Top 5 web design trends in 2019
Staying up to date with website design is important. What are the most vital trends that you need to implement this year? Here’s my top 5.
In terms of trends, most designers would probably argue that you shouldn’t follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing, but trends are popular for a reason. While I am not a designer myself, I have collected some of my favorite web design trends, so you can stay on top of what is happening in the industry.
#1: Minimalism
I’ll start this list out with a familiar name. Although minimalistic designs are nothing new, they have come to stay. The style is characterized by extreme sparseness and simplicity, which generates a very elegant and stylish impression.
Today, minimalism also entails that you are not over-engaging your user. Don’t bombard them with unnecessary notifications and pop-ups - people are already more anxious and busier as it is, so less is definitely more when it comes to website design.
US T-shirt designer, Ugmonk, is on a mission to produce well-designed clothes with minimalistic aesthetics. A minimalistic-designed website reflects that mission to perfection.
#2: Interactive content
With that being said, one of the biggest trends of 2019 is to tell a compelling story around the digital experience. Just like video has become a strong force in comparison to static content in our social media marketing, websites are becoming more and more interactive.
We are getting accustomed to content-focused experiences and communication that engages us. The same goes for our website design that sees more animations and new ways of presenting content.
As users, we want to be guided through the experience in a delightful and easy way. Take Ukrainian soft drink producer, Apps Cider, as an example. Their website takes us through an action-simulator for cider making – from plucking the apple to the finished product.
#3: Non-traditional scrolling
Most people, who have worked with UX and website development has been exposed to the parallax effect at some point in their journey. The effect, having been around for years, developers are moving on to finding new and more creative website scrolling patterns.
Given that our attention span has dropped to approximately 8 seconds on the web, a great scrolling experience will prolong interest from visitors. For instance, the long scrolling pattern, which takes you through all of the content on the page at once.
French dining place, MUGS, does exactly that with a website that guides the user through the concept, menu, team, events, and contact information in a cleaver way.
#4: Asymmetrical Layouts
Asymmetrical designs are also something that is implemented more in 2019. While this technique can be more complicated to pull off, the result is eye-catching designs that evoke feelings of movement.
For instance, grid layouts have become very popular and while you could argue that the lack of symmetry creates an unbalance that is not pleasing to watch, the opposite applies.
An example is Abel – a natural perfume brand – that presents its products in an asymmetrical grid layout. I believe we are going to see more of these designs in the future.
#5 Video background
This trend emerged years ago but remains a great way to generate a good first impression and catch users' attention with a modern look (keeping in mind that we have very limited attention spans online). Moving video just differentiates from static homepages.
Critics will say that the aesthetic appeal of a video background will harm the usability, for instance, because it can generate slower loading times or be unfit for mobile viewers. However, I think that it adds an important dynamic, because our goal, ultimately, is to make sure that viewers don’t bounce and that they engage with our content.
Check out mobile and web development company, IUQO, who has created an outstanding example of a video background that makes sense for their business.
I hope this list has given you some inspiration for your own website development in the future. Let me know down in the comment section.