If you’re planning a website redesign for your business, you’re probably wondering what web design trends 2019 holds in store. In the web design industry, new advances are being rolled out constantly.
Website design shouldn’t be an afterthought. One study showed that 94% of the initial feedback that a website gets is related to design. With so many choices out there, consumers don’t have the patience to navigate a website that’s ugly or looks like it was built in 2005.
Keeping up with the latest website design trends is important for any business owner who uses their online presence to attract new customers. Here are a few of the top web design trends 2019 will bring.
Conversion-First Design
More and more business owners are wising up to the fact that certain design improvements, search engine optimizations, and other enhancements can be made to their website to increase conversions.
After all, a website exists for the purpose of getting you more leads, sending more people to your store or office, getting you more calls, and making you money. Just like any other aspect of your marketing budget, if your website isn’t bringing you a positive return on your investment, it’s time to scrap it.
Your website should be like an extension of your sales team. At AMJ, that’s how we see it. That’s why we offer both website copy and SEO in our website design packages.
So what does conversion-first mean? A few elements of website design trends that center around conversion optimization include:
A strong call to action above the fold
A highly visible phone number for a site visitor to call (for local businesses)
A well-organized, intuitive navigation
Clear, direct copy
Contact forms that are easy to complete with auto-fill enabled
Discounts, specials and lead magnets that are highly visible
In social media management platform Hootsuite’s website, many of these elements are present in the area above the fold. There is a clear call to action (start a free trial). It’s easy to tell what problem the software solves. The menu bar is easy to understand, the design is simple, and everything about the design is geared towards turning site visitors into leads.
Minimalism Wins
Consumers are bombarded with thousands of companies, advertisements, and people vying for their attention on a daily basis. Some businesses have tried to combat this competitive environment by being louder, more aggressive, and more chaotic, hoping that someone will notice them.
Instead of being the loudest, try being the simplest. The easiest to understand. The cleanest to look at. Some of the top companies in the world are using this simple, minimalist approach. One classic example is Apple.
On Apple’s home page, there are just seven short sentences in the area above the fold (the part of the website you see without having to scroll down). The design is simple, minimalist and refreshing. It’s not hard to figure out what Apple wants the site visitor to do.
Lightning Fast Load Time
Speed is easily one of the most important web design trends in 2019. Unfortunately, it’s overlooked by too many businesses. Not only is speed critical to keeping users on your website, but it also impacts your bottom line. Even a delay of one second could reduce your conversions by 7%.
And if you hope to attract people to your website through Google, having a fast-loading site isn’t optional. Google is dedicated to providing the best possible experience for their users, which is why they prioritize websites that load quickly.
When you hire a web designer, one of the first things you should find out is if they have experience building fast websites, or if speed is something important to them in the development process. If it’s not, look elsewhere.
Mobile First
Designing websites for both mobile and desktop devices is a website design trend that’s prevailed over the past several years, and in 2019, this won’t change. Over half of all internet traffic is done from a mobile device. In some regions, like Asia, this number is even higher.
Similar to speed, having a responsive website or a website that looks great on mobile is as vital to your business as having a working phone number. In fact, Google announced that it would deploy mobile-first indexing for its search results. That means Google will consider the mobile version of your website for rankings, not the desktop version.
If you run a local business, designing for mobile is especially important. It’s estimated that 46% of searches on a mobile device are local, and 76% of those searches lead to a phone call to the business. If you want your phone ringing off the hook from local searchers, make sure your website looks better on a smartphone than your competitors’ sites.
Emphasis On User Experience (UX)
Your business website isn’t about what you want to say to the world. It’s about what your customers want to hear. It’s about how site visitors like to navigate the internet. It’s all about the end user.
The web designer that you choose must have some knowledge of user experience. UX in web design simply means that the designer understands what the site visitor wants and needs. Some elements of a good UX design include a predictable flow, an easy to navigate website, and putting the most important information first. Choosing a visually soothing color scheme, creating an intuitive way to navigate the website, and differentiating clickable elements from others are other aspects of UX web design.
In a nutshell, a website design that emphasizes UX is easy and intuitive for a site visitor to use.
Increased Security
Have you employed the https version of your website yet? If not, when someone navigates to your website, they’re greeted with a message that says it’s not secure.
