Did you know that there were over 4.48 billion internet users in 2019? This constitutes more than 58% of the world’s population.
This represents a huge market for retailers everywhere, and it is indeed a crowded market. Every year millions of websites are set up to advertise and promote their products.
Companies have to be ever creative and innovative in order to stand out from the crowd. What will companies be doing in 2020 to get their website ahead of the curve? What 2020 trends do you need to take notice of?
Check out our in-depth article to find out more.
1. Simplicity
We live at a time when more technology is available than ever before – HD screens, bold website templates, SEO strategies, bold and creative graphics. However, this does not mean that users want all of this color and technology to greet them as soon as they open your website.
This phenomenon often called supersaturation and is often unwanted. In today’s world where many have very high definition telephone and tablet screens, every color and hew is clearly displayed. It is easy to cross the line between a populated home page and one that is supersaturated.
Users in 2020 are looking for simplicity. They enter a website and want to enjoy a simple and focused design. One that is designed intelligently to present what the visitor is looking for -not all the things that they could be looking for.
Bold and beautiful design is “in” in 2020, however not every detail on your page needs to be bold and beautiful.
2. More Animation
Video has long been a potential key player in website design. However, for too long it was kept waiting at the door as webpages and, in some locations internet connections, were too slow to present them effectively.
In 2020 this is no longer the case. Animations, tutorials, and GIFS can now be included on a greater scale than ever before. These can either be deployed as a method or emphasizing branding in simple but catchy marketing strategies. In other more complex markets, they can be used to teach business technologies or principles within a short time to customers who wish to be informed when purchasing.
If more proof was needed, a recent report stated that social media ad spending will reach $23 billion by 2023. Get ahead of the crowd by employing animation as part of your strategy.
3. Asymmetric Layouts
With disorganized content amongst the topmost disliked features of a website, it could seem contradictory to include asymmetrical layouts as a future trend. However, consider the logic.
Most websites today were created using mass-produced grids. Whilst there is a virtue in having a well-designed webpage, it can also easily become banal.
Finding the balance between a creative webpage that looks original but retains organizational elements is the key. Ensure that the page is well balanced with features such as artwork and graphics while resisting the temptation to overfill parts of the page.
4. Funky Fonts
While the last 10 years may have seen the explosion of large expansive HD landscape images as a homepage for websites (hello WordPress templates). However, audiences are now turning their attention to custom typefaces and fonts that focus attention on the purpose of the site more than a simple image.
A bold heading with equally clear subheadings gives the visitor instant information, yet with modern fonts, this is done without falling into clichés.
An upcoming addition to this is Variable Fonts. This is a font that adapts and changes according to specified conditions. Fonts add personality and speak volumes about the company the chose them.
5. Smart CSS Grids
In the past a website was made with the PC or tablet user in mind. However, since in 2020 more people access the internet by smartphone than any other device, web design has had to adapt to meet this need.
Enter the world of responsive smart CSS grids. These grids allow the website creator to create a design that will not only adapt but work equally as effectively on any size of the screen. This is without losing any functionality.
6. Scalable Vector Graphics
Scaleable vector graphics are not only a possibility in 2020, whether they realize it or not they are strongly desired by site visitors. how so?
Rich graphics and logos bring life to webpages. However, historically they have been limited thanks to slow web page loading times. To counter this, website builders were limited in the size of the image that they could use. The result was that when users looked too closely at an image, they could clearly see pixelation.
Scaleable vector images (SVGs) are not made of pixels and can be scaled without degradation across devices.
7. Hand Drawings
If you are looking to employ originality to stand out from the crowd, you likely understand the need to avoid filling your site with obviously “stock” images.
If you really want to emphasize your originality, you can use hand-drawn images of various sizes and functionality on your site. Hand-drawn images shout personalization and character. They remove impersonal corporate fronts by presenting charming, if even imperfect, images.
Many companies are able to source hand-drawn images by locating freelance artists. These can often provide everything from hand-drawn versions of logos to characters that form part of the company branding.
This can engage people across various audiences and can be surprisingly effective at educating your brand and message to your customers.
8. Perfectly Imperfect Design
Which brings us fittingly to an important principle. When it comes to websites, perfection is overrated in 2020. This is not to say that it should not function perfectly, it should perform flawlessly. However, the design of the site should not be so polished that it loses the human element.
How can a web designer incorporate deliberate imperfection? Consider some examples.
