2018 has started and we’re looking forward to a great year full of new design trends and a whole new wave of styles and ideas on the web. The last few years have steadily seen more and more people surfing the web on their phones so that will continue to drive trends and how people use websites and what they expect to see (and how quickly!). With the rise of artificial intelligence, we’ll also start to see that integrated into the web and can expect more of that coming up this year. We’re also seeing design move in the direction of less “sameness”, more vivid imagery, using bright and bold typography, color, photos, and layouts that are aren’t standard anymore. 2018 has just begun, let’s see what’s in store for the year!

Mobile First

A Mobile First direction for design will continue to be popular this year as mobile traffic continues to skyrocket and even take over as the more popular option on some sites. Mobile First means that sites are designed with the mobile user experience and look first, and then the desktop experience and look second. It used to be the other way around, where mobile design was an afterthought, but now that mobile usage is continuing to grow, the importance of how it looks and functions will continue to grow as well.

Interactive & Animated Content

Users love to see movement on the web, it adds excitement and interest and keeps them engaged. We’re seeing more and more movement like icons that move when you hover over them, or buttons that animate when you click them, or things that change color or shape as you scroll past. There are lots of ways to add movement to your site to add a new level of excitement for your users and it’s a trend that isn’t going to die any time soon.

Integration of AI

Artificial Intelligence is another growing trend that is moving onto the web as people are loving the interaction and automation of it. AI integration can come in the form of chatbots that respond to customer requests or questions, or it can help direct a user to a resource or something they are looking for. This will continue to evolve and grow this year and for many years to come.

Bold, Bright Color Choices

Color palettes are bold and bright this year. People were feeling like everything was looking too minimal and similar in previous years so designers are starting to break out of the mold with new color choices and bold pairings to make things really pop and stand out.

Floating Navigations

Sticky navigations became popular when long homepages started trending, and now floating navigations are growing in popularity this year. A sticky navigation is when the menu is at the top, no matter how far down you scroll on the page, it just “sticks” with you. A floating navigation is a similar concept but it floats at the top when you scroll and isn’t attached to the top like a sticky navigation. Just a little something different and new.

Asymmetrical Layouts

Another trend that plays into the fact that people want to break out of the norm, asymmetrical layouts are growing in popularity to help make designs a little different from one another.

Serif Fonts

Sans serif fonts have long been popular on the web because it’s easy to read and easy on the eyes, but people are wanting something different with fonts as well, so serifs are starting to break out as the trendy font choice this year!

What else do you think is coming up this year? What’s your favorite trend that you’re looking forward to seeing more of? Let us know in the comments below!