Trends come and go and technology progresses rapidly. Website design trends change from year to year. And then seem to cycle back. Consumers enjoy new trends in food, fashion, travel and experiences. However, what about trends for the business websites?
While there are dozens of website design trends, we’ve identified six website trends that make the most sense for business websites in 2023. These trends will assist in presenting a modern and professional website presence and will improve website conversions.
First Things, First – Improve Legibility
Trendy over the last few years has been extremely light and thin fonts. Light and low contrast content is difficult to read on smaller screens. While the esthetics are thoughtful, the practical aspect hinders accessibility.
Elements that improve accessibility include:
- Creating strong color contrast between text and backgrounds
- Use headings correctly to organize the hierarchies and structure of your content
- Adding focus indicators on links
- Using labels and instructions with form fields rather than low-context placeholder text
- Using descriptive alt tags for images (which also boosts SEO!)
- Consider a question/answer format to attract voice searches.
1. Micro-animations
Micro-animations have been popular for a few years, however in 2023, it’ll be about using them organically and in creative ways. Micro-animations are useful in guiding website visitor through your online process as they navigate your site. Shown above Opening Line Co use micro-animations in the form of animated lines to bring attention to headlines and a call to action.
A few ideas for using Micro-animations are:
- Toggle switches
- Hover effects in buttons
- Banner image highlights
- Entrance & exit animations
- Content selectors
- Fade in & out effects
- And more
Just remember, everything in moderation. Make sure the animations you make are consistent with your web design.
2. Organic Shapes
Organic or fluid shapes are a great way to break up sections of a website without harsh lines or angles. They can add a touch of esthetics to your website with natural shapes. Hills, edges of lakes/rivers, or random blob like shapes.
Used in a thoughtful way they can add a modern touch and bring attention to areas of importance on a website. Take a look at the creative use of organic shapes on a page for careers on the Scripts medical website.
The randomness of the shapes also works well on mobile. Designing a website with random shapes can be done well with the Divi Theme. With a variety of ways to build the website framework, the shapes can be used as background images or section dividers.
3. Custom Illustrations or Line Art
Full-width headers have been popular for years and are expected to remain popular in 2023. With a variety of techniques and applications to design headers (animations, overlays, titles as art, background videos, photos and illustrations), the sky is the limit. However, don’t forget loading time for those data heavy headers. Custom Illustrations or line art is an interesting and modern alternative to images as seen on this website that provides assisted living.
Another technique, to simplify the use of full-width header images, includes placing important text or call-to-action buttons on the left of the header and using enticing graphics to the right. This is because visitors tend to spend most of their attention on the top-left portion of your page. The Constant Contact website uses the split header and also incorporates Micro-animations and organic shapes.
4. White Space – Elegance and Emphasis
Don’t underestimate the use of white space on your website. You don’t need to cram all the info close together. Give your content room to breathe. Using white or negative space well is more relaxing for your website visitors, the information stands out better, and readability is improved.
Take a look at how elegantly Apple uses white space. Along with the use of our next trend, typographical layouts and gradients in titles.
5. Typographical Layouts and Gradients
Typography is an art, and done well it can make a boring website exciting. Especially if you lack great photography or illustrations.
Pops of color and gradients highlight headline areas. Referencing Apple and their ad for the iPhone 14, their use of the white space, gorgeous product shots and a gradient headline is a work of art.
Color gradients offer a way to add more texture, depth, and excitement to a website that is bland. Using typographical color gradients add a touch of elegance, excitement and depth.
With the Divi theme, you can create and apply gradient text colors to your website. To find out how, see their tutorial.
6. Scrapbook Esthetics
The scrapbook feel for images with overlays of paper like textures, elements, illustrations and text is cycling back from 2015. When this trend was first seen, the effect felt garish, forced and overdone. Today scrapbook website design is more elevated and carefree. The handmade feel of the graphics mixed with the digital experience is a unique way to bridge the connection to traditional making. It’s also interesting to combine a micro-animation in a subtle way to a scrapbook element.
Take a look at the Plantarium site and see how illustrations and hand drawn elements are overlapped in a fun and creative way.
From Micro-animations, custom illustrations, title gradients, organic shapes and the elegant simplicity of white space, which website design trend will you experiment with in 2023?
