5 Design Trends Your Competitors Are Using in 2018
Happy New Year! With every new year we hear how people are ready for a change– ready to make themselves over and start doing things that will benefit them more and get them the results they want to see. This is a good ritual to go through, and it can even apply to your website.
Much like the fashion clothing on the runways in Milan and Paris do not ever make it to the local mall, some of these web design trends might be a bit too “out there” for your website. But to follow the analogy, these ideas lend a great deal to what we do see on the websites we visit, and we can glean some great ideas from those trailblazers to add some freshness to our sites and put us ahead of the competition.
WPMUDEV.org did a great article on WordPress Design Trends for 2018, and I wanted to highlight some of those trends that could help put you in front of your competition this year.
1. Bold Color Palettes
Color affects customers’ choices. This Kissmetrics infographic shows the impact your color palette can have on your web site visitors. No matter how “out there” you want to be, even the boldest, most adventurous color patterns follow rules. There is a rhyme and reason to the wild combinations, and done right, they can get you noticed and set you apart from the rest.
Some examples:
Cyclemon
Wicked Palate
2. Hand-Drawn Graphics
Those of us who have been around remember this trend the first time it came around. Hand-drawn type and graphics are another way to set your site apart from what your visitors are used to seeing. It disrupts the constant bombardment of form and stuffy-ness with some fun.
Some examples:
Marie Catribs
Jarritos
3. Subtle Animation
With Flash being dead and CSS taking the animation crown, it is not likely we’ll see the end of animation on websites any time soon. People want to see movement. But as WPMUDev.org points out, we are seeing a more subtle approach to animation. We have already seen what it can do for its own sake; now we want our animation to serve us and be useful.
Some examples:
Optimo Hats
Bar Camp Omaha
4. Sticky Elements
One could call this next trend an answer to the pop-up ad push back. As people run away from, or even ignore, pop-up ads, marketers have turned to designers to give them another way to catch the visitor’s eye, without being so intrusive. These are great ways to get conversions or leads on your site, and you should implement this trend as soon as possible, if you aren’t already.
Some examples:
Unleaded Group
WPMUDEV
5. Website Push Notifications
Website push notifications, says WPMUDEV, is like SMS notifications for your desktop. They don’t believe that it will surpass email or pop-up ads. It’s hard to tell at this point, but it if feelings ever change regarding email, pop-up notifications that can be customized may be the future.
Some Examples:
The Princeton Review
Apple Insider
Conclusion
Should you immediately implement all of these into your website? Well, like any good developer will tell you, it depends. Research will be needed to see what it is your audience is looking for and what will help them get it. And that is, after all, what we are looking for and what will bring the conversions. Are you currently using any of these techniques? Do you plan to use any of these in 2018? Let me know in the comments.