Web design is a field that is in constant flux— and more so in 2020 than ever before. There are major changes impacting how websites will be developed, but what are they?
We outline the top eight web design trends we’re seeing in 2020:
- Minimalism
- White Space
- Illustrations
- Asymmetry
- Responsiveness
- Motion
- Interactivity
- AI
Read on to find out you need to be aware of before these changes set in so they you how to adapt.
Minimalist Web Design
Minimalist landing pages will be a major change in the graphic design trends of 2020.
Although minimalism hasn’t been a stranger in the world of social media design, it is now going to be the driving trend in the web sphere.
The primary reason for minimalism coming to the fore is because of load times—while heavy graphics are attractive, they take too long to load, increasing bounce rates.
And that is a problem for brands—bounce rates not only impact conversion rates, but it badly affects SEO.
Alongside a variety of other factors, search engines take load times and bounce rates into account when ranking websites—which affects how easily your site can be found.
So, minimalism is in—fewer elements on the page, clean lines, a handful of colors and fonts, fewer buttons, and easy navigation.
More White Space
As a consequence of the move towards minimalism, web designers will be incorporating far more white space in their webpages than before.
White space, or the empty spaces around elements on a page, will make it easier to absorb the minimal elements on the page, and is already being used across the best ecommerce websites.
This is in contrast to the crowded, over-complicated designs of the past—white space is all about cleanliness and, in 2020, will be used to create distinct sections between elements.
The use of white space to frame images and blocks of text will make websites more attractive, boosting retention rates over time.
It’s important to note that white space doesn’t always have to be white—we will be seeing a variety of colors being employed to create negative space on webpages.
Illustrations
There has been a steady movement away from the use of photographs—or rather, stock photos—in web design.
Come 2020, we will be seeing more abstract illustrations used across web design. There are a number of benefits to using illustrations over stock photography.
Foremost is that stock photos have been overused in the past five years—the same images are used by a variety of companies across different industries.
There is nothing unique, nor brand-friendly, with a stock photo.
On the other hand, a set of illustrations designed for your style guide template will not only be unique, but will make your business more recognizable to even casual internet users.
For 2020, brands should be looking to invest in illustrations or in using software that will allow them to create regular illustrations for their websites.
Asymmetry
The intense framing of websites into distinct columns and rows is soon to be a thing of the past. In 2020, web design will be celebrating the wonders of asymmetry.
In a world of symmetrical designs, any website that embraces asymmetry is going to stand out from the crowd, which is why this trend is gaining steam now.
Asymmetry in web design will assert itself through off-kilter elements and slight imperfections on-page that will attract the attention of visitors to the site.
However, asymmetry is one of those trends that can easily go wrong—too many asymmetrical elements could make the page hard to navigate, or put visitors off.
But if done right, asymmetry can make your website stand out and draw in more viewers.
Responsive Web Design
Responsiveness has been an incredibly important part of web design in the last decade. And that trend will continue into 2020, but with a twist.
There are more screen sizes than ever before— it isn’t enough to make your website responsive for a standard desktop, mobile, or tablet format.
Mobile phones from a single line of products have varying sizes, as do tablets.
Within these multiple devices, there are a number of ways to view a website—snapped to one side of a screen, or viewed on a mobile browser versus on an app.
Developers need to be aware of how their site responds to being viewed on a variety of screen sizes—what elements they can afford to lose, and which ones need to be transformed.
Responsive web design has never been more important, nor more complicated, but it is an essential element of 2020 web and mobile marketing.
Animation
Keeping in mind the importance of website loading time, the new trend in motion design will be the implementation of GIFs over videos.
Motion in web design is a great way to keep the interest of visitors, which is why videos were supposed to be the next big thing.
But animation is taking the place of video—animated GIFs are easier to implement and have very little impact on page speed.
Animations can be used to demonstrate product usage, provide how-to guides, and to illuminate points on a chart or graph—you can use a line graph template to create attractive graphs.
Keep your animated elements to a minimum—too many animations will be distracting or disorienting.
Interactive Web Design
Speaking of animation, there are a number of smaller animations that can be added to a website to boost interactivity.
As exciting as animations are, what they lack is interactivity—giving visitors something to do on the website that will provoke a reaction from them.
Mouse-over effects and directional buttons are simple interactive elements to liven up your website.
However, in 2020, we will see more 3D elements and immersive interactivity—akin to gameplay.
This is a tough ask on developers and the website builders they use, but it may be the boost your site needs in terms of conversions.
AI
Artificial intelligence—AI—has a significant role to play in web design in the future. In some ways, AI is already being implemented in web design.
Almost every brand website has deployed a chatbot—little messenger windows that appear on the side of a webpage as you enter a site.
These AI-powered chatbots are making a massive difference to the duration of a user’s visit to a brand website.
But AI-powered chatbots that are supplemented with machine-learning technology are also revolutionizing customer service.
Which is why chatbots will be an essential part of web design in 2020.
Beyond chatbots, AI will also be used to create tailored landing pages for visitors for a truly immersive and personalized experience for the user.
2020 is the year that AI is going to have a bigger hand to play in web design and developers need to be ready for it.
Summing It All Up
Web design in 2020 is going to change—in significant ways in some areas, and less so in others. Designers need to be cognizant of the coming changes so they can adapt accordingly and create websites that positively impact the company’s bottom line.
About the Author
Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, a free infographic maker and design platform. She enjoys writing about digital marketing, sharing productivity tips, examining pop culture, and championing the need for representation. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.
