To ensure brand awareness and encourage business success in today’s online world, you need to have a website that’s well-designed, engaging, filled with relevant content, and looks as smooth and sophisticated as it acts.

Attention spans are short and clicks are quick so if you want to attract and keep people on your site for a useful period of time, your website needs to contain and do a number of different things, from being responsive to providing stellar landing pages and useful downloads with impact and ease. In today’s post, we’re focusing on website design – something we’re experts in – and highlighting some of this year’s bigger design trends so far.

Read the list below and then compare it with your website. Are you on the cutting-edge when it comes to website design or are you at least taking advantage of some of the latest trends? And, if not, why not?

Some of our favourite website design trends for 2018

1. Softer and more organic visuals

The sharp lines and angular boxes of previous years are being replaced in the latest website designs with rounder shapes and corners and more freedom when it comes to the use of freeform grids, lines, and spaces. Spherical shapes, fewer straight lines, and organic curves all make a website appear more inviting and modern and this type of design works well to draw visitors in and make them feel comfortable and invested at the same time.

2. New fonts for new times

In the past, most websites adhered to the industry standard of using the infinitely readable sans serif fonts for all website pages. But as screen resolution and digital design technologies improve, this is set to change and we are starting to see more elaborate and distinct typefaces at work on websites. Variable fonts are also on the rise – simply put, these fonts are able to change size and shape, all without one font file, right before our eyes.

3. Goodbye stock image, hello illustration

The use of illustrated images on a website is not new. However, there is a trend in website design towards using them more as well as over and above stock imagery that can look clichéd if not carefully selected. Illustrations can be particularly effective in delivering abstract concepts to audiences in easy-to-understand ways. They can make a simple point or be used to stand in for human representation, avoiding limiting the required image by factors such as gender or race. Not keen on illustration? At the very least, make sure you do use some visual elements in your website design – in this world, audiences much prefer visual imagery to blocks of copy when they’re looking to buy.

4. More meaningful interactions

Websites are about attracting, retaining and converting visitors – they are all about the visitor experience. This is a situation only set to grow as the year goes on. From relevant, inbound-focused content to live stream feeds, chat options, and comment requests, engaging with a business’ audience has become a main feature of today’s websites. To achieve this, a website needs to be accurate, responsive, and make use of the latest technology. In 2018, great websites don’t just present content; they actually encourage engagement with that content through the right kind of information and the right visual elements.

5. Video is big, big, big

Research shows that website visitors are more likely to buy a product or a service if they experience it in a visual format. This makes video a powerful tool for online marketing through a number of digital channels, websites included. Video is a great way to explain an evolving concept or idea to visitors, to track a project or tell a story. From a tech perspective, it’s relatively easy to add video to a website and it has numerous advantages, including the high quality of the medium, the ability to place video footage on a loop, and the powerful hold it has over online consumers.

There are so many more trends we could add to this list but we’ll stop for now. Our main point? Your website is your biggest marketing asset in the online world and it should be up to date and relevant at all times. That means it needs to be properly designed and managed by a team in the know. As digital marketing experts, we believe in website design that works on every level, from functionality to brand awareness. And we know how to harness the power of digital marketing techniques and tools to engage with your clients, build long-term relationships, and ultimately increase your bottom line. Want your website to really work for you? Work with the Switch team.

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