It’s that time of year when we read about all the new fashion, food, and phone, of course, web design trends. Whilst some of these trends – such as Astrid Andersen’s crochet jumpsuit for men – are laughable, when it comes to web design they’re well worth a look.
Website design and functionality plays a key role in business success these days. The better the user experience, the more likely they are to buy your product or service.
WEB DESIGN TRENDS 2019
Getting Personal:
Whilst personalization isn’t a new concept, it will become more important in 2019, as we strive to improve UX or User Experience. This doesn’t mean asking the prospective customer for more personal information about themselves – unless you want to scare them away; it means tailoring your website so that it’s a better fit for your customer.
One of the most important aspects of running a successful business is to know your target market. You need to know the age, gender, habits and preferences of your customers. This is what you use to personalize your website.
What this does is create a feel-good environment for your website visitor, where they feel as if it’s been written and designed just for them.
Mobile-Friendly Design:
I can’t believe I’m even writing this, as it should be a given! For the past couple of years, it has become blatantly clear that all websites must be mobile-friendly and use responsive web design. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you will not only lose customers but risk the wrath of Google!
Google has switched to mobile-first indexing; that means they use the MOBILE version of your website for ranking and indexing. So, if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you won’t get ranked; it’s as simple as that.
Voice User Interface:
VUI is one of the most important web design trends for 2019. Whilst still relatively new, VUI technology is taking hold fast and you need to be in it to win it!
A key component of gadgets like Echo and Alexa, it allows people to use voice input to control devices and computers. Watch this space to read more about combining VUI with GUI (Graphical User Interface) in the future.
Less is More:
Trends tend to go in cycles and that’s certainly true in some website design features. The minimalist website used to be super-popular but, with more and more elements available to use in design, websites started to get cluttered and messy.
Minimalism makes a comeback in 2019, along with bold colours and typography. However, minimalist doesn’t have to mean boring. Users still want all the bells and whistles. That means only the very best web designers will survive the year as it’s a tough combo to master.
One of the biggest drivers behind minimalist design is the need to be mobile-friendly. Designers can no longer rely on huge pictures to make an impact; they need to think outside the square. Used well, typography is a very effective art form that doesn’t slow down page loading speed.
GIFs & Animations:
As mentioned above, users still want plenty of action on the websites they visit, so GIFs and animations will become more popular. They provide movement and interest without slowing your page loading speed to a crawl.
GIFs can still be informative and, most importantly, they are interactive. Developed in 1987, the Graphics Interchange Format is the oldest file format still being used today. Believe it or not, GIFs are generally more appealing and effective than photographs. According to 2017 statistics, GIFs are shared more than JPEG and PNG format.
For those who like statistical proof, more than 23 million GIFs are posted to Tumblr every day. Facebook introduced GIFs on Messenger in 2015 and says that users send around 13 billion in a year.
Interactive:
GIFs are just one example of how users love and better engage with interactive websites. Engagement is crucial in attracting and retaining website visitors, along with entertainment and information.
Interactive websites change the User Experience from being talked at, to joining a conversation.
Interactivity can be programmed into your website in several ways, including animations and GIFs, useful tools, games, clicking choices and more.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP):
This isn’t new, but it will continue to grow in importance in 2019, so it’s definitely a web design trend to consider.
As the name suggests, AMP is designed to boost the loading rate of pages on your mobile devices. Google openly admits that it gives priority to websites that use AMP.
Speed and UX are key areas to focus on in 2019 – especially when you consider that around 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned due to slow loading times. A study commissioned by Google showed that using AMP leads to a 10% increase in website traffic, and users stay on the site longer. For ecommerce sites, using AMP has been shown to increase sales conversions 20%.
Let’s Chat:
Chat-bots are coming! Actually, they’ve been around longer than you think. The very first chat-bot was Eliza, created in 1966.
In 2019, chat-bots will really come-of-age and Chat-bot marketing will become a thing. A chat-bot is a complex piece of computer software that can chat with website users and perform a variety of useful tasks. They are particularly useful on ecommerce sites.
The #1 benefit to using chat-bots in website design is that it delivers 24-hour service to your customers. It also scores points by being interactive and saving you time and money. When surveyed, website users said they preferred chat-bot websites because they could get answers to questions quicker, without making a phone call or waiting for an email reply.
Those are just a few of the website design trends that will be making an impact in 2019. Some of them are very simple; others require the services of expert website designers and developers. They are all designed to enhance the User Experience, thereby attracting more potential customers to your website, keeping them there long enough to make a purchase and encourage them to come back and visit again.
BIO: Neil McNulty is the founder and owner of Suncoast Web Solutions. He has over 20 years’ experience working with business owners and organizations of various sizes. The areas of Neil’s experience and expertise include Internet Marketing, Website Development, Custom Website Design and Website Hosting. When he isn’t working with customers he is either working on his own websites or with family. For more help visit Small Business Website Design – Hook Agency.
