Website design trends are constantly changing. What made your site cool a few years ago is now the reason it looks outdated.
Of course, you can design your website however you like. Your site should reflect your unique personality and you shouldn’t include a design element just because it’s trendy. However, if you’re building a new website (or revitalizing an old one) it’s worth looking at what other designers are doing for a little inspiration.
So, what are the hottest website design trends heading into 2023? We’ve put together a list of 11 elements that have grown in popularity in recent years. Maybe one or more of these trends are just what you need to push your design over the top.
Here are what we feel are the top website design trends:
Full-page hero images
Typographic hero images
Minimalism and white space
Oversized typography
Serif fonts
Symmetrical grid layouts
Gradient color backgrounds
Illustrations
Muted colors
Gender-neutral designs
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Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these trends to learn why brands are gravitating toward them.
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Full-page hero images
A growing number of websites are using the entire screen to convey their message. This has led to full-page hero images that greet visitors when they arrive.
These larger high-resolution images are great for engaging your visitors and telling your story. Remember, images have just as big an impact on conversions as copy, so choose your hero image wisely.
It’s also important to consider how your image will appear on different devices. Make sure important aspects of your hero image aren’t cropped out when viewing it on a mobile device.
Typographic hero images
Speaking of hero images, you don’t necessarily need one. One website design trend over the last few years has been to utilize hero sections that don’t have any photographs or illustrations.
While powerful imagery can grab your visitors’ attention, it also distracts from your message. Removing imagery puts the emphasis on your content and the overall design of your website.
If that’s what you’d like visitors to focus on then this might be the right approach for your site.
Minimalism and white space
If there’s one thing that can really hinder your website design it’s too much clutter. So it’s no surprise that many sites have adopted a more minimalist approach.
Minimalist website designs strive to remove all unnecessary elements and only focus on the most essential content. They also emphasize white space, which gives sites an ultra-clean look.
The benefits of a minimalist website design include improved user experience and faster page load speeds.
Oversized typography
Another website design trend we’re seeing more of is oversized typography. As text becomes bigger it starts to become a graphical element. This is great for more minimalist designs that don’t utilize a lot of imagery.
It also adds more weight and power to your message. If you have a strong header that you want to draw attention to, don’t be afraid to blow it up and make it the focus of your hero section.
Serif Fonts
For many years web designers avoided serif fonts. These “fancier” fonts were seen as being less legible, especially on digital devices.
However, improved screen resolution and better online support for these fonts have led to serif fonts having a huge comeback. More designers are adopting fonts like Georgia, Garamond, and Didot to add a little flair to their websites.
If you’re still worried about readability, experiment with using serif fonts in your header while sticking with sans serif fonts for your body text.
Symmetrical grid layouts
Asymmetrical website designs were all the rage for a while, but symmetrical designs that utilize a grid layout have become more popular in recent years.
So why is this? Well, besides presenting a more organized look, it also improves usability.
With asymmetrical designs, users often have to scroll more to find what they’re looking for, as certain elements might be in unexpected places. However, grid layouts are very predictable and often use space more efficiently. This means less scrolling and a better user experience.
Gradient Color Backgrounds
Depending on your brand or message, you might want to add a little flair to your site. If this is the case, gradient backgrounds are an excellent choice.
Not only are they eye-catching, but they also add more depth to your design and can even be used to simulate movement. When paired with powerful copy, this is an excellent way to grab your visitor’s attention and keep them focused on your page.
Illustrations
While real-life photographs work well in most instances, they’re not always the best at conveying more complex ideas. If you’re having trouble finding an image that encapsulates your message, consider using an illustration.
Just like real-life imagery, there are plenty of stock illustrations available online. Or if you’re looking for something more personalized you can always hire an artist. The rise of the gig economy means there are plenty of freelance artists for hire, even if you’re on a budget.
You can use illustrations for hero images, background images, infographics, and more.
Muted Colors
Bright colors are definitely eye-catching—but they can also be distracting and make it hard to look at the page for an extended period of time.
That’s why a recent website design trend has been muted color schemes. These are softer colors that are dulled or greyed out.
When done right this approach can give your site a more minimalist and elegant look.
Gender-neutral design
Gender norms are being broken down in many areas of our lives, and web design is one of them.
In the past, you might have seen a skincare website utilize a more feminine color scheme, while a blog about cars would use traditionally masculine colors. But as we’ve come to realize, men can be interested in skincare just like women can want to read about cars.
As a result, more and more sites aren’t letting their content dictate the color, design, or imagery used on their website.
No-code website builders
All this talk about website design trends is great—but what if you have no experience with coding or web design?
Luckily, the rise of no-code drag-and-drop website builders means virtually anyone can build a functional and attractive website.
For example, Leadpages offers over 250 landing page and website templates that are optimized for conversions and follow web design best practices (in fact, all the examples of current website design trends in this article were taken from Leadpages templates). Once you choose a template, you can use the Drag & Drop Builder to edit text, upload images and videos, change colors, and publish.
More and more businesses are using these tools for some or all of their web design. Not only does it speed up the process, but it allows more team members to get involved in the design process. It’s also a great solution for solopreneurs who aren’t familiar with coding and don’t have the budget to hire an expensive developer.
Which website design trends are right for your brand?
There’s no way to include all of these trends on your website (and even if you could we wouldn’t recommend it). So, how do you choose the right design elements for your website?
Here are a few tips:
Choose trends that suit your personal style. Part of building a brand is helping your customers get to know you. So your website design should embody your personality. Plus, you’ll have to look at your website a lot—you might as well like it.
Design your site for your audience. Determine who your ideal customer is and build your site with them in mind. What elements will catch their attention? What types of design might cause them to click away? Ask yourself these questions as you’re choosing a direction for your website design.
Take your industry into account. Certain website design trends are more suited for some industries than others. For example, a minimalist design is perfect for a decluttering business, but a web designer might want to choose a more elaborate design that showcases their skills.
In the end, you need to choose a design that’s right for you. And remember if after a year or two you change your mind you can always switch to something else (if you’re using a drag-and-drop builder it might be as easy as simply choosing a different template).
Design your website today
Want to try some of these website design trends out for yourself? With Leadpages, changing the look of your site is as easy as choosing a template, dragging and dropping elements into place, and clicking publish.
Try Leadpages free for 14 days and discover how you can create beautiful websites and landing pages (even if you don’t know anything about coding or web design).
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