Web Design trends come and go, but as Knoxweb explained in the previous blog some website trends are here to stay. The last blog focused on UI Patterns for mobile websites. Below are a few more web design trends that you may want to consider for your new mobile responsive website.
Rich Animations
Unlike the dancing babies from the 90’s rich animations are being used to enhance the user experience using storytelling. Experiences are more entertaining and more interactive. However, as Knoxweb explains, it is important to consider where you are going to add the animation as it adds personality to the rest of your website. According to Knoxweb, there are two groups of animations:
Large Scale-These types of animations are used to give the user impact and will include pop up notifications and parallax scrolling.
Small Scale-These types of animations include hovering tools, spinners and loading bars without requiring user input.
Below are seven of the more popular types of animation techniques:
Loading Animations-Loading animations are used to delight and entertain users with a tedious experience. Loading animations are popular for one page websites, portfolios, minimalistic and flat designs.
Non scrolling-Hidden navigation menus are becoming more and more popular as hidden navigation menus save screen space. According to Knoxweb, animations are used to unveil a menu after clicking on a button. This prevents an awkward transition, such as hidden drawers behind hamburger menus.
Hover animations-A hover effect will give your user a more intuitive feel as they mouse over the content. People who are unsure about a certain feature on a mobile website will hover over it automatically waiting for instant feedback and gratification.
Galleries and Slideshows-Slideshows and galleries are effective if you want to showcase images without causing pain to your users. This type of mobile website is great for showcasing products, for photography websites and for portfolios.
Motion animation-Humans are drawn to motion making this type of website design trend a perfect tool to draw in potential clients and customers. Motion is great for menu items, CTA’s and forms.
Scrolling-Smooth scrolling is based on animation while giving the user better control as the pace can be determined unfolding the animation at the users leisure.
Background animation and Videos-Simple animated backgrounds will add visibility to your website, but should be used in moderation. Background videos and animations can be annoying and/or distracting. The key is working on individual section of the website to create a gentle ease of movement with the whole image.
Of course, other web design trends are becoming increasingly popular such as Microinteractions. Microinteractions happen everywhere. It starts when you wake up in the morning to turn off the alarm clock to the end of your day when you check your email before you go to bed. Each movement is done without thinking. Microinteratcions are now included in mobile apps and devices and can help with lots of things including:
- Communicate status and feedback
- See action results
- Help users manipulate something on the website
When it comes to microinteractions, it is important to keep it simple, as you do not want to overwhelm your users. The text will need to be conversational, not robotic.
If you would like more information regarding web design trends for your new mobile responsive website, call or click and talk to the team from Knoxweb today.
