2020 was a rough year for most of us. The lockdown and self-isolation measures that helped us control the COVID-19 pandemic also damaged many businesses and brought new challenges to all areas of life. People’s consumption, movement, and communication habits changed dramatically, and as a result, the world of web design also went through significant changes.
But savvy designers and business owners are always on the lookout for new opportunities regardless of the situation. Want to make your website also competitive and stand out? Then get in on the latest web design and development trends. This article introduces you to the most important ones in 2021. Let’s dive in.
1. Organic Web Design
The organic web page design has become a hot trend in 2020. It’s a style inspired by elements from nature. Why has it become so popular? Because we live in a world where environmentalism and sustainability have become major issues. These topics have become even more widely discussed because of the pandemic.
And they’ve been a primary influence on organic design. It uses earthy textures and warm neutral color palettes that replicate the color combinations found in nature. You can combine greens, faded pinks, beige, and soft browns with occasional brighter colors to make your call-to-action pop. This style is only gathering momentum so you can get in on the trend before your competitors do.
2. Making the Web Design Accessible to Everyone
Website functionality is the primary focus of all modern web designs. But it doesn’t involve only mobile-friendliness and loading speed. In 2021 your pages should be easily accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities. This kind of inclusive user-friendliness is beneficial for your brand image, audience reach, SEO, and overall revenue. So check out these five ways to up your website’s accessibility:
- Keep the copy simple and jargon-free. Remember that the best copywriting should be understood by even a six-year-old.
- Avoid placeholder text. Use forms with text instructions instead.
- Make keyboard navigation simpler by adding outlines around links. These outlines appear when someone navigates to the web link.
- Keep the text and background in strongly contrasting colors to simplify reading.
- Make the buttons and typography large so that they would be easier to read.
3. Anti-Design (for the Brave Ones)
If you want to stand out, you can try something a little bit bizarre: the anti-design. This trend is about breaking the rules and going against users’ expectations. Influenced by pop culture and social media, the anti-design uses ugly features to make a statement against conventional design standards. Some people call the style hideous, while others praise its raw nature. You can’t find many web design courses teaching this trend; it’s all about experimenting and creating calculated chaos from distortion, exaggeration, asymmetrical layouts, etc. But remember: even with the anti-design, it’s still paramount to keep the user experience functional and user-friendly.
4. Collage – a Surefire Way to Stand Out
Collage first took over social media last year. And now it’s found its way to web design. This style mixes text, motion, graphics, illustrations, etc., to assemble an attractive aesthetic. It uses large decorative fonts and even animation to create some of the most original-looking web pages on the internet. And the best part is that web design software like Photo Joiner or Ribbere makes collage-creating simple for even beginners. It means that small-business owners with minimal design budgets can also create eye-catching collages to add some creativity to their website.
5. Embracing the Dark Mode
For years, if you wanted to create space for a webpage, using a white background was believed to be the single right way to do it. But in 2020, it all went black with the Dark Mode trend that’s still growing. You can spot it on web pages of smaller brands, like Book of Ra online casino with games like Sizzling Hot.
Or on sites for some of the biggest names in the business (Apple, Instagram). The style looks elegant and modern, and get this: it also saves battery time on our devices. What’s more, the dark mode is easier on the viewer’s eyes. But if you feel like you’re not yet ready for this sleek, slick style, you can also provide a dark mode toggle on your page and let users customize their view.
Conclusion
The bottom line is this: design (including web design) shapes the world around us. And designers can make a positive impact with their creation during difficult times. If you’re a web designer, following the latest trends from this article enables you to make your creation more accessible for everyone, stand out, and correspond to the changing world around us. Plus, a web design salary is pretty decent these days. Implementing the latest trends helps both the web pages and web designers stay competitive. What could be better?
What are your go-to sources for web design inspiration? Share your favorite pages in the comments section.