Top Five Hottest Web Design Trends in 2020

As we look forward to the holiday break and finally putting 2020 in the rear view mirror, Algo Mas Web Developer Chris Taylor shares the top five web design trends that have excited and inspired him most this year. And here’s to more contemporary website design that is engaging, simple and stylish in 2021.

Web Design Trend #1: Minimalism

Applying minimalist design principles to a new website is not necessarily a new trend in 2020 but we are definitely seeing it being used a lot more.

This trend celebrates the beautiful simplicity of design. It is all about having less clutter on a webpage and giving your visitors a better experience by reducing the amount of time they have to spend looking for the content they want. Minimalism is also defined by the use of negative space as well as clear typography and bold contrasts to ensure the content stands out.

Minimalism is quickly becoming the ‘go to’ choice for the aesthetics of a website’s design and will remain a timeless web design trend for years to come.

Web Design Trend #2: Natural Shapes

In recent years, web developers and designers appear to have been stepping away from a structured grid approach. Although useful for responsive design, this style of aligning elements on a web page has been a predictable format for some time. It’s time to shake things up using natural shapes!

Web designers are now playing with gentle, flowing lines and using natural inspiration to build websites that have more of a soothing and instinctive feel to them. They mimic the imperfections and natural beauty of nature and can provide more depth to the various elements of a website.

Generally speaking, the goal is to make web designs feel alive as if they were moving as visitors scroll down a page. It’s often said that the answers to the questions society faces can be found in nature and website design is no different!

Web Design Trend #3: Large and Vivid Imagery

For web designers who think that using pure minimalist design principles create a lack of connection with visitor, the use of oversized images and photographs can add a comforting touch of familiarity without dominating the foreground.

Hero photographs and image sliders are the most prominent form of artwork in minimalist design and are characterised by dramatic image assets placed near the top of the page before visitors start to scroll down.

Using large and vivid imagery enables emotive connection and helps create an atmospheric setting while still retaining the simplistic interface of a minimal design. The success of this design approach hinges on having fantastic photographs that embody authenticity and bring your brand’s personality to life. Investing time and money in an annual photography session is totally worth it. It gives you the opportunity to draw on, and build, a bank of images you can use for a whole range of marketing purposes. 2021 is the year to say ‘no’ to the stock photo but that’s another blog post in itself for another time!

The beauty of having strong imagery also allows the website administrator to quickly and easily change the feel of the page with a simple image upload.

However, web designers and web administrators must remember the visual minimalist characteristics should be present in these images. If not, that emotional connection with the visitor can be lost. Choose a high-resolution photograph containing adequate white space over a cramped photograph full of distracting objects. Bad imagery negates any advantages of the surrounding minimalist design and you’ll be back to square one.

Web Design Trend #4: Micro-Interactions

Navigate to the top of this page and position your mouse pointer over the title of this news post. Notice the transformation to the custom cursor icon? You just experienced a micro-interaction.

The sole purpose of micro-interaction is to create visitor curiosity and gently nudge them towards an event that is interesting and inviting. They are small, enticing moments which arouse a feeling of wellbeing in the visitor when they discover them. Additionally, they are also one of the finest style techniques for:

• providing instant, delightful feedback
• improving visitor satisfaction
• increasing the amount of time visitors spend on the site

Micro-interaction gets three big ticks from us!

Micro-Interactions in 2020 are becoming more sophisticated and less ‘in your face’. One of the primary ways they are being implemented is through the scrolling action of a website. An example can be seen on our home page. Take a look: you’ll see bold shapes fluidly slide from off-screen areas into the user’s view. This micro-interaction is elegant and doesn’t distract visitors.

Web Design Trend #5: Black and White Tones

Use of colour is vital to a brand and its website. When done well, It defines the mood, sets the aura and ultimately imposes the visual experience that is felt by the website visitor.

Designing websites in black and white is a difficult undertaking and a bold and challenging move. Why? Because ultimately you are limited to only black, white and all hues in between to create a professional and attractive looking website.

Many website designers will tell you that black and white will never go out of style and that is has a soothing effect on the eyes of visitors. Whether this is true or not, one thing is certain: black and white tones within a website have definitely been popular in 2020 and we’ll see this trend continuing into 2021.

 

Take a look at some of the websites we’ve designed.