- As mentioned hand-drawn images are a good way to introduce deliberate imperfection into your website.
- Blog articles that are written in the first person also introduce a personal element to websites. Perhaps they even recount a personal experience that is very relevant.
- Customer testimonies written in the exact voice that the person used can also add realism and relatability to a site.
Technical perfection may be possible for your website. However, do not forget the human element and its ability to attract the attention of your customers.
9. Voice Interaction
With the increasing prevalence of voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri, Hey Google! and Cortana, many people are choosing voice searching over text.
Whether this is because of the ease of entering search terms whilst in transit, either on foot or behind the wheel of an automobile, it is only growing in popularity.
incorporating voice interaction into your website design is not only a way of harnessing this development, but it also futureproofs your site as more and more personal assistance devices come on the market and this becomes the primary, or even only method, of searching.
10. AI and Machine Learning Technologies
Machine learning and AI will offer the website visitor a more personalized experience than ever before. By processing huge amounts of browser history and location information, it provides data which is the basis for this experience.
Customization is a relative term. By means of cookies, a website may remember a visitor and their preferences. However, AI and machine learning have the ability to employ data to create a far greater level of customization. Effectively ın the future, an almost custom website could be created for the user accordıng to theır preferences and hıstory.
11. Brutalism
Soft rounded edges and sans-serif fonts were the traditional business approach of the last decade. However moving into a new decade, something more specialized is expected.
Bold characters and brash designs are not generically appealing by definition. Therefore the website designer that incorporates these elements is creating an authentic design that immediately communicates the company brand to a select audience.
True this may not follow the rules of the last decade, however particularly when you are looking to retain members of a target audience, they speak volumes about personality, style, and faithfulness to your niche.
12. Clear Pricing
The audience of 2020 expects clarity of everything, which is not too much to ask. Whether it is the product being offered, the shipping or fulfillment of that product, of the pricing structure involved, clarity is king in 2020
Unclear pricing is not necessarily approached with suspicion. However, if the time taken to learn the pricing of a good or service is too much then it will be abandoned.
However, consider the opposite. Clear pricing indicates a trustworthy company that will likely be upfront about other aspects of the business relationship. Whilst it might not be easy to create a clear pricing structure, this is a task that is very worthwhile.
13. Self-Configuration Tools
Giving people the element of control is always a winner. Offering people the opportunity to be able to decide their own experience is an example of this. Many companies have begun to offer their customers a brief quiz. According to the information entered, their journey through the website will be adjusted. A truly customized experience.
This ultimately shortens the shopping trip for the customer and also provides valuable customer information for the retailer.
14. 3D Models
With the advent and growth of 3D modeling programs that are cheaper and more accessible, we can expect to see these proliferate in 2020.
Some large sports shoes and garment producers are already using this medium to illustrate the technology behind their latest productions. They use the 3-D modeling to indicate developments in design, and allow customers to rotate and view the 3D design.
15. Greater Accessibility
An incredibly important development is that of website accessibility. Whilst this might not be the cutting edge of retail strategy, it is a responsibility and in some locations, a lack of care may lead to legal action. This includes industries like retail, food service, hotels, air travel, and more.
16. Microinteractions
Micro-interactions or UI animations are small animations that occur when the user interacts with a website. This might be in the form of a button change or a color or dynamic font change. This is a remarkable way of building fluidity and even logic into a website.
One simple example of this is the “Like” button within Facebook. When you click on it, the “thumbs-up” button is animated and from its movement, you know that your command has been accepted.
When interactions like this are created without slowing down the experience, it adds personality to the site.
17. Split Content
Split content allows you to add multiple elements of information to a site without overcrowding or supersaturating it. By separating the elements, and even hiding them whenever possible, you restrict the amount of information that the user can see – until they want to see it.
This means that the website can retain a minimized look without you drastically reducing the information that it can contain.
Web Design: 2020 Trends and Much More
Website design and website SEO remain amongst the most effective ways to draw customer attention to your product. The challenge in 2020 will be doing this in ever more creative and innovative ways. 2020 trends show that designers are developing greater technologies and designs than ever before.
If you would like to make your website truly effective in gaining and retaining customer attention, we are here to help.
We leverage our years of experience in website development and marketing to provide a truly effective service to our customers. If you would like to see how we can help you, simply follow our blog or contact us for more information.
