The Web Design Trends You’ll Want to Watch For in 2016
By Keith Curreri • Published on January 7, 2016
Web design trends are always evolving based on users’ tastes and changes in technology. Because of these ever-shifting patterns, it’s necessary for business owners to stay on top of the latest trends in order to ensure that the website that represents their brand doesn’t take on an outdated look. Here are some web design trends that you can expect to see dominating 2016:
Improved quality of photographs
Stock photography (often cheesy in nature) will become a thing of the past in 2016, as more and more businesses try to fill their sites with actual pictures of their office, their products, and their employees. Why litter your site with pictures of models pretending to be chiropractors or hairdressers when you can actually show your staff at work?
The option to view slides on one page
While presenting information in multiple pages worth of slides is great for your Google Analytics, it can quickly drive users nuts. In 2016, many businesses will offer a “view on one page” option to create an improved user experience. This way a site visitor can get the information they’re looking for, without having to click 20 times.
Quirky and subtle animation
Perfect for loading screens or in other spots that need a punch of personality, subtle animation will be a big part of web design in 2016.
Reduced scrolling
In years past, many websites made you scroll and scroll in order to continue reading content. While some sites still rely on these long scrolls, you’ll see others shorten up the amount of scrolling necessary. Some may even eliminate it entirely.
Full-screen overlays for forms requiring you to input information
In 2016, contact or login forms that require visitors to input information may adopt a full-screen overlay to make it easier to type in these details. With a heavy focus on responsive design in 2016, it’s not surprising that this trend will become popular.
Overall, web design in 2016 will place an emphasis on the functionality of a site, rather than just worrying about how the site looks. A successful website in 2016 will make it easy for a user to find the information they’re looking for, opt in to e-mail newsletters, download e-books, and click through photo galleries. The user experience will remain at the forefront of web design in 2016.
