3 minute read
With the increase in technology and design available for the Average Joe, creating a responsive web design has now become easier for businesses to utilize. Stay ahead of the game with these top user experience (UX) trends you will be seeing throughout the year.
1. Increase Speed of User Interface
The good news is that responsive design is getting easier; the bad news is that a lot of websites look very similar. Fortunately, most of these similarities are functions that we all need for our websites.
UX pattern trends to get familiar with:
- Hero images – generally, the first high-quality image customers see when they go to a web page
- The hamburger icon and flyout menu
- Long scrolls and bringing together clearly defined page sections
- Account registration and form wizard
- Card layouts for articles and posts
2. High-Quality Animations
There are two types of animation used in websites to compel customers:
- Large scale – animations that are a primary interaction tool (such as pop-up notifications)
- Small scale – animations that do not require any user input (such as spinners and loading bars)
Here are the most popular animation techniques trending:
- Background animations and videos
- Hidden navigation menus
- Loading animations to entertain users while waiting
- Hover animations for automatic visual feedback
- Smooth scrolling for ease of use and pace control
- Galleries and slideshows for photography and showcases
- Motion animation to draw attention
3. Micro Interactions
Micro interactions are instant interactions with your mobile device and app programs. These can include anything from liking a photo online of a cat to checking information about your 9AM appointment.
Micro interactions help you communicate feedback online, see the result of an action, or even help the user manipulate something. Web designers must find a way to make micro interactions possible simultaneously with the user.
4. Material Design & Material Design Lite
Material Design is a new style language created by Google, with shadow effects and image depth that makes realistic-like designs to the user. UX can be utilized to its peak with Material Designs minimalist style similar to flat design trends.
Material Design Lite, a new version created in 2015, uses CSS, HTML and JavaScript for the intention of making web designs and UX simpler.
5. Responsive Web Design
Responsive design is not going anywhere; it is a simple and inexpensive way for businesses to build mobile-friendly sites for their customers. However, an inexperienced designer can easily make responsive design more of a burden than helpful. Before you start optimizing your website for mobile users, there are 4 things you need to know.
We recommend these tips for making fast responsive web design sites:
- Avoid using JavaScript and CSS image loading using the display:none tag. This still downloads the image to the device and adds unnecessary weight to a page.
- Use responsive images which are defined using a percentage.
- Use conditional loading for JavaScript as many of the JavaScript components used on a desktop site will not be used on smaller devices. Pay particular attention to third-party scripts such as those used for social sharing as these often impact negatively and reduce performance.
- Use RESS – responsive design elements with server-side detection.
- Apply performance testing into the process in order to effectively measure and optimize each site.
6. Flat Web Design
Similar to material design and responsive web design; flat design is still trendy for users.
We will most likely continue seeing this flat design trend in websites with specific features:
- Minimalism and simplicity
- Long shadows for more depth in images
- Vibrant colors in designs
- Simple typefaces for legible text
- Ghost buttons for functionality
Determine Which UX Trends Are Right For You
Make sure you choose the best UX trends and techniques that are right for you and your website. Don’t forget to consistently test your design compatibility to ensure that you have an optimal UX design. View important UX stats to help improve your website.
