As technology continues to evolve and consumer trends along with it, one thing remains certain, Web Design is a continually changing playing field. Gone are the days where you could build a website platform that sticks for years. It seems as our technological pace in society speeds up, so does our need for redesigning, reimplementing, and remarketing our online brands and personas. You can find many opinions out there on what the optimal timeframe is for redesigning your web presence, consistently researchers will answer anywhere between 1 and 3 years. Yet, statistically speaking over the last few years, a lot of companies have been undergoing a redesign nearly every 6 months.

Scores of large corporations and tech companies have invested in complete overhauls to their websites and blogs this year alone due to an influx of many new and upcoming web design trends. Let’s discuss some of these emerging web design trends for 2019.

Single Page Websites

This trend has been in the making for years now but has really come into the spotlight with the addition of website building platforms like Wix. Websites historically have been built to provide the user with a lot of data and now with modern tech giants like Google tracking user experience, it’s become increasingly important to provide the user with this data in a friendly, coherent, and efficient way. Single page websites are seamless and get rid of the need for archaic page clicks with variable loading speeds. They are both aesthetically pleasing as well as simple and to the point. Mobile responsiveness is also exceptionally easy to combat with these simple one-page layouts, and thumb navigation has never seemed so friendly.

Consider the following proven advantages of single page websites:

1. On average they tend to yield faster conversions.
2. They are easier to update and redesign when needed.
3. They tend to look great on any device.
4. Building them is way more affordable.

AI Search and Chat Systems

Businesses have become increasingly tired of answering simple questions from their customer bases, and let’s face it, customers are tired of having to ask. This brings us to the new found popularity of AI-driven search and chats features on websites. Predictive search terms, visual or voice searches, and related searches; these three intelligent search functions are big this year to implement, especially on eCommerce platforms where conversion is crucial. Additionally, AI chatbots are now becoming a big part of website management. Some might chalk this up to the conspiracy that humans want less interaction with other humans, but in actuality, we just crave efficiency. Having an answer at your fingertips as opposed to spending 5 minutes on hold is a business model I think we can all get behind.

Minimalism

Outdated marketing advice would tell you that unused real estate is a waste and a bad decision, but modern web designers disagree. In fact, they are pushing for more minimalist web designs with white or “empty,” space. This approach when designed correctly brings attention to other focal points on the website. Users can also find these designs more aesthetically pleasing, easy to read, and interesting. Having less on your website to load also means increased speed for users. More users opt for less cluttered websites and usually associate clean ad-free and clever white space designs with large and professional companies. So, in summary, some takeaways of a successful white space design are:

• Easier to navigate and read
• Provides a focal point on your brand or product
• Visually pleasing to the user

Read Also: Top Material Design Websites

Integrated Video

High resolutions videos as a header or background have become popular in the web design arena. You can see an example on this site here. Images are just that, they are static. Videos are more dynamic and provide a warm and friendly invitation to connect with the user. Moving designs are also known to capture attention, so while integrated videos are popular it should also be noted that so are animated illustrations within web designs. Visitors also tend to increase their dwell times on pages with integrated videos, and statistics have shown they are more likely to opt into what you have to offer the longer they dwell. It is important though to review the type of business you are trying to market before deciding on integrated video, as the video could be too distracting from more complex products and services. An example of some great industries that could benefit from the integrated video are Spas, Hotels, Vacation Rentals, Galleries, Events, Tours, and Hospitality.

Broken Grid or Asymmetrical Layouts

Since the beginning of websites as we know them, we have always known them to be laid out in the same grid fashion. Reading left from right you can expect your important information to be top-left hand side; logo, navigation, and content. Some web designers are pushing the boundaries by breaking out of this trend and it’s not the first time. In 2019 they are catching more attention for their experimental techniques. It can be a great way to stand out from the crowd, but it requires an advanced web designer who knows what they are doing. If you attempt to push the boundaries too far you could lose potential customers by going from what you thought would be an artistic design to a clunky and broken one that doesn’t make sense.

Overlapping Elements

Overlapping elements on a web page can be seen as a creative and artistic approach to web design, and they can closely be related to the broken grid/asymmetrical idea. Building a collage-like effect to your website may help to provide a more three-dimensional look, yet, they can become increasingly difficult to implement on mobile devices.

What about 2020?

Will these web design trends stick around for next year, or we will see some fade out? My prediction is that we will continue to see the rise of more Artificially Intelligent, Minimalist, and Integrated Video websites for years to come. With our ever-increasing speed of technology development, it’s even more hard to say what we may have in the works next year for new trends and designs.