We live in an era where technology is evolving at a breakneck pace, and things are no different for web design. To make an everlasting impact on your visitors, it is crucial for web designers and agencies alike to keep up with the latest web design trends. What was once popular in the past couple of months may be eye-catching, but can a user scroll, click, and stay on a website with an average design? The quickest answer is: no.

In essence, website design is all about the details, whether it’s the development of one-page websites, the adoption of more abstract design modules, or a greater emphasis on typography. Furthermore, with AI, cinematic techniques, and simulation advancement, designers will have a lot of material to work with in 2023. Interested in learning more? Detailed below are some of the some of the website design trends, expected to become popular in 2023: 

  1. Dark Mode 

Dark mode is one of the popular web design trends for 2023. It provides a low-contrast website or app to navigate in a low-light environment. Some websites have the feature to switch from light to dark on every website page. The users then have the option to choose between the two versions.  Additionally, it aids in emphasizing a specific type of content. Another benefit is that the dark mode feature prevents eye strain when a user logs on to the website using a handheld device in a low-light environment. 

Side note: If you are creative and have a sense of designing, you can opt to become a web designer. You also need to have the technical expertise to create appealing designs, and these courses can help. You can even start after completing a web design certification course or bootcamp program. Many institutes and firms like Learner’s Guild offer web design bootcamp programs. 

  1. Custom Illustrations 

Even though images have been utilized in web design for a while, custom illustrations continue to gain popularity. Why? Because pictures take time to load, whereas illustrated images are small in size and increase a website’s loading time. 

Moreover, if a company or brand offers a service and doesn’t have relevant images, custom illustrations can help convey the concept better. Custom illustrations can help build a brand’s identity, as they can appeal to users. They are unique and do not exists elsewhere. Therefore, custom illustrations are one of the web design elements expected to trend in 2023. 

  1. Thumb-friendly Mobile Navigation 

The trend of optimizing websites for use on handheld devices will continue in 2023 and beyond. According to several research pieces, most website traffic comes from mobile devices. Therefore, websites should be designed keeping all the important elements within the user’s reach via thumb. 

Consider how you hold your phone if you’re reading this blog. Your thumb is making all the effort because your fingers are likely curled around the back of your phone.

A website will be much easier if the navigation bar and buttons are easily accessible with a thumb. Therefore, having thumb-friendly navigation is crucial.

  1. Micro Animations

Micro animations are trending to add depth to a website design. Micro animations make navigating through the website more attractive. Also, it can be a helpful tool to direct a user’s attention toward important points or areas of the web page. Though small animations are not new, adding micro animations is expected to become more prevalent in 2023. 

  1. Scroll-Triggered Animations

Another interesting web design trend for 2023 is scroll-triggered animation. The feature has already gained popularity recently and is expected to trend beyond 2022. Incorporating scroll-triggered animation increases user engagement, as simply scrolling the content on the web page changes. The feature is likely to trend with responsive website design trends in 2023. 

  1. Detailed Footers 

The footer is one of the most crucial elements of a web design, which was once only used for placing contact details, location, copyright warnings, disclaimers, and social media links. The trend is now changing, as footer boosts are taking over the previous one. The footers now have additional elements and are part of the entire website design. The footer now takes a significant space at the bottom of the web page, where designers can add links to one location and other data to engage users. This new web design trend is expected to gain popularity in 2023 and beyond. 

  1. Big Oversized Titles 

Living in the fast-paced era, users nowadays spend little time on websites. Therefore, website designs now have large and bold titles on the header with short messages to capture the attention. The trend of large font titles is expected to go a long way as designers adapt to this feature to increase user engagement on the website. The trend is considered the minimalistic approach featuring big headings paired with small text. 

  1. Image-Based Headers 

Many websites today feature a full-sized image as a header. The header design is trending as it engages users and even makes a statement. The contrasts are kept clean and unique, featuring two call-to-action (CTA) buttons that guide the users in navigating further. The menu items in a desktop version appear either on the top of the image or on the left. The placement of menu items entirely depends on the designer or the client’s requirement for easy navigation. 

Wrapping Up

So that concludes our list of web design trends for the year 2023.

As a web designer, knowing the upcoming and current trends is crucial. It assists you in exceeding your client’s expectations while enabling you to stay one step ahead of the competition. Furthermore, each web design trend demonstrates a real effort to build an excellent, user-friendly, and engaging website. Plus, incorporating these design trends into a website can help build rapport with the user and brand identity. Lastly, not all of these trends may be useful, depending on the product or service. However, knowing what is going on in the industry is always helpful.