Every year the question arises: What are the new web design trends and what should a modern website look like? The answer you will get in this article will probably surprise you.
A cool and modern website should have a well thought out layout. The homepage design should be clear. The loading time (speed) and the display on the smartphone are particularly important.
Web design trends 2023
The web design trends of 2021 continue and some of them are the TOP trends for 2022 as well. The Internet is very dynamic and constantly evolving.
So it is logical that there are new functions and trends like on an assembly line. This is quite normal and you should of course keep up with the times with your website. Surely you know the saying: If you don't keep up with the times, you will keep up with the times.
But should you really follow every trend? I am of the opinion that one should not follow every trend. Neither in 2021, nor in 2022 and not in the future either. Of course, important and decisive things should be implemented. But not every trend makes sense.
Especially when you are planning a website relaunch , the following aspects are particularly exciting.
Now let's look at some of the web design trends. In addition, I will give you an assessment of which trend could be important:
Wallpapers
Background images can be a visual highlight. Thanks to modern technology and fast internet, website backgrounds are becoming more and more common. Background images can arouse emotions on hotel sites, amusement parks and in restaurants.
With websites like this, it makes perfect sense. However, this web design trend has also found its way into websites where it looks nice but isn't useful.
Because background images increase the loading time and that is a ranking factor. A background can also distract from the content.
Recommendation: I advise against this trend. Distraction and increased loading time are the reasons for this. Exceptions are websites in the hotel and catering industry.
Dark mode
Another trend that can be seen especially in software and online tools is dark mode. With a switch you can switch between the normal design and the dark mode. Dark Mode has a very dark (often black) background.
The design of your website is an important success factor. It should fit your brand, niche and CI.
Recommendation: There may be exceptions where a dark mode website makes sense. Basically, I advise you against making a website so gloomy.
Mobile first
Mobile first has something to do with Google and search engine optimization. Google analyzes your website according to the motto "mobile first". So Google now doesn't care how your website performs on desktop. What matters is how the page looks on the smartphone.
As more and more people use their smartphones to access the internet, this is a major web design trend. This started well before 2021 and is also very important after 2022.
Recommendation: Optimize your website for smartphones. Your website should have short loading times and be easy to use with a smartphone.
Minimalism
A web design trend for 2021 is definitely minimalism. Accordingly, your layout and design should be clear and simple.
The aim is for your visitor to find their way around quickly and easily. The faster he can find the information he needs, the better it is.
By the way, this does not mean that you should skimp on content, images and videos. The content of your website is the most important thing.
Recommendation: Think about which elements and things are superfluous on your website. Remove anything you don't need that might distract the visitor.
Fonts
There are so many different fonts out there these days. The selection is gigantic. This web design trend has been particularly noticeable in agencies since 2020.
Clearly, unusual fonts can trigger a WOW and look cool at first glance. However, I always ask myself the question of what advantages such a trend really brings with it?
It may look nice at first glance, but that's about it. Many fonts are difficult to read and any external font must be loaded by the browser. Illegible fonts are tiring for your visitor and cost unnecessary loading time.
Recommendation: Use standard fonts, because not every trend makes sense.
Animations
The first thing we need to clarify here is what is meant by animations. Surely you know funny GIFs or emojis that make you laugh. That's not what I mean, however, because such animations have absolutely no added value for the website visitor.
Useful animations, on the other hand, are recommended. These can be videos or GIFs in which a product is visualized or complex facts are explained and simply presented.
Recommendation: You should ask yourself whether it provides added value for the visitor. If so, then you can use animations in a targeted manner.
Core Web Vitals
Now it gets a little technical. This web design trend has been around since 2021. It was announced by Google in 2020. Strictly speaking, this is not a trend, but a Google ranking factor. In the Google Search Console you can see whether you have passed the Core-Web-Vitals exam or whether there is a need to catch up.
The aim is to improve the usability of the website and the user experience. The Core Web Vitals are divided into 3 sub-items:
- LCP – Largest Contentful Paint: Time until the largest element of the page is loaded.
- FID – First Input Delay: Time before you can interact with the website
- CLS – Cumulative Layout Shift: Layout shifts when loading the website.
Recommendation: The Core Web Vitals are an important aspect for search engine optimization that you should deal with.
Should you really follow every web design trend?
The development of the internet is getting faster and faster. For this reason, it is important to deal with trends and new opportunities. Because nothing is worse than an old, dusty website.
However, one should not blindly follow every new idea. Therefore, always consider whether the new web design trend brings an advantage for the visitor.
These web design basics are more important than trends
Should you deal with trends if you haven't yet met all the basics? I think no. After all, when building a house, the first thing to worry about is not the roof tiles and the interior design.
For this reason I see the following web design basics as the important basis. Only when these aspects fit should you deal with new trends.
Loading Time
Nobody likes to wait. Accordingly, nobody likes a slow website. The slower a website, the higher the bounce rate.
