21 Exciting Web Design Trends 2024

Web design is an ever-changing field – this year's big thing might not be hot next year. But certain web design trends are here to stay.

The new trends in web design seem to be taking cues from the late 90s. Designers are experimenting with various ways of using typography, muted colors, and serif fonts, all while keeping their designs from looking too retro.

Also, many designers are dedicated to creating futuristic designs that include contemporary techniques and visual effects, such as glassmorphism and grain.

This article may be as interesting for you as one of our top articles "Font Readability Research: Key Difference Between Serif Vs Sans Serif Font", as it looks at the most exciting 2024 web design trends that you can use in your own work or apply when hiring a web designer to create something for you.

In this article: 

Web Design Basics

Before you dabble in some of the latest web design modern trends, it's worth checking out the basics of web design first. From a website’s purpose to navigation and load time, we cover the aspects you might not know about yet that will be useful when deciding on your web design.

Website Purpose

Websites are mainly used for marketing purposes so companies can promote their goods and services. Websites also act as information hubs where businesses post about their latest news and keep customers up-to-date with company announcements.

Before you or your web designers start working on ideas, make sure to decide on the purpose of your website. Whether you want to use it to describe your expertise or generate leads, this will heavily impact the design elements that should be used on your site.

Simplicity

If your aim is to prioritize user experience on your website, then strive for a simple, minimalist design. 

• Start by limiting the number of colors you use on your website to five. 
• Then, choose legible fonts, and don't combine more than three different ones. 
• Last but not least, the imagery you use should capture the spirit of your company, but don't go overboard with the number of photos you include.

Navigation

One of the most important elements of web design is navigation. Whether you make it simple and intuitive or an interactive experience, your website's visitors should be able to easily navigate around your site.

Instruct your web designers to keep the navigation simple, intuitive, and consistent on every page.

F-Shaped Pattern Reading

When you study how people browse your website, they'll most likely follow an F-shaped pattern. This means that users scan the left-hand side of a page for context and then go to the right-hand side for more information.

For this reason, it's important to place the core topics of your web design on the left-hand side and then use the right-hand side for secondary information.

Visual Hierarchy

The arrangement of design elements on a page is important as well. Use different font sizes, colors, and spacing between headlines for a visual hierarchy that makes it easy for visitors to find their way around your site and immediately notice the most important information.

Content

All excellent website designs share two common factors – great design and great content. Make sure to use persuasive language for great content that will attract visitors and influence them to make purchases, sign up for your services, or perform any other action you would like them to.

Grid-Based Layout

Grids are an incredibly versatile design pattern you can use to create awesome web designs. They help web designers structure the final design and keep all the elements organized. By using a grid-based layout on a landing page, you will undoubtedly end up with aesthetically pleasing designs.

Load Time

Pages that load quickly tend to receive more visitors and conversions than those with slow load times. Many designers focus on creating good-looking designs while forgetting that the size of certain elements may slow down load times. Make sure your page speed is optimized and that it doesn't take more than three seconds to load.

Now that we've covered what factors make up a good web design, it's time to explore the latest web trends.

2022’s Top Web Design Trends

Would you like your website to leave a lasting impression on your visitors and make your brand more memorable? Then check out the latest website design trends that will dominate in 2022 and help you achieve just that.

App-Like Experiences

Nowadays, people are spending hours every day on their smartphones. They are used to mobile applications that focus on interaction and dynamic experiences.

According to Jeremy Beyt, co-founder of ThreeSixtyEight, 2022 is the perfect time to bring that energy and design to websites. Beyt believes that experience-focused websites are going to be one of the dominant trends in web design.

One-Page Websites

As we previously mentioned, simplicity is one of the key elements of high-quality web designs. The best way to simplify your website entirely is to put all the content on one page.

One-page websites can make your brand more memorable, as you will be able to display all the relevant information and offer visitors a great user experience without making them click through different pages.

Black-and-White Color Schemes

Black-and-white color schemes are simple, stylish, and elegant. The contrast created by black and white is one of the most powerful visual effects you can include on your website.

A black-and-white website design can make your website stand out on any screen, as it will be easy for visitors to read. This color scheme is also perfect for minimalist designs that aim to highlight the content.

Home Pages without Images

Not including images on a home page is one of the creative ways to make a memorable design. Also, this seems to be one of the latest web design trends.

A design without images gives designers the ultimate freedom to experiment with various techniques, such as animations, hover states, or other interactive elements.

Minimalism and Maximalism

We already mentioned minimalism as one of the most dominant design trends for 2022 and also for a few years back.

However, to the surprise of many, it is believed that maximalism, the counterpart of minimalism that focuses on exaggeration, will make its way to the top when it comes to web graphic design.

Sweet Nostalgia and Looking to the Future

Over the past two decades, the world has kept expressing nostalgia for the culturally significant 1980s and the trends that were dominant back then. The World Wide Web did not miss out on this sentiment.

It is expected that in 2022 designers will find inspiration in the 80s and experiment with its forms, colors, and approaches to refresh their works.

Better User Experience with All Kinds of Animation

Plenty of current website design trends include various types of animations. In 2022, web designers will focus on micro-interactions meant to maximize usability and improve user experience.

