Website Design Trend Predictions for 2018 (Part 2)

We are continuing on with our second part in this series on website design predictions for 2018.  Like I said in my first post, I tend to be in favor of clean lines so some of these designs tend to blow my mind a bit.  That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use them.  This will help you bring in a greater audience as more people expect to see these kinds of designs.

5. Sharp Gradients

Another trend starting to take off is a new take on presenting a gradient.  Sharp gradients are starting to be used to help add some visual interest to gradients beyond just a gradual change in color.  Seeing the color change on a sharp line helps take an ordinary gradient of 2015 and make it more modern.  And this is something that is relatively easy to do.

4. Animations That Don’t Distract

Animations in websites have blossomed thanks to jQuery and CSS3, but until recently, designers have gone overboard in wanting to animate all things. In 2018, it’s expected that animations and interactions will be used with more restraint and intention.  Meaning they add to the experience without distracting or confusing the user.

3. Return of the Serifs

With flat design came the desire to go really flat.  Even so much as to remove serifs.  As we start to move away from flat design, we are beginning to see typefaces with a bit more personality.  Which means, they tend to have serifs now.  Just don’t go overboard with this.  Typefaces with too large of a serif can make it difficult for your users to read your content.

2. Broken and/or Unconventional Grid Layouts

I did say that I can’t always handle certain designs on account of how my brain works.  But I do kind of like this particular design.  While it doesn’t seem to break the mold, like the brutalist design, it still has a bit of an edge.  We have been seeing this kind of design over the last couple of years.  It’s expected to remain, however, also continue in 2018.  Unconventional and even broken grids will become more of a prevalent design as designers test the boundaries and find new ways to present unique content.  And that’s what is key here.  Designers need to find ways to present the content in a way that’s unique.

1. The Death of Pop-ups and Interstitials

And the number one trend you can expect to see in 2018 is the end of pop-ups and interstitials.  Google tends to be the main driver behind web trends.  And there is no doubt that they will be the driving force pushing sites to drop their pop-ups and interstitials. You’re probably familiar with a pop-up, but do you know what I’m talking about when I say interstitials?  Interstitials are web pages displayed before or after an expected content page, often to display advertisements or confirm the user’s age (prior to showing age-restricted material). Google recently announced that it will start punishing sites that use these annoying tactics in search results — for instance blocking most of the content on a page until you click the “X” button. n 2018 we will be seeing less of these, as sites become worried that they could take an SEO hit when it comes to Google. However, not all interstitials will disappear — websites that require age verification or signing in before seeing content will still need them.