As time passes, the digital landscape is one that remains in constant flux, consistently evolving and morphing to address changes in consumer behavior. And in a world that is still facing the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have placed intense focus on remaining competitive online—especially as traditional, in-person transactions have been significantly scaled back during 2020.
Therefore, in order to stay on top, it is necessary to ensure your company’s website is not only user friendly, but also innovative and engaging—and most importantly, inspires trust amongst audience members. As 2021 dawns, consider these recent website design trends and think about how they could help you meet your business goals and objectives in the new year.
2021’s Website Design Trends
- Human-Like Chatbots: Chatbots have been steadily growing in popularity over the past few years. However, while consumers are pretty tuned into the idea that they are talking to a bot when one of these helpers pops up on a site, the technology behind chatbots has improved in a remarkable way. Through Artificial Intelligence they are able to act more “human like” and intuitive than ever before when helping a website visitor find and access information. Chatbots are truly able to help keep a visitor engaged and can create a user experience that is productive by offering quick responses that deliver real-time information and answer customer inquiries about products and services.
- Dark Mode: This is definitely a new trend in website design as well as a much-hyped feature on social media sites like Facebook, which has caused more businesses to switch from white to darker themes. Yes, it’s true that it looks elegant and cool, but there are some actual benefits to having dark mode on your website. First and foremost, it can significantly reduce eye strain and offer a comfortable experience to a user who might be in a low light environment or be browsing at night. Furthermore, because people surf on a variety of devices, it can help reduce screen glare, blue light, and flickering on a mobile phone or tablet—and also conserve battery power. Additionally, using dark mode can also help you emphasize other design elements present on your website while offering an ultra-modern and sleek appearance.
- Comfortable Color Combos: One of the new year’s most prominent web design trends will be centered around the use of comfortable colors that offer harmony, catch a user’s eye—and remain easy on those eyes. Think about implementing colors that allow your business and brand to stand out, but also enable a user to stay on the site longer, because they do not experience eye strain. Employ the use of colors that induce calm and relaxation.
- Minimalism: This is a trend that has been gaining momentum for the past few years as businesses have been departing from trying to engage customers with feature-rich designs. Research shows that having a complex visual design can frustrate a visitor, cause distraction, and lead to a negative first impression. Realize that most people are seeking out neat and clean design experiences because this also leads to easier navigation. Therefore, consider your website design and decide on what is important and what is it. View your site through the eyes of a new visitor and try to understand what that person is truly looking for.
- UX Writing & Microcopy: In today’s age, a consumer wants to feel like they are part of a brand and when they do business with you they want to think that it means something—that there is something unique that they are harnessing by choosing to spend their dollars with your business. With that in mind, you need to think about your communication style and what it means to a reader. A web visitor doesn’t want to be sold to; they want to be spoken with. They want to have a dialogue with you, so get rid of boring old phrases and standard sales lines. The goal is to make your content less formal. Additionally, microcopy is another interesting UI/UX design trend that offers a unique tone and dialogue that spurs relationship building and conveys a brand’s style. It’s corporate speak without the corporate approach.
These are just a few of the top trends to remain aware of as 2020 comes to a (thankful) close and 2021 appears on the horizon. The team at Woland Web would love to talk to you about how you can ensure your website is optimized to make a big bang in the new year, so your brand is positioned for success. Reach out today—let’s set up a time to talk about how you can accomplish all of your online goals.
