Web Design Trends In 2023: How to Keep Your Website Looking Fresh

From the different visual design elements used for the overall look, feeling, or aesthetic of a site to the way a site functions, a web design trend is defined as anything about a website’s design (visual and functional) that meets the latest standards and expectations of web designers and users at a given time. Web designs are unique for every company, but the trends used within successful designs can be spotted as commonalities, regardless of the size of the business or the industry in which it operates. 

Below are some of the latest web design trends and techniques for this year.

Responsive & Mobile-Friendly Web Design

Responsive web design is nothing new to the world of web development. However, it maintains its status as an essential trend for web projects going forward this year. Why? Because web audiences continue to visit sites via mobile devices like tablets and smartphones more and more every day. Having a mobile-friendly design is essential for online shoppers as well as general website visitors, as it increases a website’s accessibility. 

With a responsive design, everything from the site’s homepage menu, landing pages’ widths, and image sizes adjust accordingly to be the best size for the screen that the user is accessing the site with. This means that none of the page elements are lost when a web page is accessed from a phone vs. on a desktop computer. This ease of access makes interactions and sales between potential customers and your business easier. Regardless of what type of business you’re in, responsive website designs are simply a must.

“Dark Mode” Web Design

Another popular trend going forward will be dark mode, or darker designs in general. Many apps, like YouTube and Gmail, have begun to offer a “dark mode” for users who want the ability to use a different, darker color scheme for their viewing experience. For example, color palettes like white text on black or dark grey backgrounds are being used instead of the standard white background with black text. These colors are said to be easier on the eyes and are better for nighttime web surfing. Whether your site has the option to turn “dark mode” on and off or you simply choose to go for a darker color scheme with less white space, dark web design is a proven website design trend.

Bold Typography Designs

Although bold typography is a well-established design style, its popularity persists to this day. Incorporating big, bold, in-your-face typography can enhance the visual appeal of a business’s website thanks to its striking and attention-grabbing appearance.

Minimalistic Web Design

On the other hand, minimalism also continues to be a sought-after trend, showing no signs of fading away even as bold designs continue to thrive. With their clean, simple, and user-friendly interface, minimalistic designs remain an excellent option for any business website, embracing the “less is more” philosophy.

Illustrations & Animations

Illustrations and animations are a continuing popular trend in web design because they offer a unique, visually appealing, versatile, emotionally engaging, and cross-platform compatible way to convey a brand’s message and personality. From 3D illustrations, to custom animations, to micro-animations, adding art, shapes, and illustrations to your site can create a more engaging user experience and reflect your brand in a playful way.

Gradients & Bold Color Designs

Images aren’t the only way to provide an eye-grabbing element to your website. Gradients and bold colors are grabbing the interest of people every day online. Brands use gradient color schemes or a bold color concept to add color, depth, and intrigue to a website.

Single Page Web Design

Rather than having multiple pages to click through, the single-page web design features a one-page layout that is broken into sections through which visitors scroll through. Single-page layouts are popular because they are easy to create and customizable with buttons, lines, objects, graphics, and motion effects during scrolling that appeal to viewers. Creativity is endless even with single-page websites.