Website design is a job that needs to be based on two bases: a good visual presentation, which is attractive to the user, and functionality in the browsing experience. From this, it is possible to project which are the most important website development tips for 2020.
Never has it been so important to think and execute web design in such an optimized, simplified and attractive way. Over the years, trends and news have emerged with the proposal to make the navigation experience more positive and easier. For 2020, the idea of website design tries to stay in that line, thinking about both interface and functionality.
Some concepts are inflexible, due to the acceptance they had, such as minimalism, 3D elements and dark layouts. In addition, there are also issues related to the ranking of the website in search engines, which requires that the speed of the website and the use of headers are fundamental.
1. Prioritize website speed
Thinking about website design is something that naturally leads us to reflect on the possibilities of novelties at the interface level. Visual elements, illustrations and other similar features are part of the developer’s routine, however, their role is also to design how these items impact navigation. A website needs to be as functional as it is beautiful and modern.
The page loading speed should be a priority when referring to web design. Choices must always be made thinking about how a certain amount of visual elements will impact the performance of the pages. This care is totally linked to UX, that is, the navigation experience on the website, whose relevance the developers understand well.
Therefore, the use of news and trends should be considered in view of the greater importance of having a website that runs well on any platform and that loads its pages quickly. This is even an SEO parameter that impacts search engine ranking, such as Google. Slow sites and blogs are not on the first page of results!
2. Put a descriptive title on the home page
Still talking about SEO, homepages need to be more succinct and, mainly, objective. Users, when they arrive at a website, want an immediate response that meets what they were looking for. This is the positive feedback that indicates that they are really in the right environment. The use of a descriptive title on the home page leads to this path in an objective and precise manner.
There are some technical parameters that must be considered when planning the homepage in this way. The first one is the use of the keyword, an essential item that helps pages to rank better in search engines. A user will use these terms in their searches and, if the site also includes that keyword in their home, the page is found more easily.
It is also ideal that the keyword in question is in a prominent format, that is, in a heading. This is another very important ranking parameter.
As for the text that follows the descriptive title, it is important that it informs about the website or about the product or service that it delivers. This content needs to be descriptive, objective and small.
3. Rethink empty spaces to connect users
When viewing a page, users tend to have their attention captured by the elements that are in front of their eyes. A number of details guide the understanding of what he sees; between them, the spacing between the elements.
If you are more attentive, you have certainly noticed that, lately, websites have left large blank spaces on the sides or between sections, this vertically.
These sections are not necessarily white, but the concept is that they are empty, that is, only with the background color of the website.
Without texts, images or any layout, the idea is simple: generate the idea of emptiness so that, automatically, the user’s attention is captured by the elements present. Therefore, everything on the site will be more highlighted.
The strategy is to connect the user with texts and images in a more precise and less confusing way. For this, the design is designed in a more minimalist way, leaving large empty areas and, between them, or even in the middle of them, the information and element that need to be highlighted are positioned. For 2020, this website design trend will be very strong!
4. Invest in minimalism
Minimalism is the basis of the concept of the trend we talked about above, of empty spaces. Less is more and you cannot say that this is something that is proposed now.
The concept of minimalism has been present in design for some years and, of course, web design is another aspect that has taken advantage of this proposal. In 2020 this should not change, since the results are satisfactory!
Minimalist sites, just for their visual construction, draw much more attention from users in relation to others that have many elements.
This has to do with psychology, since the human mind tends to have a greater concentration on elements that are positioned alone in larger spaces. That’s why we say that the use of empty spaces is part of the concept of minimalism!
The focus needs to be given to what really matters: texts, images and important links that lead to other pages within the site. When these points are designed on a leaner interface, the tendency is for the user to feel more comfortable and attracted to what is relevant.
5. Draw attention with visual cues
Visual appeal is something that needs to be used in website design. Users are more likely to devote attention to shapes, images and illustrations, especially when chosen carefully. It is about composing all the information that is shown on the website in the most didactic way possible. Ideally, visual cues are part of a text, for example.
There is a popular expression, which is not very friendly, but which helps to understand this concept in a good-humored way: “do you understand or want me to draw?”.
Basically, this is what must be projected, that is, images that help the user to understand the message that is transmitted. They do not necessarily need to be explanatory, but ideally they complement an idea.
