11 Cool Web Design Trends in 2021

As a website owner, it is your job to stay up to date with the latest web design trends and developments in this ever-changing industry. Trends are always shifting and nothing stays “cool” for long on the internet. This means that if you do not adapt to these changes, there’s a great chance you will be left behind. 

Luckily for all of us who want to keep ahead of the curve when 2021 rolls around, we have some clues about what web trends could happen within the next 3 years. Don’t forget this is not definite or set in stone, but web designers who play their cards right will be able to create awesome, functional websites in 2021 with these web design trends in mind.

Let’s get started.

AR/VR Technology

More and more people are starting to use virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, glasses, and apps. It is predicted that by 2021 there will be 200 million VR users around the world, which could potentially make website development shift towards AR/VR-related content.

VR can provide website owners with many opportunities such as 3D web graphics; job applications submitted via virtual rooms; live web chat rooms where users can interact with each other; listening to music together from several different computers, and web-based VR chat rooms.

AR web design opportunities include web apps, web games, and web 3D models.

Parallax Scrolling

A web design trend that has been growing over time includes web designs that employ parallax scrolling effects where different layers of the website move at different speeds, thus giving web visitors a more dynamic experience when interacting with websites.

As websites become more complex and have multiple objects embedded within them such as videos, social media links, and photos, etc., using this type of web design technique makes it easier to ensure all components are properly displayed.

Minimalistic Designs

Minimal web design in general is a web design trend that will continue to be popular for years to come as web designers want to create modern, clean web designs with simple elements.

Dark color schemes and negative space web design are currently trending in web design because of their simplicity and elegance. Removing most of the frills will allow websites to load quickly without adversely affecting web user experience.

But websites are no longer just black text on a white background.

Web Apps

The web design industry and web users are embracing web apps both in concept and with the use of web applications. Web sites are no longer just used to promote a company, they also allow for web users to purchase products or simply interact with website content utilizing web apps such as web-based e-mail accounts.

Interactive Web Design

A web design trend that has been gaining ground over time is more interactive web designs that allow website visitors to engage with the content being viewed on the screen of a computer, tablet device, or smartphone. For example, by clicking on certain words hyperlinks can take web viewers to other sections within a website or trigger video playback.

Flat 2D Motion Graphics – One trendy design approach among web designers is to use flat two-dimensional (2D) motion graphics web design to incorporate rich media components to web pages. The 2D is entirely digital with no visual cues that there is any depth or perspective involved in website design,

3D Designs

Since web design is becoming more flatter, web developers are using 3D graphics to create images with a sense of depth. However, web designers are using 3D web design in a flat 2D style so that it looks like the web page is rendered on top of the screen when viewed on a computer monitor or mobile device.

3D web design and motion graphics may not be for everyone. Web designers use various tricks to give the impression that web pages have a third dimension when they do not.

Emojis

Emojis are often used to represent web links on web pages, but web designers have taken it a step further by using emoticons that look like the web page link is popping out of the web page as an image.

You have the opportunity to show your users how you feel about them by rewarding them with a smiley face or understanding their frustration when the page takes too long to load due to an outdated server and brighten up their day with a happy emoji. 

Neumorphism

Neuromorphic web design is an attempt to imitate the appearance of real-world objects and materials on web pages. A web page that uses Neumorphism will replace web links with images of files and folders, for example.

The advantage of web Neumorphism is that it makes web pages look like physical documents, giving users a more familiar experience as they interact with web pages.

However, web designers should be careful to not give the sites they create a dated feel because web links are supposed to represent access to content—not paper documents archived in file cabinets.

Neumorphism replaces web links with images of files and folders, making it easier for users to understand where the content resides.

Motion Design

As web design becomes more about UX, web designers are focusing on how to make web pages more engaging and interactive. Motion is one part of web design that can help web designers add a layer of engagement among users who have developed a level of comfort with navigating web pages.

Motion not only stimulates user interactivity but also communicates messages through the movement and visuals provided in web animation.

Creating animations for web designs will continue to be popular as awareness surrounding them grows, especially because they create engaging experiences for site visitors.

They also provide web designers with an opportunity to bridge any disconnect between what a product does and what its value proposition is. Motion Design is becoming increasingly important now particularly because it helps communicate complex ideas in single images or videos.

Full-Screen Backgrounds

Video content is becoming increasingly popular, so web developers are starting to use full-screen backgrounds instead of traditional designs.

Websites are making a larger use of one-point messages and simple layouts, removing distracting elements in favor of emphasis.

Some platforms are not good at handling multiple windows and tabs so you need to make sure your site does not cause any crashes.

Video content is becoming more popular, so expect to see full-screen backgrounds as well. Even web developers need to be prepared for this change.

Scrolling Effects

Web designers are interested in exploring designs that create a moving effect and make it so users don’t get confused.

For example, when a reader scrolls down to read an article, the user should be moved to another section or list of items in less than 5 seconds.

Animations should be smooth and shouldn’t include sudden movements such as parallax styles, which could give people headaches.

Conclusion

Technology is constantly evolving, ensuring that web design will always change and stay relevant.

For more information about web design trends and to see additional inspiration, check out our blog. If you need assistance with your website, contact us at Pixel Street – Web Design Company!

khurshidName: Khurshid Alam
Designation: Founder
Facebook  Instagram  linkedin
Khurshid Alam is the founder of Pixel Street, a web design company. He aspires to solve business problems by communicating effectively digitally. In his leisure, he reads, writes and occasionally plays a game of table tennis.