Top Four Web Design Trends You Cannot Ignore in 2019

Web design in 2019 is as important as ever, and key to the success of your website. Staying current is crucial to your business and it is a good idea to address your site every year to make sure you stay ahead of your competitors. Much can happen in 12-months in the online world and if you’re not au fait with the latest algorithms, updates or best practices, you could fall behind quickly and leave your website woefully inadequate for your visitors.

Trends in web design can be fickle things. What may appear to be a top trend could simply be a passing craze – 2019 will be about knowing the difference. We’ve got four top tips to share with you about what you should be aiming for with your website this year.

1.    Site speed optimisation

Opinion varies about how much time you have to make an impression on your site visitors. Some industry professionals stick to the traditional four seconds, but many today are saying it can be far less. A recent study by Akamai and Gomez suggested that 50% of visitors will abandon a search if the site takes three or more seconds to load.

Site speed is often at the top of the priority list for web developers, so this is not new news. However, a new Google Speed Update at the end of July 2018 gave higher priority to sites that load quickly, so this is likely to drive trending for site speed optimisation in the first part of the year. For web developers this could also dictate a closer working relationship with web designers to ensure speed becomes an important design parameter.

2.    Mobile-first design

For the past four years, mobile search has overtaken desktop, and this has finally begun to drive mobile-first design, in addition to Google’s recent changes, which index mobile-friendly sites ahead of those that are still not. Interestingly, there is still a significantly high number (91%) of SMEs that do not have a responsive site according to a recent analysis in the US. Although this news, again, is not new, this year will see a surge in designers and developers working on mobile-first as a priority.

Designing a site primarily for mobile, and then creating a desktop version is the exact opposite of the traditional web design process and this will be a major change over the coming months. This trend will also be driven by the user experience, which fundamentally will push to meet the demand that mobile device users require.

3.    Keep it simple

Minimalist design with bold, large typography is increasing across the world and becoming popular among the largest business homepages. Keeping it simple with a balance of flat design, bold typography and subtle background imagery can go a long way to impress today’s modern consumer.

Using shapes and icons, asymmetry and geometry hails to the site speed challenges and also helps to establish a clean, versatile and dynamic platform from which to guide visitors to the most important parts of the site.

Experimentation with shapes and colours can create a refreshing balance to white space and can help to divide a one-page site in an interesting and engaging way.

4.    Video headers, banners and backgrounds

The use of video in web design has been contradictory in some circles to the site loading speed trend. Far from detracting from the site, the use of video has proven to increase conversions when displayed as a background. Keeping video messages short and on-point can convey far more information in a few seconds than paragraphs of text.

Video is an interesting SEO trend that appeals to the human visitor, who will often stick around to watch a moving image (even if there is no sound). The longer a visitor stays on your site, the greater the SEO benefit.

Virtual tours are also growing in popularity, allowing visitors to interact with physical spaces. These are working particularly well with service-based businesses, such as Dentists and Clinics, Hotels and Guest Houses.

Video is a trend that simply cannot be ignored in your web design discussions this year.

What else is happening in web design?

We’ve talked about just four of the top trends for web design in 2019 – the ones we think you can realise the most benefit from quickly. The use of GIFs and other animations is also on the increase, as is the uptake of some of the newest technologies, such as Augmented Reality, Chat Bots and Virtual CRM.

Why not talk to Jarrett & Lam this year as you begin to think about giving your web design a boost?  Let's start with a relaxed chat to help you determine your business needs, and help us to get a clear picuture of which  options might match your objectives, branding and budget.

Let’s talk about your business plans for 2019 – call us today on +44 (0)1293 127 128.

---