Web Design & UX Trends To Watch Out For In 2022
Isn’t it funny how quickly fads change? While it seems like new norms are being established by the day, 2021 trends are quickly fading into the background as 2022 sweeps in. Take web design and user experience (UX) for example:
Website styles and best practices become passé as fast as the new millennial TikTok catchphrase. One year skeuomorphism is the latest and greatest; after just a few months, flat design becomes “fire,” as the “woke” culture would say.
Below is a list that we feel will be en vogue, at least until next year. Let’s take down that cheugy “Live Laugh Love” sign and explore some of the top web design trends for 2022.
New Year, New Web Trends, & How They Integrate With User Experience
Decrease In Choice & Information Overload
Over the last several years, home page design has shifted from throwing everything above the fold. That’s right, content hoarding is out.
Instead, when landing on a website people look for context clues as to where the information they seek will reside. Too much clutter becomes many choices and overwhelms our brains. We end up frustrated – leaving the site to go on to the next.
Our web design team also anticipates fewer large hero images in 2022. The influence trigger now rests on significant, bold statements to draw in users. Up until now, every website had a big image or video, overlayed white text, a simple call to action. This caused users to become numb to the once attractive site layout. We’ve essentially trained the world how to navigate sites like this to the point it doesn’t pack a punch like it once did.
The trick of the trade is pivoting to custom typography and large headlines on landing pages as seen on OddCommon’s home page. This trend will alter the overused hero image or video and focus more on brand storytelling, discussed further down the page.
Antidesign Is Here, For Now
The end of 2021 has surfaced an interesting concept in web design: Antidesign.
Antidesign styles infamously go against the grain when it comes to best practices, but how suitable are they for UX? Coloring outside of the lines is great, but we foresee this as a short-lived trend as 2022 unfolds. Why? Because optimized UX/UI and SEO have intertwining formulas that antidesign simply doesn’t follow.
Think of it this way: a whimsical design and altering the flow are edgy and cool, but not practical in generating new leads or conversion. Most small to medium businesses are looking for their website to be informative and work as a 24/7 sales tool. We find very few companies are willing to implement a hip, new website design if SEO and conversion rates are hindered. This design trend appeals to the .1% that need that shock and awe factor while making it hard for the other 99.9% of the users to convert. This is a classic case of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”.
Blast From The Past: Website Sliders & Mega Footers
We can all think of a few trends that are better off staying in the past (if you were born before 1990 – you’ll understand). Styles in just about every category from haircuts to web design are seeing recycled trends make their way into 2022’s limelight including slideshows on websites and mega footers. eCommerce websites are slowly – but surely – finding their way back to slider functionality. A rotation banner message replaces the top utility banner for discounts and announcements. Although this brings some life and movement to the website, as far as UX is concerned data from heat maps show sliders are still ineffective when it comes to user engagement.
The reintroduction of the mega footer still baffles our SEO team. We are seeing this more and more with new web designs for medical websites. Designers are putting entire sitemaps into the footer, which isn’t natural-looking or catering to the purpose of the footer. Google will devalue your website and all pages that the footer links to if it sees the links as too spammy or redundant. The regurgitation of the entire sitemap isn’t a benefit for the user, so know that if the site is tanking in search placement, this is an excellent place to start.
Dimension Inspired By Art Deco
When you think of the 1920s, you may think of women gaining the right to vote, flapper dresses, prohibition, speakeasies, and Jazz. For designers, the roaring 20s introduced the Art Deco moment that represented luxury, glamor, and progress. Art Deco’s boldness influenced artisans of all trades, including buildings, fashion, movies, and everyday objects. The minimalist design that painted the picture of wealth and prosperity is coming back around but with less pungency than the mullet.
The reintroduction of lines and shapes will break up the “blocky” feel that most template websites share. Designers in 2022 will have more ways to express their creativity and show off their talents in creating compelling ways to fill the client’s current infatuation with white space. Subtle drop shadows are making a comeback in some designs we have seen using a more three-dimensional approach that pairs nicely with Art Deco, breaking the website’s dimension free of the monotony of the “landing page conversion formula.” Unlike the need to hide illegal alcohol during prohibition, designers need to flaunt their creativity and bring back the luxury and glamor that once filled our world with color and shapes.
Increased Focus On The Guided Story
Do you remember reading the “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories? You, as the reader, assumed the role of the protagonist and made choices that determined the main character’s actions which changed the plot’s narrative and outcome. It was the perception of controlling the story, all while the writer carefully crafted the adventure to your perceived liking. As CRO experts in the website conversion path, we give information to the user and carefully guide them where we want them to go while giving them the perception of control over the outcome.
It all starts with the story. Your brand story needs to be compelling and keep the user’s attention while guiding the user successfully through your conversion path. Making the user the hero and solving their problem is achieved by good content writing, a complimentary design, and a perfectly placed call to action to navigate to success.
If you’re still unsure about brand storytelling ask yourself this, “How does your business solve a customer’s problem?”
Wrapping Up Here
We believe in practicing what we teach. Be on the lookout for Forefront’s fresh website design in 2022 – especially the website’s portfolio section. It’ll feature many of these trends so our clients and other businesses can see how to implement the latest design trends using timeless storytelling methods. Finding the best attributes from these hot commodities and crafting custom digital marketing strategies is what we do best. Let us know if you’re website is feeling a little outdated (not in the retro way) by reaching out to us today!