Each year the good folk at Opus Creative put our collective heads together and decide what elements of web design work best from an SEO, aesthetic and functionality point of view. In this article we cover our forecasted Eight Web Design Trends 2016 and how they can benefit your website.
8. Sliders Will Survive
At Opus Creative we have always had a love/hate relationship with sliders and carousels. From a client point of view sliders are pretty much always in vogue. They look great and allow you to fit more content into a homepage. However, from a development point of view, sliders are a nightmare. They are bad for SEO, they make content invisible and have a bad effect on webpage loading times. Despite the plus and negative aspects of sliders, we don’t see them going anywhere in 2016.
7. Custom Homepages
Custom homepages are fantastic for evoking and maintaining the interest of the casual web browser. Not only does a custom homepage help with SEO, it also allows you to bring information to the font page to encourage viewers to further delve into your website. Custom webpages are usually more visually active than the subsequent pages and allow for easy navigation to selling points on your website.
6. More Typography Choices
The days of using just a handful of specific web fonts are long gone with the introduction of web friendly fonts on the increase. Using custom fonts can distinguish your website from a competitor by creating a unique font influenced user-experience. Thanks to CSS magic, typography can fully utilise transitions, animations, etc to further add to your website aesthetic.
5. Parallax Scrolling
Parallax scrolling allows you to create dynamic websites using images and video to create the illusion of a three dimensional website. When used correctly Parallax scrolling can help your website tell a story through large scale imagery. This ability can help your website create a unique look that can set you apart from your competitors. Did we mention it also looks cool!
4. Web Pages Growing in Size
Over the last five years websites have been growing in size. With improved technology and broadband speeds this growth trend is going to continue. This means website images, videos, etc are only going to increase inequality offering a more pleasant visual experience for the viewer.
Source: HTTP Archive
3. Single Page Websites
In 2015 Single page websites exploded in popularity. Single page websites are ideal for small businesses and apps who are short on content, but want to tell a story all on the one page. Anchor point scrolling and solid CMS technologies such as WordPress allow for a fantastic user experience on desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
2. Simplified Website Navigation
Simplified website navigation has recently gone mainstream with such brands as Time Magazine incorporating the three horizontal styled navigational button in their websites. This navigation option allows websites to hold more information in it menu, thus having more links. This feature can be animated and styled in numerous ways to give your website a unique user experience.
1. Mobile First Web Design
In Ireland over 25% of all internet users solely use their mobile devices to surf the web. This number is growing by the year and in some countries such as the USA the number of mobile users (51%) compared to desktop users (42%) highlights the importance of mobile devices. Mobile first webs design basically puts the onus on mobile web design as opposed to the sole focus being on desktops. Responsive design is going to explode in 2016 and as such we recommend to all our clients to treat your mobile website as importantly as the desktop version.
Source: StatCounter
Bonus Tip – Non-Responsive Web Design Will Die
Non-Responsive web design belongs in the dark ages of the internet. It is the equivalent of using a hose drawn wagon as opposed to a car. While this practice is not dead yet, we strongly recommend to everyone that they have a responsive website at a basic standard.
For any more information regarding our article entitled Eight Web Design Trends 2016 or to avail of our services please call Opus Creative on +353 (21) 242 8689 or email us on hello@opuscreative.ie
