As website designers in Michigan, we are constantly evaluating trends in web design, in order to bring the most innovative, most effective design platforms to our customers and partners.
We see the following trends as being likely to emerge or expand in 2017:
- Websites will become more visually diverse and interesting, as designers move away from stock photography, using more original full-screen photography and video. The pressure to create sites that are authentic and unique to the business/organization will push designers to seek more innovative designs. Greater focus will be placed on connecting the website with its audience.
- The use of animations will increase, as website move away from static imagery and into more compelling imagery – imagery that tells a story and captures the attention of the user.
Some designers will focus their designs on the story telling aspect of
- Full-screen video and virtual reality will become a bigger part of the user experience for some websites.
Designers will more commonly recommend full-screen video and/or virtual reality for the site where they will be of benefit to the user – that is, not a gratuitous use, but rather a functional one will become more common in 2017.
- Fewer menu items will become the norm in 2017, as user’s preference for ‘less is more’ will translate into providing fewer choices and a less cluttered site overall.
- Mobile browsing will increase, as smartphone technology continues to advance quickly. As a result, the need for more mobile-based apps will increase significantly in 2017.
- Custom graphics should become more prominent in 2017, as designers shy away from stock illustrations, images, and videos that can make their designs look like other websites.
