The web design trends every year promise to lead us into the science and technology of our dreams. The predictions we received from our worldwide community of web designers for 2021, on the other hand, indicate the opposite.
Web design trends for 2021 seem to share a similar theme: instead of striving for hi-tech fantasy, web designers appear to be going for higher heights of realism.
They are merging the digital with the ordinary in unprecedented ways, showing how much of a part of everyday life websites have become. Website design trends also follow the lead of advancing technology.
While fresh and creative design elements and website features may have been the rage in the past, they may have become tired, overly used, and boring by the present. The last thing you want is for people to leave your site because it looks outdated or fails to adhere to key web standards for usability.
Check out the 15 key website design trends for 2021 to be inspired and stay ahead of the curve and enhance customer engagement.
1. Retro Fonts
Many old trends have become popular again, to then only become much more ‘uncool’. Take, for example, handlebar moustaches and mum jeans. Irony has a limited shelf life. The popularity of retro fonts has ebbed and flowed in the same manner, and many designs that use vintage lettering haven’t aged well.
In contrast, retro typography on websites is seeing a surge in popularity. We’re not seeing the same old dull fonts. Styling and a dash of imagination, on the other hand, are redefining what antique fonts can be.
2. Parallax Scrolling Animations
Website designers have been using parallax scroll effects for years, and we expect to see even more nuanced and innovative explorations of what can be done with parallax in 2021. When objects near to the observer seem to move faster than those farther away, the optical illusion of parallax develops.
Although we see this in daily life, such as when driving and gazing at the landscape, the effect on internet sites seems to be equal parts authentic and unreal. Because of the depth produced by merging foreground and backdrop, the computer screen is transformed into something more like a theatrical stage, which enhances the whole experience.
As if by magic, users are drawn into the web page’s captivating performance as they explore it. After all, isn’t the internet meant to be a wonderful place where you can find whatever you want?
3. Neumorphism
Neumorphism has gained in popularity over the last year, and it is expected to lead us into the paradoxical era of minimalist reality in 2021, according to predictions. As a descendant of skeuomorphism (a design technique that integrates pictures of recognisable, old materials into current designs), the style was popular on app icons all around the globe in the early 2010s.
This technique was mostly superseded by flat design, which simplified symbols and colours in a less realistic but more uniform and readily recognised manner. Neumorphism is a hybrid of the two forms, with patterns that mimic physicality via the use of chosen drop shadows coated in semi-flat colours.
One of the most often used comparisons is with digital embossing or debossing. Because it enables designers to restore the tactile sensation that had been lost during the flat design period, the user’s connection with the design with which they are interacting is increased significantly.
This stylised realism will be found on buttons, search bars, and text boxes throughout 2021’s web designs.
4. Compositions of Abstract Art
It is possible that abstract forms, particularly those made out of a geometric base such as squares and circles, would seem minimalist, and limiting to the observer.
In 2021, however, web designers are incorporating them into large, broad designs that exude freedom.
These abstract art compositions are replacing stock images and figure representations in the majority of cases. They may include human images, but they can also evoke emotion without them.
Their bursting, Pollock-Esque compositions are energising, and their vibrant colours are infectious. As a consequence, even in the absence of distinguishable human faces, internet sites seem expressive and alive.
5. Relaxing Colors
Most workers spend the bulk of their time on computers these days, owing to the increasingly digital nature of today’s working environment. As a consequence, people who spend extended amounts of time looking at screens are more likely to suffer eye strain than others.
This has been taken into consideration by web designers when developing colour schemes that are easier for the eyes to read. In 2021, web designers will go beyond the two extremes of dark and light to create more complex designs. Soft colour palettes such as healthy greens, pastel blues, warm browns, and light pinks are providing a happy medium.
Not only do they make website colours less striking than pure black or pure white, but they also offer a natural soothing and relaxing impact. Overall, this trend indicates that future web designers are becoming even more concerned with usability and comfort than stunning innovation.
6. Cause-related Web Design
With the COVID-19 outbreak and accompanying stay-at-home orders, the internet has turned into a haven. In addition to being a standard for social gatherings and entertainment, virtual conferences have become an Internet business for many bricks and mortar companies.
And web designers stepped up to the plate, creating important and engaging designs. In the year 2021, web designers will continue to recognise the importance of their contribution to assisting the globe through difficult times.
This means that companies will design their websites to emphasise their unique selling points, such as environmental efforts or community involvement.
It involves businesses using stock images of real, diverse consumers. It includes increasing the use of interactive techniques such as visualisations and simulations to raise awareness about social problems in digital settings.
In addition, it shows an increase in tools and techniques for DIY web design that make the development of websites more accessible to everyone.
7. Scrolling Transformations
Users who scroll do more than simply browse the page: they engage. The digital world is growing and becoming more interactive, allowing the use of visualisations and simulations to educate the public about their product or services.
When customers scroll down the website, they are doing more than simply browsing: they are engaging.
In the real world, individuals undertake actions like swiping their fingers over the mouse, which in turn generates a reaction on the computer screen. The term ‘interaction’ refers to how deeply people are engaged with an activity. Those who are deeply immersed are more inclined to be intrigued and fascinated.
8. Intriguing Questionnaires
The onboarding process—the time a visitor spends seeing a landing page—is arguably the most crucial step of a user’s journey. They are on the verge of deciding between interest and apathy, and the calibre of his knowledge here will decisively sway them one way or the other.
To encourage more active engagement, a lot of businesses are using quizzes to supplant the traditional practice of letting customers research products on their own.
