend. Anyone who has ever visited Apple's website knows what is meant.
It's a full-width web page, with a photo or video background, H1 text plus call-to-action button placed on top of an image motif. Below that, columns of text, with centered short body text. The visitor finds what he is looking for right away and does not have to deal with a complicated structure.
The attention span on the Internet is short, so prospective customers should be able to see at first glance why they should open this particular page. This minimalism is limited to calmness and clarity to present relevant content.
Designers have become more experimental
In the meantime, other styles are becoming established, as designers are increasingly willing to experiment. If you look around on the web, certain trends crystallize, some of which run counter to each other:
- Memphis Design
- Retro Design
- Web Brutalism
- minimalism
- visible frames
- asymmetrical layouts
- single page design
- split screen design
- color gradients instead of single colors
- Parallax effects
- serifs and light typography
- Symmetrical layouts
Memphis Design
Websites created in Memphis Design are bursting with colors, are colorful and lively. Suitable for those who find the minimalist, calm design too uniform and boring. This type of web design is often found in gyms, restaurants or landing pages, among others. Especially the backgrounds are pop and colorful.
Web Brutalism
This design does away with graphics and puts text and photos in the foreground. Type with photos that look large and unedited. This is somewhat reminiscent of the look of websites in the nineties, where it was more important to have a page at all. Powerful, strong, and reduced to essential information, this predominantly benefits businesses that want to get their message across photographically.
Symmetrical and asymmetrical layouts
Clarity and structure as essential elements, because you don't want to overwhelm users. This is the typical grid layout, where images and text alternate. This contrasts with the asymmetrical layout, where images and fonts overlap. Everything flows into each other and looks modern.
Retro design is back in fashion
Unnecessary gimmicks, graphics and colors characterized the web in its early days. Modern technology in retro design transports nostalgia and thus creates a feeling of comfort. However, the technology must be set up in such a way that user-friendliness does not suffer. If you want to create reliability as well as familiarity, you can fall back on this design. Advertising signs, movie posters and newspaper ads from the past serve as models for modern website design. Faded background colors and texts supposedly created on a typewriter are features of retro design.
Moving fonts
While it used to be that serif fonts belonged on paper rather than on the screen, designers are now using them for classy-looking headlines. Type can do more than imagined, because fonts can also move web page visitors. Text that moves is fresh and unexpected. The user lingers on the website and is curious to see what else is coming. Used discreetly, the font participates in a modern web presence.
Visible frames signal care with structure
The visible frame can be used when care with structure is to be generated. In this way, individual areas can be clearly separated from one another. The page is clearly structured and offers space for extensive content. This prevents text deserts, since everything is served in easily digestible morsels. This can easily be combined with a retro design, as it makes the rather untidy retro design look much more orderly.
color gradients instead of single colors
Color gradients have a dynamic effect because they create emotionality. Used with a sober design, they serve as a contrast to the clean and sober layout. This makes the website look dynamic even without images. Bright colors are the new design tool in web design. At the same time, the colors should complement other elements of the website, because the purposeful message should never be ignored.
Slider and Hero Images
There is hardly a WordPress theme that can do without a slider or a hero image. The user will not find real information here, but the slider respectively the hero image gives the homepage a dynamic touch. The header slider should already contain real information so that the user does not ignore it. The image alone does not attract attention, because it smells too much like advertising. We already know this phenomenon from the past, where the attention for banners has decreased more and more. The so-called "banner blindness" ensures that something like this is no longer noticed.
Does the trend fit the website?
Trends come and go in online marketing. Get an overview and keep an eye on all the important aspects. Through timely trends, the web presence remains modern, however, every webmaster should look whether the corresponding trend really fits the website as well as the company. Not everything creates the same effect everywhere, but depends on the goal you want to achieve with your web presence.
If you are interested in a new web presence, our online marketing specialists can actively support you in the creation and implementation of a customized strategy.