The Top 4 Web Design Trends for Businesses in 2016

Web design is one of the fastest-paced industries in the world. Trends and strategies seem to change almost overnight, and that means it’s easy to fall behind.

To make sure you don’t have to constantly change your site to meet new standards, the best idea is to plan ahead.

That’s what you can do with this list. These are the five major web design trends that every site should use in 2016.

1. Single-page design

Single-page design means using your homepage as the one page on your site that does just about everything.

Traffic, engagement, conversions, you name it — single-page design is about having one page do it all.

Websites with single-page design offer comprehensive information on their products or services right on their homepage. Typically, they also conclude with a call to action in the body and contact information in the footer.

That combination lets users quickly scroll through everything they want to see before arriving at the bottom, where they can easily convert into customers.

On top of those standard features, single-page websites usually include high-quality photos that immediately catch users’ attention. Then, they encourage users to scroll by using a sleek, intuitive design that works on both desktop and mobile computers.

It’s a big, simple, and easy-to-use solution to a multi-page website. And with mobile Internet usage becoming more and more popular, these sites are thriving.

2. Parallax scrolling

Parallax scrolling is the perfect match for single-page websites.

Parallax scrolling means that background images move by the camera more slowly than foreground images, which creates an illusion of depth on a two-dimensional screen.

The above example comes from Whiteboard, which incorporates video and parallax scrolling in its homepage.

So it’s not just about showing images. You can use parallax scrolling to make background graphics mesh with your foreground to make new images. You can also show dynamic changes on your site in general and even create user-friendly infographics.

Still, parallax scrolling isn’t restricted to one-page websites. In fact, you can use it on multiple pages to present different ideas. It’s especially good at showing off high-resolution photos of products and services.

The biggest problem you can have with parallax scrolling is that you can quickly make a page too busy. That means there’s too many ideas going on at once, and you can overload or confuse your visitors with big blotches of color at one time.

It’s also critical that you optimize the images, graphics, and other elements you use for fast loading. If those elements are too large, your page will load and scroll slowly, which provides a bad user experience.

Instead, compress your images as much as you can without sacrificing quality, and remember that mobile devices are less powerful than desktop computers. So if your site loads quickly on a smartphone, it’ll also load quickly for desktop users.

3. Single-menu navigation

Single-menu navigation is another modern web design trend that’s intended to create a sleek, attractive, all-in-one solution for users.

This form of navigation often includes a side- or top-based menu that opens when you tap or click on an icon. Then, you have access to other major pages on the site.

These pages usually include contact pages, company history pages, and product listings.

Like parallax scrolling, this form of navigation has become so popular because of mobile users. It’s just easier for people to tap a menu icon than to navigate a sitemap or use a search bar (although those are still important in web design).

Single menus are also helpful since they follow users as they scroll and click throughout a website. That way, a user can jump to any other part of your site without returning to the top of your page for links to other pages.

In general, this kind of navigation is one of the most widespread and user-friendly web design trends in 2016. And considering how popular it’s getting — especially among mobile users — you can expect to see it more this year.

4. Big, eye-catching calls to action

Again, mobile Internet usage has caused another huge change in web design.

This time, it’s with calls to action.

Calls to action are the short sentences that you add to the end of your pages to encourage visitors to your site to convert to paying customers.

These simple sentences are incredibly important to customer conversions, and without them, your users don’t have a clear idea about what they should do next. The example above comes from CrazyEgg.

That’s why web designers have started using big, eye-catching buttons for their calls to action.

These buttons are usually made with bold, bright colors that contrast with the rest of the site’s color scheme. They can also include everything from a short phrase to a single word to encourage people to click.

They work so well because they’re simple, exciting, and big. They naturally draw a user’s eye, and after a whole page of content, they’re the perfect way to tell users what to do next.

With so many benefits from one web design trend, large call-to-action buttons are great additions to any site — including yours.

Looking for a web design agency?

If you’re looking for a web design agency to handle your company’s website, you’re’ at the right place! We’ve looked at tons of different agencies from around the world to determine which ones are worth your time and money, and all of them know how to incorporate these trends into a website’s final appearance.

Find your ideal web design partner in our listings today!