Design is about a lot more than making a site look pretty. While yes, we do want a site to be aesthetically pleasing, design should also:
- Provide clarity in displaying information
- Feel intuitive to use
- Lay out a clear path for users to complete their goals
- Address common questions and user needs
- Act as a vehicle for branding and messaging
User experience website design is all about creating a site that is enjoyable to use and easy to navigate. The driving force behind UX design is pretty simple: a good experience means visitors are more likely to stay on your page or site longer, convert and come back for more.
Some of the benefits of UX design include:
- Enhancing user satisfaction and loyalty
- Improving accessibility and usability
- Increasing conversion rates
- Enhancing brand reputation
The ever-evolving digital landscape
We are constantly finding new ways to evolve our UX/UI strategies to better connect with audiences. Whether you’re a freelance UX designer or working for a large web design agency, it’s vital that you have an understanding of all the ways design and development influence a visitor’s journey on a website.
With a lot of tools, products and services designed to make our lives easier, web design should follow suit. This means creating websites that are easy and enjoyable to use. Many factors are contributing to the strong demand for UX, including:
- Mobile usage: Phones have taken over. More and more people are navigating the web on mobile devices, creating more of a demand for UX design that is responsive and mobile-friendly.
- User-centric market: Many brands are focusing on a user-centric approach to marketing. People now expect more personalized content that feels authentic, emotional and relatable.
- Accessibility: The best UX design is also accessible, allowing all users to enjoy and navigate a site seamlessly.
The latest UX web design trends
Here is a roundup of eight emerging trends we’ve observed in the web design world that are contributing to and improving user experience.
1. Personalized user experiences
With the rise in user-centric marketing, more visitors are expecting tailored experiences that cater to their preferences and needs. This can be done by collecting user data, getting a better understanding of your audience and finding ways to add more emotion and empathy to your site design and messaging.
We’re seeing this personalization across various sites and platforms: curated playlists on music streaming services, show recommendations on Netflix and the notable TikTok algorithm. For site design, personalized experiences could include unique content, product recommendations, interactive animations and more!
Here’s an example of personalized content on Amazon:
2. Data visualization
Data visualization is all about telling a story using fun and engaging visuals. People care about trends and information (especially if it pertains to their own experiences), but don’t care about boring charts and tables. Some ways to incorporate data into design include the use of images, animations, color graphs, videos, etc. We’re seeing a lot of brands and websites leaning toward data visualization. Here are some examples:
- Spotify wrapped
- The Pudding
- Heatmaps- we at Orbit love Clarity (it’s free)!
- Infographics- read more about infographic data visualization
- Neal.fun
Here’s an example of data visualization on Spotify’s website:
3. Microinteractions
Microinteractions are small exchanges between a site and a user. They’re helpful for providing feedback to visitors and guiding them through the site. Not only are microinteractions a great way to play around with fun branding and design, but they can also improve the user experience by:
- Encouraging user engagement
- Guiding users through a site or page
- Communicating branding
- Preventing errors
You might be thinking “microinteractions have been a thing for a while” and you’re right! We see examples of microinteractions every day: scrollbars, loading symbols, user sign-ups, share buttons, etc. However, some brands are tying microinteractions into their sites in new ways:
- Pull to refresh animations
- Swipe animations
- Audio and visual feedback
- Page or scroll transitions
- Hover animations
- Advanced cursor interactions
On Apple’s website, clickable cards will slightly enlarge when the cursor hovers over them:
4. Accessibility
Accessibility should be more than just a trend, it is a vital part of UIUX design and web development and something we hope to see more of in the future. Ensuring your website is accessible means more people can navigate through and enjoy your site. Some inclusive design features include:
- Conveying information using shapes, colors and text labels
- Choosing high-contrast colors between text and background
- Ensuring all animations, videos and other visual elements can be paused or disabled
- Font size and scale are readable and pass WCAG standards
Access to information is a human right and accessible design is something we prioritize at Orbit. Learn more about accessible web design and WCAG guidelines.
5. Dark mode
Another trend we’ve been noticing more often is the use of dark mode, or the option to switch to dark color palettes on websites. There are many benefits of having a dark mode option: reducing eye strain, accessibility, preserving user battery life, general user preference and more. Not to mention that darker color palettes can often give a more minimalistic, aesthetically pleasing look.
If you are toying around with a dark color palette, look out for some common issues like:
- Poor color contrast
- Nontransparent backgrounds on files
- Fonts that are too thick or too thin
Check out this dark theme on Avocado Systems site:
6. 3D design
Three-dimensional design is nothing new. However, like many trends, the use of 3D design elements has ebbed and flowed throughout the years, and we’ve noticed a recent resurgence. 3D design is a great way to add depth and interest to a website.
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Nick Grant, 80 Level, Dimensional Dexterity“The integration of 3D content into digital platforms represents a significant leap forward in enhancing user experience. By offering immersive, interactive, and engaging content, 3D technology improves user satisfaction, information retention, and social interactions across various platforms.“ |
Here’s an example of 3D content in a CTA on visme.co
7. Minimalist design (plus a little something extra)
Minimalistic design has been around for a while and likely isn’t going anywhere. People tend to go for a sleek, clean, uncluttered feel. Some UX research shows that minimalist design makes web copy easier to read and digest, and many viewers tend to rate less complex websites as more beautiful than their complex counterparts.
Some key characteristics of minimalist design include:
- Simple typography
- Whitespace
- Grid-based, organized layouts
- Limited color palettes
- Neutral or white backgrounds
However, a recent trend is finding small ways to spice up minimal design. Examples include pops of color, unexpected images, animations, bold typography and other design elements. These small features are a great way to keep users engaged, guide them toward conversions (through colorful CTAs, forms or links) and evoke certain emotions.
In this example, Captioneer keeps a sleek and minimalist design with bright pops of color to highlight CTAs and keywords:
8. Interactive experiences & design
I’m sure it’s no surprise that a 2024 trends breakdown includes some kind of artificial intelligence (AI) influence. Whether or not you’re a fan, AI is here to stay, and we’ve been seeing quite a few instances of AI integration in website design. Similarly, we’ve seen an increase in online interactive and immersive experiences, such as virtual reality, augmented reality and more.
Interactive and immersive technologies grab user’s attention and offer them the ability to engage with your site in a new way. Examples include:
- Chatbots
- Image search features
- Virtual museums, tours and displays
Here’s what a virtual museum tour looks like on the Louvre’s website:
Another interactive design trend we’re seeing a lot of recently is voice interaction. Voice user interfaces are rising all over- virtual assistants, voice-enabled apps, voice-enabled TV remotes, etc.
Voice interactive design offers many benefits to users, including accessibility, convenience and efficiency. Though there are many challenges to keep in mind as well to support UX, including privacy concerns, discoverability, difficulty handling errors and more.
Making the web a better place
User experience is a vital part of web design. We want to ensure that everyone is able to easily use and enjoy the digital world. When users have a positive experience on your site, they’re more likely to stay, convert and return for more!
There are many ways to support UX online. Some of the latest UX design trends include some (hopefully) common practice items for many designers out there- such as accessible color palettes and fonts. Other trends include personalized experiences, data visualizations, innovative microinteractions, 3D design elements, dark mode and more.
Orbit Media Studios has been designing and developing user-friendly, conversion and search-optimized websites since 2001. Orbit has worked with hundreds of clients across every industry, from B2B sites to nonprofit organizations. View Orbit’s UX site design portfolio >
