Keeping up with current website trends is one of the most important tasks for ambitious business owners. What appeared fresh and modern on a website last year might appear dated and old now to the casual visitor. There are literally thousands of websites on any given topic or item available on the web. When someone reaches a site that looks outdated, is difficult to navigate, or isn’t optimized to look and function well across all devices, it’s just too easy to go to the next site.
With online competition so fierce, failing to keep your website current with the latest trends and innovations will only give your visitors an excuse to leave. That’s the opposite of what you want. Your goal is to offer a web presence that looks amazing on any device, offers content with real value, protects your visitors and their information, and has that wow factor to help you stand out among your competition.
Since you’re here at Creative Bytes Design, you’re already on the right path to covering the latest trends in web design for 2017. Here are our top 7.
New Attitude Compositions
Until very recently, website layouts have been static, symmetrical, and closed. In 2016, many designers started to drift away from that tired standard to create dynamic sites with loosely suspended elements. While these compositions are almost chaotic in appearance, they\’re designed for easy navigation and have been steadily gaining popularity. Not only does the unexpected collection of overlapping, moving, or suspended images really grab the visitor’s attention, it gives the impression that they are still “there” just beyond the edge of the screen.
Big Bold Typography
There are more and more sites in 2017 using big, bold typefaces. Up until the last couple of years, websites predominantly used simple neo-grotesque font styles, like Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Roboto. Now there are more contrasts and combinations – like serif fonts used with the non-serif ones. When used with simple, minimalist pages, this trend really shines.
Brilliant Color
Brilliant, beautiful colors are surfacing now on so many websites with eye-catching results. Some designers are using stacked layers of color to add depth and make simple layouts really pop. Others are using colorful gradients to infuse more personality and style into their sites.
Cinemagraphs
Cinemagraphs are live photos, a mix of static image and video, looped infinitely and seamlessly in the background on websites. In the last couple of years, they have quietly arrived at the scene to add movement and visual appeal to otherwise static pages.
Geometric Patterns, Shapes, and Typefaces
While it’s true that you haven’t used most of the math you had to learn in school in your adult life, you have to admit that geometry has shown up and in some pretty neat ways. Geometric patterns and shapes are gracing more websites today, lending pizzazz to otherwise flat designs. Sans serif geometric typefaces are also being used more often. From patterned letters to shapes around images, this is one trend that can help designers take their work to the next level.
Asymmetry
2017 is the year websites broke free from the rule of symmetry with some pretty amazing results. Slight overlaps of text on images has become a very popular way to make blogs, galleries, and portfolios stand out. Designers are also using asymmetric layouts, where elements aren’t perfectly balanced as they have been in the past, to create sites people remember.
Duotone
Duotone designs are not merely pared-down, two-tone color schemes. They are designs with beautiful, bold, oversaturated hues that are almost fluorescent and they add real style and atmosphere to today’s websites. When done well, duotone sites have a cool, contemporary appeal that makes them stand out from their peers.
Could any of these trends be the perfect solution for your site? If you’re ready for a dynamic, new website style, we can help. Contact us today and we’ll help you craft a site that will invigorate your online presence and wow your audience.
