jWeb design is constantly changing. Every year, new trends become important, and staying on top of these trends is essential if you want to have a modern, functioning website.
Keeping up with the trends is often the job of professional web designers. However, it can be useful to have an idea of where things are going so that you can discuss this with your designer when you are coming up with ideas for your new site.
So what are the main trends for this year? Here are some to look out for.
Flat design
Flat design became big in 2013, and Apple and Microsoft have both championed this type of design in recent years.
It looks great, especially when it comes to icons and menus, which are easy to scale, and you can make use of this on your website to give it a more modern appearance.
However, flat design is now combining enhancements so that it is not exactly flat any more. More textures are also being used, and this can create a stylish effect.
Flat design is likely to remain in fashion for a long time to come, so talk to your designer about using this on your site.
Large images
Large, beautiful images look great on websites, especially on the home page. The trend towards really big images began in 2014, and one of the reasons they are starting to become more common is that faster broadband speeds allow large images to be viewed without slowing down the loading time too dramatically.
If you run a travel website, you can certainly take advantage of using large, impressive images throughout your site. You may even want to go with a cinematic style that uses a video backdrop.
More multimedia
Multimedia is not exactly new, but website designers are now using it to create more impressive visual effects using HTML5. Faster broadband speeds have allowed for more creative uses of multimedia, like HD videos and more visually engaging features.
This is ideal for websites that rely on imagery to connect with the visitors and provide them with a better experience.
Narrative web pages
Using more visual storytelling devices is becoming popular, particularly through techniques like parallax scrolling. Now templates for this type of scrolling are even available on WordPress and other platforms, making them easier and cheaper to implement.
Tiles
Tiles are an effective way to structure content, and they are popping up more and more lately. One of the key benefits is that they are excellent for responsive websites, providing a simple yet impressive design technique that looks great on mobile devices.
More scrolling
There is a growing preference for scrolling compared to clicking on websites. This allows the visitor to get through the site quicker, and it is ideal for narrative sites where you want to convey a large amount of information quickly. It also has the benefit that it is ideal for touch devices.
Discuss the latest trends with your web designer
These are some of the latest trends in web design, and you may want to discuss them with your designer. At the very least, ask them their opinion on some of these to help you decide whether they are up to speed with the latest developments, and this can help you choose the most suitable web designer for your site.