Google also measures the loading time of your website . By the way, this is an important ranking factor. The faster your website is, the better it is.
You can optimize your loading time as follows:
- Get a fast hosting package. Talk to your hosting provider and get advice.
- Resize your images before including them on your website. Many pictures are way too big.
- Remove unnecessary and unimportant elements from your website.
- Enable caching and GZIP compression.
Quality content
What's the best way to differentiate your website from your competition? You've probably asked yourself this question before.
The answer to that: create quality content. Because of your content, visitors come to your website. By content I mean the following:
- text
- pictures
- videos
Extra tip: Format your content to make it interesting and concise. Use paragraphs, subheadings and also list items.
Usability: improve user signals
The usability and user experience of your visitors is important. Because you made the website for your visitors. Accordingly, they should be in the foreground.
I would like to briefly list the most important user signals:
- Bounce Rate: This should be as low as possible. You can improve it by optimizing your loading time and attracting your visitor's attention (e.g. with a meaningful headline).
- Duration of Stay: The longer a visitor stays on your site, the better. With exciting content you can increase the length of stay. Videos in particular help to keep visitors on the website longer.
- Number of pages visited: A well-structured menu and internal links within the text help to optimize this key figure. The more pages called up per visitor, the better it is of course.
Site Layouts
Modern technology enables you to create a wide variety of website layouts. In recent years, one layout variant has prevailed. This is the most commonly used.
Header: The header in WordPress is the top area of a website. The logo is usually displayed here in combination with the telephone number/e-mail address or a graphic.
Menu/Navigation: The menu is an important area. Accordingly, you should put a lot of effort into the creation, arrangement and labeling of your navigation points.
Content: The heart of your layout is of course the content. Here you can create great content with text, images and videos.
Footer: In the bottom area of the website, additional menu items, contact details and additional information are often displayed.
Modern and cool website examples
If you use the example above (website layout) as a guide, you are already on the move in a very modern way. Because most websites are created in exactly this order. There are thousands of design templates for Joomla and WordPress .
This layout form is very clear and at the same time minimalistic, which is currently also a web design trend.
At this point I could of course give you some modern website examples and link them. However, I don't think this makes any sense.
Tastes are different and the design of a website can change at any time and I don't notice anything.
So I think that you have a useful template with the above modern and quite cool website example.
Inspiration, tips and tricks
We have now talked a lot about trends, examples and modern websites. We also talked about important website basics.
At this point I would like to give you a few more useful inspirations, tips and tricks:
#1: Your visitor/customer is the priority
Always put yourself in the shoes of your visitors/customers when creating and optimizing your website. Because the website is made for your customers and not for you. This change of perspective often brings completely new insights to light.
The A&O is high-quality content. Answer your customers' questions and make sure they find exactly the content they're looking for on your website.
Of course, you have to know your target group. I recommend doing a customer survey and getting feedback on your site. This gives you a lot of valuable insights.
#2: Improve Google ranking
A website lives from visitors. Of course, the more you have, the better it is. Trend or not, without visitors you will not win any customers with your website. The layout can be so modern and cool.
The magic word is search engine optimization. In concrete terms, it is about improving the ranking of your keywords in Google. The better the technical quality and the content of your website, the more likely it is that you will rise in the ranking.
#3: Answer your customers' questions
So simple and yet so effective. Create added value by answering specific questions. By the way, Google likes it a lot too.
My recommendation: Choose 3-4 questions for each subpage that you answer specifically. That's how I do it here with this article.
By the way, Google likes to display these questions and answers in the search feed under "Other users also asked".
FAQ - questions and answers
What should a modern website be able to do?
A modern website should be fast, i.e. have short loading times. It should also be 100% smartphone-focused and optimized. According to Google's mobile-first approach. The most decisive thing, however, is that your visitor finds the desired information as quickly as possible. So avoid unnecessary frustration and make it as easy as possible for your visitor.
What are current web design trends?
There are many new trends every year. However, most of these are not critical to the success of a website. Therefore, you should not blindly follow every trend. Really important website trends are the following:
- Loading time (the faster the better)
- Responsive design (optimized for smartphones)
- Core Web Vitals (Google Ranking Factor)
- Minimalism (overview instead of flooding)
- Quality content (quality over quantity)
What does a good website look like?
A good and modern website is characterized by a short loading time and mobile optimization. It is important that the visitor finds his way around easily. Therefore, the website should be simple and clear. A header and a horizontal menu below is recommended. After that comes the content and finally the footer. This is how most websites are set up these days.
How does a website become successful?
This is of course a combination of several aspects. Visibility and ranking in Google is particularly important. Because the best and most beautiful website in the world can only fulfill its purpose if visitors come to the website. And the more visitors that are, the better it is. Accordingly, the number of daily visitors is an important criterion for the success of your website.
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