Recent trends in web design & if you should follow them or not!
As a small business owner, it can be tempting to want to jump on the latest web design trends in order to keep up with the competition. But before you go ahead and add that trendy new feature to your website, it's important to consider whether or not it will actually benefit your business.
First of all, let's take a look at some of the current trends in web design…
Trend #1 - bold, bright & oversized typography
This can certainly make a website stand out, but it's important to keep in mind that it may not be the best choice for every business. If your brand is more on the professional side, for example, then a more minimalistic design may be more fitting.
Trend #2 - Large background images or videos
Something I’ve spotted a lot in asymmetrical designs is oversized imagery or design components. While these can definitely add visual interest to a website, they can also slow down the page load time, which can be a major turn-off for visitors.
Additionally, background images and videos can make it more difficult for people with visual impairments to access the content on your website - which brings me to my next point…
A good website NEEDS to be easy to use and navigate for anyone who lands on your site.
A well-designed website should be intuitive and easy for visitors to find the information they need. This is particularly important for small businesses, as a poor user experience can lead to potential customers quickly leaving your site and moving on to a competitor's.
To help ensure that your website design is both visually appealing and user-friendly, consider the following…
Conduct user testing: Ask real people to navigate your website and provide feedback on areas that are confusing or difficult to use.
This can take some time to complete, I like using the free & useful tool Hotjar for heatmaps to see where users click and head to when they are on the page.
Make sure it’s mobile-friendly: With more and more people accessing the internet on their smartphones, it's crucial to ensure that your website looks and works well on mobile devices. not only is this important for user experience but also the algorithm!
Optimise for search engines: Having an SEO-friendly website helps ensure that your site will show up in search engine results when people are looking for products or services like yours. Large images and videos are great but can impact website speed negatively.
Outside of users landing on your website, you also have to think about yourself. If you are a small business on a budget or a one-man band you will know what I mean when I say… Time.
Is it the best use of your time and money?. If you follow too many trends, you might end up spending a lot of time trying to incorporate them all, and this could be at the expense of other important aspects of your business.
This is why even for my own business, I designed a site that is low maintenance, timeless and reflective of my brand so I don’t feel I have to constantly be changing. I also love creating sites with timeless designs that perform because it saves money in the long run, of course, you can tweak banners and bits on your site but if you have a solid structure and initial design - you’ll breeze through trends!
So, should you follow a trend or not? The answer is, it depends. I would say it's good to be mindful of the current trends in web design, but don't feel like you have to follow them all. It’s important to remember that what works for one business may not work for another. Stick to the elements that align with your brand, make sense for your business and most importantly, always put the user's experience first.
