As the year that was 2021 comes to a close, marketers, developers, and graphic designers alike begin to prepare for the upcoming year. One way of doing so is by researching emerging trends in web design to compete with competitors, keep their current customers interested and engaged, and gain some new customers along the way. That is why we compiled a few trends for you to consider as you take your business into 2022.
design for thumb.
It is crucial to design your website with mobile usage in mind. According to techjury.com, 55% of internet users worldwide visit the Web on a mobile device. With so many potential users strictly using mobile, you should ensure that your website is optimized to look visually appealing via mobile and desktop visits.
One way to ensure this is by thinking of the way mobile users use their devices. While having responsive web design is crucial, it is not enough to stop there. Consider taking it a step further and design for the thumb. Think of how someone holds a phone: usually with their thumb doing a majority of the work. By adjusting the layout, navigation, and usability based on where a user’s thumb can easily reach on their screen, you’ll provide your customers with an easily accessible website.
dark mode.
By now we’ve all experienced dark mode on our devices. Originally gaining popularity in 2019, brands like Apple, Android, Twitter, etc. began offering a dark mode option which many users were excited about. It seems other websites are also hopping on this bandwagon by shifting to darker color schemes for their website visuals.
Why the shift? As we know, the number one reason for looking at how we design our websites is user experience–how can we make their visit to our website as easy and enjoyable as possible? In this case, darker colors reduce eye strain, as it minimizes exposure to blue light. There’s also the added bonus of savings on battery life.
voice search optimization/accessibility.
With the rise in popularity of voice assistance and artificial intelligence tools, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that voice search optimization will now be in marketers’ minds when discussing web design. Since Alexa and Siri owners alike often utilize these tools to surf the web, marketers should incorporate long-tail keywords by thinking of how a potential user would speak their search query vs. typing it.
In addition to utilizing voice for search optimization, it is also helpful to incorporate voice search into a website for inclusion purposes. Most websites include alt text and think their work is done. However, an emerging web design trend in 2022 will be allowing users to search the site using only their voice, increasing the accessibility on their site through options other than keyboard-based input.
custom scrolling.
When visiting a web page, the traditional scrolling format for users has been chiefly vertically. In 2022 users can see a lot more scrolling diversity, whether horizontally or in many directions. This facilitates more engagement on behalf of the user and will potentially decrease bounce rate.
Additionally, some web designers are taking customized scrolling to a whole new level and partaking in ‘scrollytelling.’ Scrollytelling, also known as ‘narrative visualization,’ gives the reader visually appealing assets while reading an article. This type of web design keeps the reader engaged through animations, disappearing text, etc.
We hope this blog helped you better plan your next website design or optimize your current website. We would love to help get your website where it needs to be through a consultation or even a website redesign. Connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn, or drop us a line to get started.