2017 Web Design Trends

The Web Design Industry is buzzing, and for good reason too. 2017 is quickly shaping up as the time when creative personnel are free to unleash their creativity, and the market is more accepting of quirky and unique ideas. As such, the web design trends for 2017 seem to be focused on personalization and customization, creating a unique user experience. In essence, the new designs of 2017 are exciting and intuitive, as if users are actually interacting with the brands on a personal level.

To achieve such an exciting opportunity, we expect to see the following components in the revamped websites for 2017:

Fluidity from mobile, desktop to TV

With the advent of smart TVs come the test of most websites: their compatibility with smart TVs. Their sites and apps should be able to load with optimal resolution across all platforms, from the small display screen of mobile phones to the staggering screens of smart TVs.

This fluidity would enable businesses to be more responsive to their potential customers, so more and more websites are putting emphasis on this aspects. In 2017, we are expecting that most, if not all, websites have already transitioned to providing a unified experience across all devices.

Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs – the high-quality videos or GIFs that you see on websites that run on a continuous loop – is proving to be an effective visual tool to increase engagement on a website. Aside from adding an interesting visual to otherwise static pages, cinemagraphs encourage website visitors to stay on the site longer. This, in turn, increases the user engagement as well as conversions on the site.

Cinemagraphs also have the added bonus of being able to provide visual information without weighing down the website’s load speeds. So if businesses want to show off visual interface without having to delve into far more complex techniques, we would be seeing more cinemagraphs in this year.

Bold Typography

Gone were the days when websites were designed to be unobtrusive and unassuming. Today, websites have to scream their uniqueness for visitors to remain on the site long enough to make a conversion. To do this, most websites are turning to bold typography.

The typography is large and clearly understood, showcasing the brand’s strengths and playing on the needs of the visitors. Best paired with a minimal approach where the text would stand out, the bold typography would then be able to send the brand’s message without it being cluttered on the screen.

Vivid colors

Likewise, to appear more unique and timely, brands are now looking into vivid, bright colors. Sometimes this trend appears as gradients, websites are now embracing stacked layers of color to add personality to their site.

Not only can the interesting color scheme capture the attention of the visitors, but it can also affect users through color psychology. Therefore, they would be able to influence visitors about their vision without actually having to say anymore.

A layout that highlights storytelling

Then, of course, there is the notion that “Content is King.” This trend remains popular in 2017 as many websites are using their homepages to tell the story of their businesses. The storytelling is engaging and captivating, written in a way that visitors would be converted and would become brand advocates.

To best highlight this superb story, websites then utilize layouts that best tell these stories. The layout works with the text so that the visitors are not bombarded with the information, while at the same time ensuring that visitors are not bored with all the text.

This trend is clearly a tricky one to execute, but many websites have done it in the past, and it is quickly gaining ground this year as well.

Conversational interface

To provide exceptional customer service, websites are now enhancing their responsive capabilities through a conversational interface. The idea is that customers can interact with their agents in real time, resolving any issues and answering any questions about the products. This means the customers are being assisted as soon as possible, thereby ushering in more conversion and satisfaction.

Of course, this tool has been around for ages, but it seems that it is finally being given emphasis by most websites. After all, wouldn’t it be interesting to find out firsthand what your customers like and what they don’t like about your products? Businesses also use this to cull information about their market and to enhance their products.

Machine learning capabilities

Another interesting trend is how users are expecting a personalized experience from the get-go. That being said, integrating machine learning capabilities is becoming the norm on websites. Companies are adding algorithms that can track and convert their client’s movements across their websites, enabling them to provide information that is relevant to each particular user.

This has the added benefit of ensuring a fluid customized experience. Users would only have to revisit the websites, and the sites would be able to relay back to them things that they are interested in. Imagine this possibility in eCommerce – it would not only cut back on the time users spend looking for particular products, but it would also make it easier for them to make purchases as well.

Context awareness

One of the interesting things about mobile devices is that they can travel anywhere with the user. This year, more and more websites and tuning into their mobile apps and sites to do just that, and to provide users with a more localized experience.

By providing content based on location and the user’s tracking history, the websites can provide timely and accurate offerings that would make it easier for the user to make a choice. Every offer is made with the right context in mind so that it is only a positive experience for the user. What’s more, this also provides the brand with more information about their customer, which enables it to provide even more accurate offerings in the future.

These are just some of the hottest trends of 2017. This year, it seems that the focus is really on personalization and customized user experience. After all, making the customer happy would be a very effective way to get more conversions.