Having a website that looks outdated can make your business appear less competitive to web-savvy customers. New web design trends often emerge in response to changing user preferences and technology advancements, so staying current with these can help ensure that your website provides a positive and up-to-date user experience.
As an online business, your website is a powerful asset and you need it to make a good first impression. By getting up to speed on the latest web design trends, you’ll be on your way to converting one-time browsers into loyal repeat visitors and paying customers. Plus, consistently updating your design to reflect current trends can help reinforce your brand’s image as forward-thinking, innovative, and adaptable.
To set your website up for success, here are four WordPress web design trends to follow.
Why it’s important to follow web design trends
When designing a website, there’s always a temptation to stand out by creating something unexpected. While defying expectations may sound like a good idea, unique sites often struggle to provide a strong User Experience (UX).
Web design trends exist for a reason. Usually, they represent the most popular and widely used approaches at the current time. Follow these trends, and visitors will immediately know how to interact with your site.
This isn’t to say you can’t bend the rules and inject some of your personality and brand identity into your website. However, before you can get creative, it’s helpful to have a solid understanding of what’s popular in the world of web design.
4 WordPress web design trends to keep an eye on
When it comes to web design, we’ve tracked the latest trends. To keep your website relevant, here are four of the most important developments.
1. Flexible multi-purpose themes
Multi-purpose themes enable you to build practically any kind of website. They often include extensive feature lists and multiple built-in tools. Some popular examples of multi-purpose WordPress themes include Divi and the Avada theme.
Multi-purpose themes are ideal for anyone who owns several websites. Instead of purchasing a different theme for each site, you can use a single multi-purpose theme across all of your domains.
In this way, using multifunctional designs can enable you to solidify your branding and give your entire portfolio a professional makeover.
2. Minimalism and white space
Sometimes less is more. If you take a look at some of the top brands, you’ll see that many websites include white space in their designs. This design trend involves using large white sections between text and images.
White space can create a distinction between different sections. In turn, this can help visitors better understand your content.
If you really want to draw the visitor’s attention towards a particular feature, try creating a slight 3D effect by adding subtle shadows. This technique is also useful for ‘softening’ a page that uses lots of contrasting white space and colourful elements.
3. Using interactive website elements
Take a look at many South African websites, and you’ll notice a shift towards rich, multimedia websites with multiple points of interaction. Vital, for example, features a scrolling header, embedded videos, a form, and multiple Calls To Action (CTAs) on its homepage.
Page builders are a simple way to add multiple elements to your websites with minimal coding knowledge. The Starter Sites included with Managed WordPress Hosting make it easy to create a professional-looking website featuring all of the rich, interactive content that internet users have come to expect:
Most modern page builders also provide pre-built elements that you can use to quickly construct a professional website. Some even offer ready-made templates.
4. Compelling video backgrounds
As humans, we’re naturally drawn to moving images. In 2023, YouTube reached 50 billion daily views.
A video background can be a powerful way to make your website more engaging. In addition to capturing the visitor’s attention, you can also use this media element to communicate an emotional message efficiently.
However, videos can take a chunk out of your visitors’ data allowances, and put smaller devices under increased pressure. With over 36 million South Africans using the internet from their mobile devices, this represents a significant portion of your potential audience.
To justify the extra data and processing power, we recommend only using a video background when it aligns with your website’s objectives and serves a clear purpose.
Align your brand with WordPress web design trends
Your website is a crucial part of your online branding. To stand out in today’s competitive digital space, it’s helpful to be aware of the latest WordPress web design trends. Once you’ve made them your own, you should have no problem impressing potential customers.
If you want to read more on this topic, we recommend How Managed WordPress Hosting gives you the freedom to be creative with your business website.
