Are you considering a new website, or a website revamp for the new year? Here are the top website design trends for 2017 to have a look at before committing to a new design. Some are really new and innovative, while others a continuation of trends we saw in 2016:
Parallax scrolling
Continuing into 2017 is the website design trend of parallax scrolling – the effect created when the background moves slower than the foreground. In addition, other scrolling effect like scroll-activated animation will play an important role in website design 2017. Today it is more effective to take your website visitors on a journey through a single web page, with CTAs throughout the page and at the end, rather than have them navigating the website on their own.
Animation
As the capacity of mobile devices increases, animations will become more mainstream. Think full-blown animations and motion graphics right on the home page to have your visitors interacting within those first, few, vital seconds. Also trending in 2017 will be cinemagraphs – part video, part static – on home pages. And they are not just for show; here are some functional benefits to animation:
- Subtle animation can be used to draw attention to the most important parts of a page, such as CTAs.
- They’re useful for shaping users’ interaction with the site. For example, an animation that makes a menu slide onto the screen when you click on a button creates a smoother experience for the user.
- Animations are a way to communicate that a certain element is interactive, as in the case of hover-over animations.
- Scroll-activated animations guide users through a page and set the pace at which it is navigated.
- Subtle animation in the background adds character and a bit of humanity to your site, making it more engaging and memorable.
Animated GIFs
Like it or not, animated GIFs appear here to stay and are moving beyond Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds to mainstream media sites and even websites.
Interactive websites
In 2017 website visitors are no longer satisfied with being passive receivers of information; they want to interact with and engage with websites. They want the interaction to be more in line with the interaction they have with other humans.
Interactive websites can use a combination of multiple media formats, such as images, video, motion graphics, audio and text to create a fantastic, memorable user experience. The trick with this website trend will be to ensure that all the media formats work seamlessly together and don’t clash or cause distraction.
Don’t forget to read our part 2 to get all the other 2017 website design trends.
Need a website design and development team that can help you make the most of the 2017 website design trends, just call us at Website Design Centre.
