We're only a few months into 2019 but there are already some stark trends in the web design space. I'm going to share a few of the trends I've experienced and noticed (so far) in 2019.
Design
Web design is trending in the direction of "minimal", it has been for a while now actually. But I'm getting more and more requests for web design and people are using these exact words:
- Clean
- Minimal
- White Space
Ahh...it's so refreshing to hear people say that! I am so excited about this trend because it means people are being very cognizant of their website. Not only in the design, but also in the content. They're only saying and showing what is necessary, no more clutter, lots of white space, and easy to navigate.
Here's some inspo of sites I recently created:
Mobile Importance
Next on the list is mobile design. While the world hasn't gone fully to mobile and tablets just yet, a huge percentage of people are using their phones to browse the web. This percentage increases every year.
If your website isn't optimized for mobile, you might be in trouble. There are quite a few things that go into mobile optimization to make for a great user experience. I recently wrote a blog post all about mobile optimization on the Wix platform, you can check it out here.
But in general, the term "mobile optimized" means you can easily and clearly view your website from a mobile screen. Meaning, no zooming in or out because the text and elements are too small or too large. Buttons and links also need to be made larger for easy tapping with thumbs.
Icons & Illustrations
There's been a big trend in the use of icons and illustrations on websites. I also talk with a lot of clients who want to use icons on their site. Many of them also have their own custom icons and illustrations created for their brand.
Icons and illustrations make your website a little more interactive, and of course, add a visual element that ties things together.
Inside of the Wix editor, you have access to TONS of free icons and illustrations to use on your website. There are also a bunch of sites out there where you can purchase icons as well. This allows you to use them on other mediums besides your website. One of my favorites is Creative Market (aff link).
Video
Video has become a prominent media in our lives and now it's making its way into the web design space.
Video is being used in a multitude of ways on websites, from playing in the background to the new way to do an About page. Video allows us to humanize things in the digital world. And since we're all visual people, we can tell stories through video and even connect with people versus using a static image.
In Wix you can do all sorts of things with video.
- You can make an entire page a video background for a totally immersive experience.
- You can link your YouTube and Vimeo videos straight to your website.
- You can also upload videos straight to Wix using the single video upload, or create your own custom channels. With these channels, you have the option to list them as a subscription that users can purchase to view.
Here's an example of a site I recently built for KAVOD Media. As soon as you hit their home page, a video background auto plays and showcases everything their company can do through video.
As you make your way through the rest of the site they have more videos welcoming you to KAVOD and showing examples of media they've created.
Chat
Now, let's talk chat integrations and chatbots. There are tons of chat integrations out there from ManyChat, Intercom, Facebook Messenger, and even Wix Chat.
Everyone has an opinion on chat and chatbots, I actually really like chat options - a lot! When I have a support question and that company offers chat it makes me so happy to just jump on chat versus calling - and especially versus emailing - ew!
I also really like using GIFs and emojis so it's fun interacting with support in a more modern and fun way!
With Wix, Wix Chat is free! They also have a paid option if you want to set chat hours and other things. I currently have Wix Chat on my site and prospective clients can easily jump on there and ask me questions. Which is great because they don't have to wait to talk to me.
So what did ya think? Have you seen some of these trends as well? Are there others you've seen that I didn't mention here? I'd loved to know the trends you're seeing! Pop a message in the comments below!
Until next time...Hang Loose! 🤙🏻
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