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Web Design Trends for 2023

  • 10 min read
  • November 29, 2022
Web Design Trends for 2023

Web design trends are changing all the time but what do our experts predict will be popular in 2023?

The key to web design is always looking ahead to the future and like with anything online, staying on top of the latest trends is crucial if you want to build websites that stand out from the crowd. 

The last thing you want to do is launch a new website that instantly looks dated because you haven’t stayed tuned in to the latest web design trends. 

At KIJO, our team of website experts know that the trick is finding a balance between incorporating new website trends and building sites that will stand the test of time. 

Just as you do with any trends from fashion to music, you don’t need to start following every new thing that pops up, being selective is key. You need to find the website trends that will work for your brand. 

To help you out we’ve put together the KIJO guide to what we’re predicting will be the biggest web design trends in 2023. 

Parallax Scrolling

Parallax scrolling is already a popular feature of many websites and helps to make sections of content more dynamic for users. Often used to add depth to what would otherwise be a standard webpage, the scrolling effect gives the impression that images are placed behind neighbouring sections as a user moves through the content. It’s a good choice for full-width pages that feature a lot of imagery and text. 

Website Speed

We all know that these days fast load times are essential and this will continue to be top of the priority list for websites in 2023. If a website takes more than 3 seconds to load users may bounce off and find an alternative. Yes, 3 seconds! Making sure your website is loading fast should be a priority ahead of any other fancy features you may get tempted to add.

Animated Cursors

Every website has one and yet the humble cursor is often overlooked as a design feature, not in 2023 though. New website trends will see cursors becoming a standout feature of web pages with subtle trigger animations and click behaviours making custom cursors a great way to add personality and engagement to a website. 

Smart Content Loading

Websites are no long simple one-page structures that provide basic information to users. Instead they’re multi-page works of art that often host an extensive amount of content and resources. With that comes the need to keep load times fast even when the website is working hard to load a vast amount of content. Enter smart content loading. 

Smart content loading is an umbrella term that refers to the tactics you can employ to only load the content a user needs at that given moment to help speed things up. Lazy loading and infinite scrolling are both common choices that we’ll be seeing more of in 2023. 

Personalised Content

In 2023 it will no longer be enough to display the same web content to every user. Instead, the best websites will present personalised content to users based on their past behaviour, browsing history and user demographics. Personalised content for users will help to increase conversion rates and build stronger relationships with your target audience, two things that should be key focuses of any website.

Clean CSS

A clean and clear CSS will be something many web designers will be opting for in 2023. Grid layouts will help designers to create layouts for complicated and responsive web designs whilst giving the finished website a clean visual feel. Users will be looking for websites that look modern and fresh, cluttered and overwhelming sites are a thing of the past.  

Integrated CRM

Getting to know your customers is essential in today’s super competitive online world but users are getting savvy and aren’t necessarily willing to hand over too much information to brands in one go. That’s why integrated CRM systems are so important to websites of the future. Integrated CRM’s will recognise where the user is within their individual lead journey and target them with personalised forms requesting different information at different stages in order for you to form as big a picture of your user as possible. 

Accessibility

Accessibility is hardly a trend, it should be a mainstay of website design for good, but the coming months will see the need for websites to be inclusive and accessible to all continue to grow. When designing every element of your website you need to think about not just how an able user will access it, but also those who may have a disability. Think carefully about the colours you choose, the layout and navigation system you opt for and don’t forget to add alt tags to all of your images. 

Interactivity

With websites getting better and better you need to find imaginative ways to ensure users remember your site long after they’ve closed their browser. A good way of doing this is adding interactive elements to your web pages. 

Interactive elements can be anything from quizzes to help users find the projects that are right for them to contests and games that offer the chance of winning a prize. They’re the perfect way of providing value to users whilst encouraging them to engage with your brand.