Designers will aim to develop creative scrolling experiences that include detailed and captivating animations. Also, it is expected that the main aim of the latest animations will be to capture users' attention with a fresh and unexpected approach. For example, designers may opt to put typography into focus without overwhelming the reader with intrusive animated effects.

If you're unsure how to ensure a better user experience on your website, there is a team of experts that will gladly help you out! Geniusee helps create user-friendly, unique, and ready-for-development designs of software systems, such as web portals and mobile applications that delight users.

Art Deco Elements

One of the most exciting web design trends of 2022 is the revival of art deco elements. These design patterns were first used in interiors and architecture. We expect that art deco will become more popular than ever before, as it is associated with luxury and high-quality products.

Design elements such as logos, illustrations, fonts, and even borders will be based on curving lines and repetitive graphic shapes characteristic of the art deco style. In addition, it is very likely that bold lines, simplicity, and symmetry will be dominant as well.

Oversized Text and Mouse Pointers

If you keep coming across websites with oversized text and large mouse pointers, know that this trend is about to take over in 2022.

Why would anyone want to use this on their website? Well, believe it or not, this type of UI design provides website visitors with valuable usability information and allows them to better engage with the design.

Interactive Fonts

Another interesting trend that will dominate 2022 is a set of very interactive fonts. So, what's wrong with regular fonts? In reality, nothing much. However, designers seem keen to experiment with various types of fonts, and this is exactly what they will achieve with interactive ones.

The greatest advantage of such fonts is that they will make the text more legible and captivating, encouraging the website visitor to actually read what's written.

Collage-Style Graphics

This is yet another way for designers to express creativity and add vibrancy to websites. The main idea here is that the website will feature various types of standard images, but they will be combined into one piece of art.

With collage-style graphics, designers can give websites a tactile sense, free up more white space, and incorporate several images without making the entire design revolve around photography.

Abstract Illustrations

Designers have long been interested in experimenting with abstract illustrations. Such images will be very eye-catching in 2022, but at the same time, they will be subtle enough to make it possible for users to focus on the core content and not be distracted by unnecessary elements.

It is expected that these illustrations that seem as if they were hand-drawn will become dominant, as internet users seem to be looking for something that feels a little more natural and sophisticated.

Gradients

Gradients will be highly favored by web designers in 2022. These are very strong elements that make it possible to create websites with maximum visual impact.

It is possible to utilize gradients to create depth, contrast, or texture in an illustration. We're seeing it employed in larger and bolder typefaces more frequently. Also, using gradients is an effective way to breathe life into designs.

Linework

Line design is one of the most recent trends in UX design. The objective here is to achieve a hand-drawn, textured feel that will make the illustrations more dynamic and memorable for a website’s visitors.

Linework takes the idea of conventional illustrative style to a whole new level. The images are incomplete by themselves, but it is through combining them with other elements that designers can create fascinating compositions.

Split-Screen Layout

Split-screen layouts will be a popular choice for landing page design in 2022. These visuals mostly include screens that are split vertically or horizontally with each side having the same or different functional or click actions.

The finest split-screen designs accomplish two goals at once: they provide a strong visual experience while allowing the visitor to delve deeper into the content.

Glassmorphism

Designers have been playing with this style for years, and now it is finally finding its way into a great number of popular websites.

As you could guess from the name, glassmorphism has something to do with glass. Namely, the design elements are made to resemble glass by making them transparent, frosty, or glossy.

Gender-Neutral Web Design

In an era where we are constantly promoting gender equality, it makes sense to have this trend dominate even website design. The first step to achieve this design is to remove any typical feminine or masculine elements, like aggressive pink elements or hypermasculine themes.

Page Speed Prioritization

In 2022, web pages are expected to load in the blink of an eye. This is why many designers and developers will make sure to prioritize a website's loading speed over design elements for website owners who want to rank well and convert better.

Inclusive Design

Inclusivity runs deeper than just gender equality. The idea behind it is to ensure that the design can accommodate everyone, regardless of their nationality, age, or physical abilities. This means exploring certain solutions, like tap-sensitive areas for people with motor disabilities, and eliminating any unnecessary distractions so users can focus on the core content.

Neo-Brutalism

Neo-Brutalism has been a trend in graphic design for years, but it is now making its way into web design. The idea here is to use plain backgrounds, asymmetrical layouts, default computer fonts, and untreated photos to achieve the effect of digital brutalism.

Hand-Drawn Elements

Hand-drawn elements are becoming increasingly popular among web designers. Internet users tend to be drawn to drawings that appear as if they were crafted by hand, especially when it comes to illustrations for websites.

Final Words

It's only the beginning of 2022, but numerous trends have already been recognized and are expected to change the way websites look for good. However, keeping up with all these changes and making sure your website still delivers the ultimate user experience is easier said than done.

Creating a design that incorporates all the elements that lead to a good user experience, such as page load time and F-shaped pattern reading, all while adding aesthetically pleasing visuals, requires a lot of experience in web design.

If you need help with a strategy or want to know how to start creating your web design, feel free to reach out and see how the Geniusee team can help.