Web Design Trends In 2016

With the new financial year well underway many businesses will be looking at how they can fully utilise their marketing budgets. As reported by Econsultancy, 72% of marketers are increasing their digital marketing budgets, and one thing that should be at the top of your digital agenda is your website, as it is the foundation of your hub and spokes strategy. Naturally, as with all things in life, it needs maintenance, development and potentially re-creation. In this blog post we will look at the design trends facing the web industry and marketing professionals and most importantly, what’s worth your investment.

As you know, web design and marketing go hand in hand in todays business world. With both of these fields constantly evolving and developing at such a speed, it can sometimes be a struggle to keep up. As a result, many web marketers have had to evolve their skill-set to become ‘T-Shaped’. Having a smorgasbord of skills can be beneficial, especially in SME’s where marketing teams can be quite small or lack essential resources. But being a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, means that many aspects of a website get swept under the carpet, namely UX and UI (you can find out the difference between the two HERE), mainly due to a lack of budget, expertise, understanding or time.

Previous years have seen web design trends such as: mobile first, video sliders, responsive and background video. As with all technology based applications, some of these trends will be refined and others will be replaced all together with better alternatives. This year’s trends are setting a new benchmark for user interface (UI) with the aim to enhance, captivate and streamline the user experience (UX) to a whole new level.
Below are some of the key trends that we’ll see throughout 2016/2017:

Hero Images:

Photo credit: http://ww1.magnusbackstedt.com/

Stimulate the strongest human sense and capture a user’s attention with a bold, striking image. [Hint: Insert CTA for maximum effect!]. For our client Gasworld we have used some great cityscape images to emphasise the local heritage of the business. You can find more Hero Image examples HERE.
Natural stock photography
Simply put, a picture speaks a 1000 words!

According to 3M Corporation, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.
Typography:

Typography – Photo credit: http://www.vintagehope.co.uk/

Scrap the default Times New Roman and Arial fonts. Brands need a personality and typography is the perfect answer. These typefaces have a greater impact on users as they’re more distinctive and characteristic.
You can find more Typography examples HERE.
Background Videos And Animations:

Background-Video – Photo credit: Ditto Residential

Background videos and animations need to be executed correctly to have the right impact on a user. Rather than distracting a user, they must compliment content and calls to action. A great example is one of our clients, Walter C Parsons.
Hover Animations:

Hover animation- Photo credit: Bose

If you’re unsure of an elements function on a website what do you normally do?… Hover over it with your mouse. This simple yet effective animation provides your user with uninterrupted, engaging, instant feedback. We will reveal how this looks on our clients (Biovault) new site soon!
Scrolling:

Scrolling example – Photo credit: Squarespace

Single page websites (Like ours!) are becoming increasingly popular as it enables the users to see all of your content at the flick of a thumb or finger!
Motion Animations:

Motion animation – Photo credit: http://aquatilis.tv/

The modern technologies of CSS/JS animation and HTML5 video allow the use of engaging motion effects on web sites. Users will be more interested and engaged by this stimulus.
Fullscreen Forms:

Photo credit: http://tympanus.net/

Input screens should be as easy as possible for the user to find and fill out. Subtle animations can also keep the user engaged while they go through the form.
Duotone & Bold Colour Schemes:
The use of complementary and contrasting colours has a striking effect and increases the chance of TOMA. Our client Laneway is a great example of how it’s done.
Illustrations

Photo credit: climateunderpressure.com

Illustration dates back long before the invention of writing. But think past its primitive cave painting roots! We as humans have an intrinsic psychological connection to illustrations and it’s one of the most easily digestible forms of communications around.
Micro-interactions

This is great for UX. Users want to feel connected to their web experience. Although these are subtle, the minor details provide users with an understanding of ongoing processes.
Find out more HERE.
Infographics and data visualisation

Users are more likely to digest and absorb information that’s broken down into bite-size chunks. These are also great off of a website and used via social media.
Why should you invest in this?
To keep it short and simple, users who enjoy the content on your site are naturally going to spend more time there and will return more often. With that in mind, the TOMA that your site provides means that when someone needs a product or service in your sector you’ll be their first port of call. (eureka!!)
If you’re still not sold, here are a few pointers to bear in mind, as reported by Adobe last month in their ‘Rules of Engagement‘ content report:

• ‘59% of consumers globally would rather engage with content that’s beautifully designed than simple—even when short on time.’
• ‘89% of digital device users would switch devices or stop viewing altogether when encountering content that fails to meet their expectations.’
• ‘Nearly 8 in 10 consumers would stop engaging if the content doesn’t display well on their device.’
• ‘Almost one in three (29%) globally believe that content that entertains is more important than content that is accurate.’

You can read the full report from Adobe HERE.