In the internet world a website is often a person’s first impression of your business as a whole. If the design is poorly designed, boring or hard to navigate, chances are you can kiss their business goodbye.

Having a bad website means you’re better off having no website at all. If the design is off-putting to visitors, expect to lose revenue.

Making sure that you have a well-designed, even beautiful,  website can be a huge factor in the upcoming business year. No boring sites allowed!

To help you create a stunning site, let us show you the key web design trends that you can implement.

Ready to find out what they are? Let’s get to it!

1. Flat Design

Starter Website Care Plan

An example of flat design in our product images.

Gone are the days of an image-heavy site that take minutes to load. Minutes may seem like a short time to you… but 53% of users will leave after just 3 seconds!

To make sure that your site will load fast our flat design focuses more on minimalism. That means your website shouldn’t be cluttered with needless elements. Forgo the hi-resolution images that load slow. Instead bring in pops of vivid color with clean edges.

The word “flat” in the name does NOT mean it is boring!  Its’ usability is what makes it a winner. Your visitors will be able to navigate your site with no problems.

There’s lots of negative space which is a refreshing take on your average design. Users won’t have sensory-overload when they visit. This will make them want to stay longer.

Not having a lot of pictures will increase the loading time and ultimately help you rank better in search results. It’s suited for both the desktop and the mobile user, which will be vital in 2018.

2. Bold Typography

Since web design trends are leaning more towards a cleaner appearance, you can express your brand’s creativity through the use of typography. Images may no longer be at the forefront of web pages. But your typography – the “fonts” – can make a visual impact.

They can portray to users a certain feeling or emotion related to your brand. Are you modern, maybe edgy? Go with a sleek font like sans serif.

Or, if you define your business as classy, choose a script font. That gives off a sense of elegance. But it must also be readable.

Whichever one you decide, know that it should reflect what your business is all about. There are about 500,000 commercial fonts, or, you can create your own!

When you work with a web designer, they can help you create your own special font. This will make you more memorable in the eyes of your visitors. And who knows, it may even become iconic like the F for Facebook.

Pairing bold typography along with the flat design gives it contrast. They play off of one another making for a visually-pleasing website.

3. Bright Colors

Bright Colors of a Slinky

Color Palette #651 Image from colorpalettes.net.

One of the most vibrant web design trends is the use of bold, vivid color. Instead of the same old muted color palette, inject some life into your site with bright tones.

Gradients are soon to be seen everywhere. It’s a great way to add more than one color without being overwhelming.

They create a two-tone effect for maximum impact. When these colors are at the forefront of your design, it’ll be hard to ignore.

But one must avoid going overboard! Stick with at least two or three colors that complement one another.

A homepage with simple fonts and vibrant colors will catch the attention of your visitors.

Your web page can help you or hurt you. Keep it simple. Pick colors that contrast with one another.

4. Animation

No, we aren’t talking about cartoon characters, lol. “Animation” refers to making elements on a webpage move. Instead of having stationary text, you would see the letters fly into place.

It adds a sense of fun and turns a boring webpage into one that’s exciting. It gives a website a little something extra, setting it apart from the rest.

You can make it interactive by changing the mouse cursor into something fun like a rocket ship or product design. Too complicated? Video backgrounds work just as well.

During the next year video will become more popular. So, having a background that plays a video is a good way to add movement.

It makes visitors want to stay longer to watch the video play through. But make it fun, exciting and short! You don’t want to bore them with useless information as if they were in school.

Included with animation will be the use of scroll triggered animations. This means that when a user scrolls down the webpage, the text or element will come alive.

Integrating this into your design will create a more immersive experience. Users will be hooked on all the movement and will have no choice but to keep scrolling.

Need an example? Our website showcases the scroll triggered feature.

5. Illustrations and Graphic Design

While the flat design helps with site speed, there’s a lot left to be desired. Instead of decorating your website with images, replace them with quirky illustrations.

This may not fit everyone’s aesthetic but they don’t have to be flashy. They can be as simple as an outline, called line art.

They’re great to use in place of a traditional navigation menu. Or you can use them to jazz up regular social media icons. Whichever way they are used in your design, they make your website appear more interesting.

As for the sketch art graphic designs, they add a sense of fun. These work well on service pages, as you can have an image to go along with what your company provides.

Wrap-up:  Top Web Design Trends for 2018

2018 has arrived and now is the time to get your website tuned-up for the business year.

Are you ready to generate more business awareness? Contact us today!

If you are looking for more to read, check out our article on 5 Social Media Trends You Should Know About.

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