VR & AR (Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality)

VR and AR are set to become even more popular for websites over the coming years so it’s a good idea to get ahead of the competition and implement it on your website now. It’s not necessarily a trend that will be relevant for everyone but for brands who rely on users making purchasing decisions there and then on the website, it can be a useful way of providing customers with tangible value. Thunk furniture stores who let customers see what the items will look like in their homes or makeup brands who allow users to “try on” shades of lipstick to pick which is right for them. It’s try-before-you-buy for the digital age. 

Micro Interactions

Micro interactions aren’t a new feature but we can expect to see more elevated versions of them on new websites. Many websites already have micro interactions in place. One of the most common ones is when a link changes colour when a user hovers over it. Now designers will begin taking that further with “exploding” cursors when you click on an element or a shift in gradients as you scroll down a page. 

Micro Animations

Micro animations are small changes to images and shapes that make them move and change as a user interacts with them. A popular example of micro animations that we expect to see adopted more widely in 2023 is on eCommerce websites. Here, rather than just using standard images to showcase products, brands showcase a more dynamic example, showing users how their products fit and move on real people, in real environments. 

Bold Colours

Bold colours are set to be a key web design trend in 2023 for those brave enough to use them. Many websites stick to “safe” and relatively neutral colour schemes. Think about it, how often do you visit a website where the background colour isn’t neutral? In 2023 web designers will be looking to introduce bolder colour pairings to help websites stand out from the crowd. Thanks to constant improvement in screen resolutions and device standards, bold colours have the potential to be an effective and memorable web design trend. 

Dynamic Content

As we get to know our users better, websites will be more and more able to implement dynamic content to increase the chance of conversions. Dynamic content is content that changes depending on who is accessing it and at what stage of the journey they are at. This means that you can target new customers with one set of content on your homepage and return customers with a different set. As website capabilities grow, it won’t be enough to have just one, standard set of content for every user. 

Asymmetrical Design

You need to find ways for your website to look different to your competitors and one way that’s set to be popular is by introducing an asymmetrical design. Most web designers opt for a symmetrical, grid layout as we know that’s what the human brain responds well to but we can expect to see more designers thinking outside of the grid when it comes to where they place content on the page. Asymmetrical and unbalanced pages are risky but sure to leave an impression on users. 

Horizontal Scrolling

We’re all used to the traditional vertical scrolling on websites but for a while now horizontal scrolling has been creeping in across the internet. Implementing horizontal scrolling is particularly useful for websites who sit within creative industries such as fashion and art that have a lot of visuals to display. If you do decide to implement this trend remember that it doesn’t necessarily work as well on mobile as it does on desktop. 

Chatbots

Chatbots have been popular for a number of years but in 2023 we can expect them to become the norm for customer service. Chatbots allow users to talk to you without you having to commit resources and people for every individual conversation. They’re also a good way of ensuring users have a positive experience on your website and can come in handy for upselling and cross-selling strategies. 

Typographic Hero Images

Hero images sit at the top of the page and should catch the eye of users the moment they land on your website. Often an engaging visual, a new trend that we predict will be popular is the emergence of typographic hero images. Here the hero section is made up of a catchy headline instead of an image, much like a newspaper or magazine. Bold, unique fonts and captivating copy are essential if you want to utilise typographic hero images to your advantage. 

And Finally…

As is the case as every new year approaches, web design trends are starting to pop up thick and fast. In 2023 we can expect to see more engaged scrolling and navigation, bold design choices and more interactivity for users than ever before. 

Like we mentioned at the start of this guide, we aren’t suggesting you need to feature every single one of these in your website builds in 2023, but instead should look to them as a source of inspiration for the direction in which the online world is moving. 

When building websites, the KIJO team use a combination of new and innovative web design trends with tried-and-tested design features to build websites that perform well in a modern online world but that won’t date or struggle to compete in years to come.

To find out more about our team, our work and how we can help you, contact us today. 

Web Design Trends for 2022

Web Design Trends for 2022

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