These quizzes provide consumers customised multiple-choice questions about their preferences and dislikes, allowing them to gently adapt products to them. This means landing pages that resemble a collection of cards with dynamic transitions between them rather than standard web pages.
They are also more intriguing than conventional survey boxes since they are often seen on the headers of landing pages. Given how effectively these get-to-know-you quizzes make potential customers feel as if they are already members of the service before signing up, we predict that onboarding questions will become a regular component of website design in 2021.
9. Colours in Three Dimensions
Gradients have been all the rage in web design for some time now, and this year’s trend seems to be the next step up with the introduction of more realistic colour transitions. In line with Apple’s Big Sur OS, you may expect three-dimensional colours, as if you were picking fruit off the screen.
This look is created via delicate shading, which gives the flat symbols of yesteryear a more rounded appearance. While we anticipate seeing it most on app icons, site designers are increasingly foregoing seamless gradient transitions in favour of background mixed colours that seem more imperfect and realistic.
When two colours are put close to one other, they may smear together rapidly or retain the shadows and depth of painted objects. It seems that the favoured web design colours of 2021 will be those that better resemble reality.
10. Experiences using Augmented Reality (AR)
Today, augmented reality involves more than simply looking for Pokémon on your iPhone or Android smartphone. New technologies, like the WebXR API and Wayfair Technologies’ software, have made this world available to almost everyone. Panedia’s virtual reality simulation for high-risk pilots has been designed as a 360-degree virtual reality simulation website that employs augmented reality.
Customers who dislike having to visit auto showrooms, or who cannot physically attend a showroom due to covid restrictions, would like this pleasant and stress-free experience. More retail and eCommerce websites are using augmented reality to assist advertise their products and empower prospective consumers throughout the buying process.
11. Minimalism and Maximalism
The year 2021 will be defined by a tangle of extremes. Minimalism and maximalism have each had their time in the limelight, but it seems that they will be sharing it this year. Minimalist web design is based on simplicity, with no unnecessary design elements.
The less-is-more approach, on the other hand, may nevertheless affect viewers. When these ideas are implemented correctly to the design of your website, they may provide attractive results that are backed up by a straightforward user experience.
The design of a maximalist website is on a different level. After a period of brutalist websites – a style that’s known for being rebellious and unsophisticated – these discarded feelings are taking shape in a much tamer way. Maximalist website design will emphasise a no-holds-barred approach that prioritises creative expression above order in 2021.
12. Vector Artwork
Including one-of-a-kind pictures on your website is a wonderful approach to make it more personal. Including visual images should not mean sacrificing quality or loading speed, yet this is sometimes a tough reality in site design. Vector art offers a practical solution to this issue.
The SVG format of the files enables users to resize the pictures to their specifications while maintaining the original visuals’ quality. To make your website shine, use some distinctive images.
13. Colors in black and pastels
It’s little wonder that, by 2021, we’ll see more website designs that try to provide a soothing appearance. Pastel website colour schemes are one way we’ll see this trend manifest itself.
The pastel colour family has numerous colour variations, so you’ll have no trouble designing pleasant colour schemes that are unique to your site.
In 2021, some websites will go a different route, adding dark colour palettes into the mix. Dark websites are often perceived to have a clean, classic look. In the year 2021, appearances aren’t everything. Furthermore, black colour schemes, similar to pastels, are easy for the eyes to look at.
14. Accessibility
Making your website as accessible as possible is the practice of allowing as many people as possible to utilise it. Designing a website that people with disabilities can use is more than just a fad; it is an indicator of excellent customer service.
Nearly 1 billion people worldwide depend on accessibility features to utilise the internet; website designers are concentrating on this element of user experience more than ever before. Visual elements like strong contrasting colours, larger font, and clean-cut artwork will make it simpler to navigate your website.
Adding alt text to your pictures, on the other hand, will provide vital information to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Being inclusive also helps to enhance the design approach of a website.
For example, if image alt-text descriptions do not provide value to the context of the website, it may be an indication that the image itself does not fit. This kind of image re-evaluation may assist to emphasise the page’s content while also improving overall usability.
15. Gallery Hover Menu
Many designers have expanded on the collage art trend by building surrealist-style websites. The arrangement of components on unexpected, strange backgrounds distinguishes this style.
Take Posse, for example, a popular summer label. The company is proud of its “less is more” attitude, which applies to both the toned-down look of the items and the label’s dedication to slow fashion. Shoppers may then see each item differently. Suddenly, the look and feel of each unique clothing, as well as its fashionable attitude, take on a new dimension.
Surrealism in web design also contains ornate colours and textures that highlight the creator’s unique, imaginative ideas. Over time, a growing number of e-commerce businesses are taking advantage of this trend to sell their products in a distinctive, emotional way.
Wrap Up
Finally, the top 2021 web design trends resemble real design we would see in daily life rather than design from a sci-fi film. In the end, it only goes to demonstrate how ubiquitous websites have become in our lives and how the designers of 2021 are bringing them down to earth.
Cultural shifts occurring all around the world have a major impact on design trends in Australia. This year has witnessed tremendous progress in the area of digital design.
COVID-19 has isolated us, forcing us to enter the digital world and changing our way of life. Because of the remote, stay-at-home lifestyle, designers have been compelled to recreate real-life events and make them accessible online.
Whatever your company, you should follow the golden rules of website design: make it simple to use, visually pleasing, and contain all essential information to communicate your brand, your story and your unique offering. Above all, bear in mind that the process of designing your website should be inspiring.
If you’re interested in a modern website design that is both functional and easy on the eyes, give us a call. As a web design agency with more than a decade of industry experience under our belt, we know what web design trends work best for your brand.
