It has become common online to mock websites that look like they were designed ten or twenty years ago. The state of the art in web design evolves every year, so it does not take anywhere near that long for a site to start looking outdated.
While the pace does vary a bit from one year to the next, change is very much the norm. Many observers believe that 2020 is set to be one of the most momentous years ever with regard to how quickly web design advances. The five trends detailed below are sure to impact many sites this year.
Conversion-Oriented Design
Businesses worldwide invest vast sums of money in website design every year. Oftentimes, though, they end up with sites and pages that fail to improve the bottom line much or even at all.
One common reason for this is a lack of attention being paid to the all-important goal of conversion. A site can attract scads of traffic, but if it does a poor job of encouraging visitors to sign up or check out, it might not impact its owner’s results much at all. That’s the reason why you should be careful when choosing one of the top web design companies, since you need to be sure they can take your website to another level.
Businesses are wising up to such problems and are beginning to insist on more in the way of results. As can be seen over at decisivesites.com and elsewhere online, designers are stepping up in response. Sites that are designed from the ground up to produce leads or sales will become a lot more common in 2020 and beyond.
Streamlined Navigation
Many commercial websites contain dozens or hundreds of pages. Unfortunately, they also sometimes include navigational features that make it difficult to access all that content.
2020 has already seen a marked move toward navigation systems that emphasize simplicity. What that means in any given case will depend upon the nature of the site and audience in question. It will always entail making sure that visitors leave having seen what they came for.
Optional Dark Mode
Opinions are mixed about whether they really help, but optional dark modes will become more common on websites throughout 2020. Like quite a few other trends from recent years, surging interest in dark mode can be credited largely to mobile-app developers. Website designers who also need to account for the needs of computer users, though, increasingly see dark mode as an easy option to add that will also please a fair number of visitors.
More Line Art
Mobile-inspired approaches like “material design” have featured on websites for quite a few years now. A general shift in preferences toward simplicity and cleanliness will impact graphical website elements profoundly in 2020.
Websites being produced by leading web design companies this year are more likely than ever to feature elegant, minimalistic line art. When used tastefully and sparingly, these graphical flourishes support the kinds of typographic design and layouts that have become most popular in recent years.
A Retro Revival
Lest it be thought that leading website designers were leaving the past behind for good, some of the leaders in the space have been proudly launching retro projects this year. Although not hearkening all the way back to the 90s-style excesses that now seem so silly, the intentionally dated playfulness that buoys many of these sites can be appropriate in certain cases.
Many More Trends to Look For
These five website design trends are already in evidence and should remain strong throughout 2020. Astute observers will undoubtedly take note of quite a few more that will also help keep things exciting.
