5 website design trends for 2021

As a longstanding website design company in Brisbane, we’ve seen a multitude of changes over the past 20 years.

Web development is very much a specialist field that demands a very high level of knowledge, skill, and creativity. It also takes a lot of training and time to stay up to date with all of the changes that occur very rapidly in the industry. After all, our clients expect an end product which delivers true results for their business. A web developer’s level of expertise and experience is usually reflected in their website design pricing.

Some of the technological changes we see help to improve the aesthetics of a website, while others enhance the user experience. So what changes can we expect on the horizon? Let’s take a look at what we expect to see happening in 2021.

1. More SVG/vector images

Websites that are loaded with lots of GIFs or PNG images can significantly reduce browser loading times and it becomes very frustrating for shoppers. So much so that consumers tend to close these sites before they fully open and move onto another site that loads faster.

Loading speed is such an important topic, particularly with the increasing popularity of mobile devices where these speeds can be even slower. Google has also given browser speed some attention, as it ranks sites that load quickly higher than their slower counterparts.

Another problem with these image formats is that they can’t be resized very well, because they lose their resolution, which also affects the user experience on mobile devices again.

In 2021, we believe that there’s going to be a big increase in SVG formats for images, because they load faster and automatically resize themselves to suit the device, whilst retaining clarity and resolution. It’s a trend that is already growing right here in Brisbane and as a leading website design company, we can offer the speed improvements to our clients!

2. Enhancing communications with informative design

Basically, this means that you present data in a way that is easy to understand. Your audience can be your own employees, senior management or consumers and the data can be displayed in graphs, infographics or any other way that makes data and information easier to understand. So it’s all about clarity of communication and helping people make sense of data. You can also use this data to promote your company to consumers by incorporating data collection into your web design – just ask us how!

3. Maximising individuality with asymmetrical designs

Something that web designers utilise in page layouts is a grid, which defines the layout of each web page. A well designed layout provides a positive user experience and the grid has proven to be very useful in that regard. Usually, designers focus on symmetrical layouts because it allows elements to be placed evenly around a central point or axis on the web page. 

There are different types of symmetry, for example rotational symmetry where you can place elements around a central point, as if in a circle. This eliminates the restrictions of the four cardinal points and allows more freedom in symmetrical design.

Then there’s reflectional symmetry which is very restrictive and is where one half of the page mirrors the other half. Last is glide reflectional symmetry, which is where you reflect an image, but move it so that it’s not in the opposite position, as it would be in a mirror image. In short, symmetry provides an ordered approach to web design because consumers know where to look for certain elements on a page and the eye likes symmetry!

Symmetry, however, becomes increasingly difficult to attain as more elements are added to a page (it’s best used for simple web designs). The alternative is an asymmetrical design, something that we have been seeing more of at our Brisbane web design company.

An asymmetrical web design means that we aren’t constrained to achieve symmetry, but can accept a certain degree of asymmetry, whilst still trying to ensure that we achieve a balanced design. Asymmetry provides an avenue for more uniqueness in a design but requires great skill because without balance a website doesn’t enhance user experience. Expect more websites to utilise an asymmetrical layout in 2021!

4. Adding interest by layering the web design

A recent trend has been to upload a video so that it becomes the background to the home page. The problem, however, is when you want to include lots of SVG images or text boxes on the page as well.

The solution is to use shadows and floating images that create a layered effect to the web design, adding interest and depth to the page. This solution can also be used to add text, headings or CTA buttons on top of the background video, providing even more avenues for creating a unique website.

You will start to notice these design changes over the next 12 months as 2021 progresses, because more people will start to realise the visual benefits of this layering effect along with a much better user experience.

5. Web design on the dark side

Just about every web design company in Brisbane and elsewhere promotes the use of white space to their clients, as this allows consumers to easily visualise the content. Now, however, we are seeing an increase in dark mode web designs where the background isn’t white, but dark, and the text isn’t black, but white.

This design approach provides a completely different aesthetic and has been adopted by a number of large multinational companies, such as Mercedes Benz and Apple. From a practical point of view, a dark design reduces eye strain which can be a problem for people who spend a lot of time on the internet.

It also allows you to highlight certain content because a white text box stands out on a dark background. As far as aesthetics is concerned, a dark design makes your website look ultra-modern and cutting edge!

While these are the most likely trends that will become more commonplace in 2021, others that are starting to show some traction include voice user interfaces, custom navigation, augmented reality and immersive 3D elements.

We fully expect 2021 to be a great year for some truly unique web designs!