6 Web Design Trends To Follow In 2021
The digital realm is continuously changing with web design adapting to new technologies and user behaviours. This year’s web designing is not just goal-oriented but includes trends that enhance user experience as well as improve accessibility.
White Space
When displaying two content elements together, the user may see them as one element. With that, they can miss important information or information they are looking for. Users can get lost easily when the page is crowded with many elements. Using white spaces in-between elements can help information to stand out and help users to find important information.
Parallax Scroll Animations
Parallax scroll has been a website trend for many years, in 2021 we will see more subtle and creative uses of the effect. Designers need to use the effect to a minimum to avoid disorientation/distracting the user from important information, thus making it harder for the user to complete an important task.
Dark Mode
Already a massive in 2020, dark mode continues into 2021. Dark mode has many benefits such as:
Allows content to pop
Easier on the eyes in low light environment
Reduces eye strain
Save smartphone battery power
Dark mode is not only being implemented in mobile apps but it’s also coming across in website layouts. Some sites now offer an option to switch between dark and light.
Website Load Time And Page Speed
Website loading speed is nothing new in website however this year sees Google doubling down on page loading speed. Google has introduced Core Web Vitals in its upcoming Core Algorithm Update. The Core Web Vitals are a list of metrics to help businesses, marketers, and developers improve user page experience. It will be added to a list of ranking factors which Google calls ‘page experience metrics’. It assesses a website’s:
Mobile-friendliness
Secure website
Page loading
A slow un-secure website will rank your website lower in terms of rankings on the search engine.
Accessibility And Availability
Websites that are designed and coded appropriately can be used more efficiently by people with disabilities. As designs start to become more dynamic and more visual, individuals with disabilities such as impaired vision can find navigating these websites difficult. A new WCGAG 2.2 release impacts website accessibility in 2021. W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has brought these updates to help add support for website users with cognitive and learning disabilities.
Micro Interactions & Animations
Micro Interactions are miniature design elements that can assist the user experience. Here are a few benefits of using micro-interactions:
Make it easier for users to interact with your website
Able to communicate information about certain elements
Provide immediate feedback
Micro-Interactions can be applied to Call to Actions as they can be used to nudge a user to interact with an application or website.
There are 4 components of Micro-interactions:
Triggers – What causes the micro-interaction
Rules – Define micro-interactions’ reactions or what’s supposed to happen
Feedback – Notifies the user what is happening
Loops and Modes – Define how micro-interaction reacts when it’s being used repetitively