That’s not exactly the best welcome message to new site visitors, is it? Especially if you run an ecommerce store, having a secured website is vital for 2019’s web users. It’s also rumored that Google prefers to rank secured websites over unsecured sites.
This is a simple fix for most business owners. Either through your hosting plan or with your domain name provider, you should be able to contact them and get help setting up an https version of your website. Whoever is helping you implement your new website design should also be able to help with this.
More Illustrations
Stock photos are so 2010. After all, there’s only so many times we can see a picture of Rebecca Ariane Givens associated with so many different companies and not know that she’s just a model. (Go ahead, Google her. You’ll recognize her.)
In 2019, more companies than ever will use one-of-a-kind illustrations to feature in the header of their website and to accompany their blog posts. In this brilliant one-page website story by NASA: Propsect, illustrations are used to tell their brand story.
Don’t have the budget to have personalized illustrations created for your brand? No problem. Similar to stock photos, there are many marketplaces that let you buy pre-designed illustrations for about the same price as a stock photo. No one will ever know the difference.
Data-Driven Design
Despite popular belief, website design isn’t necessarily a set-it-and-forget-it process. There are always enhancements and tweaks that can be made to improve the results you get from the website. This could include steps like changing your call to action, split testing different imagery, and adjusting the navigation.
Heat maps are extremely useful when designing websites based on data. They allow you to visualize how a site visitor uses your site and what elements are clicked the most. This can be extremely informative if you’re unsure about which product line to highlight on your home page, which contact form is used the most, and where site visitors spend the most time.
An analytics program can also offer key information that can influence your website design. Are there pages that just aren’t being visited on your website? Maybe they need to be moved somewhere else. Do any of your pages have a high exit rate or bounce rate? It could be related to content, but it could also be related to speed or a design element that’s not working.
Though traditionally website design trends have revolved strictly around the visual aspect, in 2019 we expect to see more website designers relying on data to create websites that perform the way business owners demand.
Animated Elements
Adding animation to certain elements of your website creates a unique experience for the visitor and helps to eliminate distractions that are trying to steal their focus from your website. This could include background movement, hover effects, and page transitions. They can be used as a way to highlight a call to action or direct a user’s attention to a particular area of your website.
English mobile site Lobster incorporates animation into its website brilliantly. As the site visitor scrolls down, animation helps guide their journey through the home page in a fun and unique way. If you want site visitors to remember your website, including animation is a solid choice.
In 2019, one of the top website design trends we’ll see in a big way is animation. More websites than ever will be introducing new, creative ways to add animated elements to create a memorable experience for site visitors.
Thoughtful Typography
We hate to break it to you, but Comic Sans MS just isn’t going to cut it in 2019. Neither will Arial, Times New Roman, or fonts that are used on every other website. Website design trends that we’re seeing this year will include strong, artistic, and unique typography choices.
Artist management group Claxton Projects created a website that’s heavy on typography that evokes a feeling of being inside an art gallery.
Carlo Mollino by Readymag incorporates bold typography beautifully, making it a strong artistic website to look at and a pleasure for site visitors to view.
The stronger, bolder, and more unique your typography choice is, the more memorable your website will be. However, make sure that your selection is easy to read on both desktop and mobile devices and is consistent with your overall brand.
Even More Videos
2018 was a big year for videos. YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. Facebook users spend 100 million hours watching videos every day. This year, it’s estimated that videos will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic.
If those aren’t strong arguments to include video on your website this year, we don’t know what is. Videos can help describe, demonstrate, and explain products and services that are difficult to understand. They can help site visitors get a better understanding of your business. They can also be extremely informational and help warm up leads and push them further down your sales funnel.
When incorporating videos into your website, make sure that they’re integrated into the overall design smoothly. You might choose to embed them from a site like YouTube or Vimeo, or use another program that won’t detract from your website’s speed.
Regardless of how you choose to incorporate videos into your website, just do it. From explainer videos to professional videos of product demos or interviews with your team, video is a great way to get a site visitor to stick around longer and potentially increase conversions.
These are the top 11 web design trends 2019 will bring with it this year. Which one are you most excited about incorporating into your business website? Let us know in the comments.
Are you looking for a new website for 2019? Schedule a free consultation with one of our web design consultants and we’ll come up with a website design that suits your business needs.