Top 10 Website Design Trends of 2018

What are the top website design trends of 2018?

Your website has become more than a calling card. It’s where people often get the first impression of your business. Its design has a major impact on that first impression and it happens instantly.

How can your design influence visitors to have a positive feeling about your brand? By using basic design principles and staying ahead of the curve.

If you’re thinking about building a new site or refreshing your current one you’re going to want to read on to learn the top 10 website design trends of 2018.

1. More Thought and Planning into Design

Many website owners would just put up a website that had very little information about their business.

Now, there’s a lot more thought and planning in the process. This is one website design trend you should do regardless of your business or website.

They go as far as put themselves in the user’s shoes and consider how visitors use the site. What are they trying to find? How have they most likely arrived at your site?

This helps you create a much better user experience. The better the user experience, the more likely they will look at other pages on your site.

2. Mobile Rules

In 2018, mobile design rules. Ever since Google announced its Mobile First Indexing, sites have shifted to easy to use mobile designs.

Even logos are getting responsive. Larger, recognizable brands are using the strength of their logos to anchor the site in the user’s mind.

They’ve created different versions of their logos to adjust to the size of the screen.

These versions will keep some core elements of the logo, but other elements will be removed to keep the logo simple.

3. Bold Colors

Of the top website design trends of 2018, you’ll notice websites use bold colors. You saw bright, bold colors, and large gradients.

This is influenced by the Pantone Color of the Year, which is Ultra Violet. It’s a shade of purple that is bright, and bold.

Gradients are frequently used over photos to make them look more compelling. Even a simple gradient can be used if you don’t have high-quality images to work with.

4. More Illustrations, Less Stock Photos

Website visitors have become numb to stock photos. Consumers today are looking for authenticity in a brand, and your website has to show that.

If you don’t have high-quality images that make your brand look authentic, then turn to illustrations.

That’s what more brands are doing to create a light, yet authentic feel.

5. Brutalism Rules

Brutalism is a website design trend that’s simple.

Throw the rules out the window and do what you want. Think of it as a throwback to the early days of websites. Remember how ugly they were?

Well, ugly is now sexy again.

Brutalism has its roots in architecture, which relied on geometric shapes and right angles. You’ll see this style in mid-century modern architecture.

Brutalist websites also use a lot of right angles, and they try to keep their sites limited to text and images. Nothing more, nothing less.

6. Typography Get Big and Bold

Nothing grabs attention like a well-written headline.

If that headline is in big, bold type, then you can capture a reader’s attention. The sad truth is that people generally only read headlines.

People will generally read a headline, scan other headings, and either share the page or go to another site.

Website designers have had to respond to this ongoing trend by turning to big, bold fonts in their work. You’ll see them on the front page, and on blog posts.

7. Heavy Use of Depth and Shadows

Depth and shadows are back!

They were used in the early days of web design, but since they looked unnatural, they were removed for a classic look.

The classical look was basically a flat design that showed no depth.

Depth and shadows have returned to web design because display resolutions have improved so much, depth and shadows don’t look bad.

You’ll see elements of design that have a 3D effect that take advantage of high-res displays to make the sites pop.

8. The Rule of Thirds No Longer Applies

The rule of thirds always stated that your focus should be divided into thirds, whether vertically or horizontally.

In photography, the rule of thirds is used to put the focal point off to one-third of the screen, instead of drawing attention to the middle of the frame.

Web designers have used this concept, and now it’s shifted from a rule of thirds to a 50-50 split. Because of this shift, you’ll see more symmetrical sites.

9. More Whitespace

Websites that appear outdated are usually cluttered and have elements that stuck on top of another and overlap.

In 2018, less is more.

White space is being used in a big way to create minimalist designs that create a significant contrast with your content.

This is meant to capture your visitors’ attention and keep them on your site.

10. Speed Still Rules

You can have the fastest and most reliable hosting service, but if your design is too cumbersome, people won’t stick around to wait for it to load.

Speed also has an impact on SEO. It’s important to keep this in mind because as you’re using different design tricks, you still need to keep the site’s speed in check.

Website Design Trends of 2018

Your website’s design and performance matter more than they ever have before. People make quick decisions based on how your website looks.

In less than a second, they’ll decide if they want to look around for more information, or go check out another website.

If you follow these website design trends of 2018, your site will look fresh and like it’s high-quality site. That will keep visitors on your website and you have a higher chance of converting them into subscribers.

For more great information about building your website, check out our blog.