Visual cues are not always images, but they can be small visual elements that even direct the visual field to which the user wants to pay attention. This is an accurate strategy to ensure that the site is understood and consumed in the right way.
6. Know that the page fold is still relevant
Increasingly, website design is designed so that the consumption of pages is done in an intuitive and functional way. Therefore, lately the scroll has been more and more important, since some designs think of pages without division, that is, without fold. The proposal is that this generates in the user the idea that the content is not in visual divisions, in addition to the functional issue.
As much as these pages are more inviting, since they bring continuous consumption of content, the user still has a different understanding. When a website loads, of course, the pages contain top content. Everything on the top, that is, that can be seen without scrolling, is more consumed on a website.
Research based on navigation heat maps shows that the folding of pages is still extremely relevant. In practice, this means that websites need to be designed with priority information and elements positioned before folding.
This facilitates the delivery of relevant content, ensuring user satisfaction, in addition to a good browsing experience.
7. Moderate the level of persuasion at the top of the page
Pre-fold content is of great relevance, but that also doesn’t mean that everything important on your site should stop there. This first content impacts, draws attention, but, mainly, generates interest for continuity. Therefore, it is essential to continue delivering what your user expects, that is, to develop your main offer on the site.
For 2020, it is very necessary to understand that the type of page on your site needs to engage the reader, but not be so interesting as to deliver everything he needs. In practice, speaking of metrics, if this is done, the time spent on pages tends to drop a lot.
Google’s algorithms, for example, can punish the ranking of that page by understanding that it does not hold the user’s attention.
Given this, the ideal is to guide those who access the site so that engagement happens ahead, with continuity below the fold. CTAs should preferably stay in this region, ensuring the attention of those who access the site.
8. Bet on darker layouts
The year 2019 has already shown us that we have been thinking more about interfaces with dark colors, in which practically the traditional white of backgrounds is replaced by black and dark gray.
The first major impact, when the proposal was presented on a larger scale, was in the update of iOS 13, the operating system of Apple cell phones. The dark appearance has become a possibility for customization in the screen configuration options. The traditional white is automatically changed, in a change that really only changes the background.
For 2020, the trend is for dark layouts to also reach many sites, since this is a configuration geared to UX parameters. The main motivations are two: first, the dark layout helps to highlight and enhance colored elements. In addition, the dark theme emits less light from the screens, which generates less aggression in the eyes of the user.
The idea is to propose the possibility of selecting the dark version on a website, also leaving it up to the user. Among other benefits, this layout version saves device energy and favors the resolution of visual elements on OLED screens.
9. Use immersive 3D elements
3D technology is nothing new, but it nevertheless surprises and, mainly, draws a lot of attention. Application in website design has been increasingly common and has not been limited to product interaction only. Either way, this is a feature that major brands have been using, helping to explore items in all their details and generating engagement.
Today, going further due to the understanding of the potential of this technology, developers have been using 3D modeling even to explore information and sections within the websites. It is a way to open space for interactive options, since they have great potential to attract attention, increase the length of stay and, following the flow, generate conversions.
The reasons why 3D is a strong resource for 2020 are justified so far, when we talk about how it looks interesting. However, there is more behind this. The cost of developing this technology has decreased significantly in recent times, which is why brands are increasingly adopting their web design projects.
10. Prioritize page scrolling over click
By 2020, pages will have fewer and fewer clicks. The idea behind this is simple: make the browsing experience on a page much more fluid and with fewer short breaks needed to click.
The idea is that all content is in a continuous interface, as if it were a large digital scroll, in which it is not necessary to perform complex commands.
For this, scrolling is the only command necessary for all this content to be accessed in a practical, comfortable and much more accessible way. The tendency is that, with this navigation scheme, there is less propensity for users not to pass the first fold.
Naturally, CTAs placed in the footer or on the following pages tend to receive a higher clickthrough rate, which also positively impacts conversions. In general, scrolling instead of clicks makes everything simple, easy and fluid.
The website design has some news, but also the continuity of some trends for 2020. For those who work with Digital Marketing, paying attention to these details makes all the difference.
Institutional websites remain an important element in the strategy, so it is necessary that they are designed in a modern way and that it favors the browsing experience.
