Breaking Down Website Design
There’s more to web design than logos, layouts, and typography. In 2018, we saw some interesting trends across websites, including the ever-persisting chat bots, hamburger menus, the infinite scroll, and more. But what website design trends can we expect to see this year?
Storytelling
Storytelling in website content, including page content, emails, and blogs, will triumph over visual elements this year. Traditional visual design might be successful in conveying a feeling; however, written content explains who you are, what problem you’re trying to solve, and how your product or service will do it. Jeff Bullas recommends the following for writing an engaging story:
- Personalize
- Add emotion
- Offer a scenario that solves a problem
- Think like a journalist
- Support your story with data
- Organize
- Visualize
But why should you care? DemandMetric states that:
- 80% of people appreciate learning about a company through custom content
- 82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content
- 78% of people perceive a relationship between themselves and a company using custom content
Minimalism
This is a modern classic. Minimalism has been used in website design across big-name brands for years, including Apple, Starbucks, and Audi. Even brands that are just breaking into the national marketplace are taking on the “less is more” state of mind, like the eCommerce site Madewell clothing. These sites use white space, strategic typography, color blocks, high-quality and simple graphics, and modules to portray information and influence UX.
But why will this trend continue to dominate in 2019? According to a study by EyeQuant, a design analytics organization, a simple and clean website design can lower a business’s bounce rate. Users often ditch busy, cluttered, and disorganized websites. So, it’s clear why minimalism will continue to trend. It’s a timeless aesthetic that—when it’s done well—will positively affect your business.
Thumb-Friendly Navigation
It’s time to start placing website navigation at the bottom of screens on mobile devices.
- There were 4.1 billion Internet users in the world as of December 2018 compared to 3.9 billion Internet users in mid-2018 (HostingFacts)
- Mobile traffic was responsible for 52.2% of Internet traffic in 2018 compared to 50.3% from 2017 (HostingFacts)
- Mobile eCommerce will be responsible for $2.32 trillion (about 67.2%) of e-commerce sales by 2021 (HostingFacts)
Optimizing your website for mobile browsers is more important than ever. However, Apple has tried to make mobile web browsing UX better by implementing a screen-halving function on iPhones 6–X (pictured below-left on an iPhone 7+). Mobile users might use this function to reach the navigation into a hamburger button in the top-right corner of their screen, but that’s still going to be on the “stretch” thumb zone according to Scott Hurff. Using a bottom navigation (pictured below-right on a Pixel 2) is relatively easier than double-tapping your home button to have half your screen disappear.
It’s currently pretty difficult to navigate mobile websites with phone screens half the size of rear view mirrors! The halving function and having navigations at the top of websites disrupts user flow, which makes it easier for users to hit the road and not look back. While this is an innovative gesture from Apple, websites will (maybe) start building their navigation at the bottom of mobile devices in 2019.
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