What a year 2020 was, amirite? No need to relive it though, let’s move forward to a brighter, more colourful and safer year.

I wanted to share with you some really cool things in web design for 2021. In fact you may have noticed that this site has been restyled recently. After getting up to speed on web design trends for the coming year we needed to apply most if not all of the items on the list below.

Relevance is a good mantra for 2021

In order to stay afloat and relevant during Covid-19 many companies have had to pivot their business structure on a dime if they had any chance of survival. Being flexible, adaptable and remain relevant in key for any business or person, (or dog for that matter, I’m looking at you, Paige lol), which the pandemic was quick to highlight.

Marketing your business to remain relevant in your niche then, is a key strategy to ensure your business can be found. Your website is THE key player in your marketing strategy so make it memorable, easy to navigate and if appropriate, fun to use!

With that in mind, here are some of the top web design trends for 2021 to keep your website modern and worth revisiting time and time again.

Top 8 Web Design Trends for 2021

1. Design Based on User Preference

Ahhh, dark mode. Isn’t it fantastic? Switch between dark and light backgrounds with a simple click is becoming the thing. And it’s super easy to achieve.

For IPhone or IPad

To turn on Dark Mode Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click General, then select one of the Appearance options at the top of the window: Light: Use the light appearance. Dark: Use the dark appearance. Auto: Automatically use the light appearance during the day, and the dark appearance at night.

For Android

Here are the instructions for Android.

Enabling users to change their experience on your website can be achieved through the design as well. Look for options to flip between dark mode and light mode on websites along with customized content curated just for you. Think, Apple Music, Spotify, any site that learns what your preferences are and delivers them, much like Facebook, but that’s a whole other blog post.

2. E-Commerce: Facebook and Instagram Shops

One of the biggest ways brick and mortar businesses pivoted in 2020 was by offering goods and services for sale online. From integrating e-commerce into their WordPress websites to setting up Facebook and Instagram shops, there have never been more options. If you want to learn how to get yours set up, check out this handy guide then give us a call. Just be sure to keep your main source of traffic going to your website. You don’t want to lose all your hard work if Instagram, Facebook or wherever you post your content on social medial go belly up, or you get banned, yikes! All your hard work will be lost.

3. Muted Colours

Light palette colours are all the rage either on their own as a gorgeous, soothing background or paired with white or black contrasting fonts, illustrations and backgrounds. They are the perfect anchor for styling your websites and highlighting products.

4. Gradients

You only have to look at what Apple is doing to know what the new trends in colour are unless you’re ahead of them then well, you’re a rockstar aren’t you?

I took a screenshot of my IMac desktop screensaver to show you the yummy gradients and colours that are super hot right now. The bit of sky in the screengrab above shows a lovely, calming gradient of purples to blue. Apple.com is always a great source of information and inspiration for your website. Just be sure not to overuse gradients. Choosing one element to focus on, like buttons, brings a subtle yet effective style element that won’t overwhelm.

Gradients are fun to create too! Check out this cool website, Coolor.co and play around with the gradient maker there.

5. Branded Graphics

While a great photo speaks a thousand words, in order for your brand to be memorable one of the key website design trends for 2021 is stylizing images to fit the look and feel of a brand. The image below was sources from Pixabay but the background was removed to add a fun colour and expressive lines. The overall feeling one might get from this photo is fun, and playful. Interspersing more standard photos with ones like these can really make a brand stand out.

6. Illustrations

Illustrations are hot and will be around far beyond 2021. After the year we’ve had, a bit of fun and colour is appreciated especially if your target audience is more, er, youthful. Being a kid at heart however, I love cartoon and hand drawn illustrations but am falling in love with digital illustration to bring a light-hearted feel to a page.

You can see more award winning digital art illustrations here.

7. Animation

The future of web design could not be complete without mentioning animation and interactive design. Lottie Files is a great source for inspiration and sharing digital art with others. Think of it as Unsplash for animation. It has got to be my favourite way to bring a bit of fun and movement to a web page. Not to be overused, a few animations can bring attention to your Call to Action (CTA) or another element of your website that needs focus.

8. Large Typography

The choices you make for typography tell a story about your brand. Is it serious, fun, functional or informational? Think about the message and research your font ideas thoroughly.

Whatever you or your designer go with be sure to consider whether it will translate across all browsers. You may find that one font you love will not display across older browsers, for example, so you may want to create a graphic in the form of a .png or .svg for your logo, for example, to be sure it looks good on every screen.

There you have it. The top 8 web design trends for 2021 as we see them to bring more fun, colour and traffic to your website or online shop.

Do you have other sources of website design inspiration you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about it.