We have already reached the end of the first quarter of 2021, and yet we are still unboxing the mystery box full of trends. Some of these trends are new, but a lot of them are also coming back. The COVID-19 pandemic has put us into fresh perspectives, provoking us to explore new avenues and thought processes in almost every aspect of our lives.
The world of web page fashion is no exception. With the increased use of mobile phones for almost every necessity of life, organizations and business owners need to put in more effort to increase the visibility of a website for prospective consumers. They have to be aware of the offscreen trends, Internet-generated whims, and technological advancements to make their websites more effective.
We will discuss some of the aspects affecting the current web designing trends that could transform the world of websites in 2021 and beyond.
Code-Free Professional Designs
Any person or organization looking to create and publish a website had to rely on developers and designers until a few years ago. The websites had to be built from scratch using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web designing codes.
It often limited a designer’s ability to unfold their creativity due to their limitations of coding knowledge. Sometimes they also had to sacrifice the visual elements and layout to give more priority to functionality.
However, now the bar for professional standards for websites has gone up much higher, thanks to web designing platforms like WordPress or Wix. These platforms allow individuals with limited or no knowledge of website coding to explore the world of dynamic and professional designs.
People can use the drag-and-drop interfaces to develop websites without writing a single line of code. However, there are certain limitations to using these platforms. So, even though these options may be adequate to create a hobby or a blog site, a business owner should still hire a professional web design company to create a complete website.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
AI and machine learning have become an integral part of website designing for almost a decade. But there has been a noticeable increase in their usage in the last few years, especially with natural language processing (NLP) and image recognition. AI and machine learning are influencing the media present on websites more than others these days.
For example, Facebook has been using image recognition technology for the last few years. YouTube uses NLP and lipreading technology to generate automatic subtitles. Designers are using similar technologies on images and videos present on websites. These efforts can optimize the user experience, SEO, and accessibility of a website.
Voice Search
Most households in America have started using smart speakers from Amazon and Google these days. These smart speakers use voice recognition and machine learning technologies to converse with the users and assist them in their requirements.
The process has revolutionized the way users interact with search engines and must be taken into account while designing a website. Website designers must take the necessary steps to optimize a website to appear on search results.
Developers will have to improvise the schema markup and structured data to ensure that search engines can understand the purpose of the website. They should also include an FAQ section on the website since most of the queries on voice searches are in the form of questions.
Progressive Web Applications
Progressive web applications (PWAs) are not exactly new, but they have started becoming popular in 2021. These web applications offer a range of advantages over native mobile apps, which has led to their increasing popularity.
Since most people tend to access websites on their smartphones these days, PWAs can replicate the functionality of an app through the web browser. That means users will not have to download individual apps to access the services.
PWAs also make the website loading time faster, and they tend to work off-line as well. Business owners can revamp their mobile website by turning it into a PWA to save time and cost of building native applications for multiple smartphone platforms.
Motion UI
It is not enough these days that a business website displays the necessary information for users. The popularity of motion UI is increasing and will soon become a norm for website designing. Motion designs guide the users through the website, so they do not have to wonder where they need to click next.
They also create an intuitive interface that emphasizes the area of focus on a website. Motion UI creates interactive visual cues on the websites, which creates a fluid experience for the users.
Simple animations can prove useful to optimize user experience when an individual waits for the web page to load or information to download. These are particularly effective in keeping the visitors engaged during processes that may seem boring or frustrating.
The swift advancements in technology since 2020 make us feel like almost a decade has passed in the last year. We can expect many new things to progress in the world of science, affecting various walks of life, including website designs. That is why website designers and business owners must stay on top of the current technologies to optimize SEO marketing and user experience.