38 Emerging 2023 Web Design Trends

The Latest Web Design Trends: Fast, Clean, and Eye-Catching

If you’re not already thinking about the 2023 web design, the time is now. Already, web design trends for 2023 have started to emerge, and if you want to stay on-trend and engage site visitors, it’s crucial to pay attention.

But what is the future of web design? Will everything change when it comes to how to design a site? Well — not everything, but some specific 2023 web design trends are worth your attention.

Technology changes fast, and website design trends are no different. Unfortunately, in recent years, design elements and website features that were once modern and innovative may have become tired, overdone, and cliched. The last thing you want as people arrive at your site is to lose conversion because your website looks outdated or ignores critical web standards.

Fortunately, our award-winning web design agency keeps up with all the latest website design trends to create highly functional, easy-to-use websites that perform well and look fantastic. We want to share some of the latest innovations, digital technology trends, standards, and forecasts for 2023.

2023 Web Design Trends

1. Mobile-First Design

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a mobile responsive website design should be at the top of your priority list for your 2023 website design. When you have a mobile responsive website design, you ensure that users surfing your site on a smartphone or tablet get the same experience as they would on a desktop.

Mobile responsiveness is a critical web design trend for 2023, especially since the release of Google’s mobile-first index in July 2019. Mobile-first indexing says that instead of looking at the desktop version of a website first, Google looks at the mobile version by default — making mobile responsiveness even more crucial in your 2023 web design.

2. Simplicity

You’ve heard it for years — “keep your design simple.”

But for 2023 web design, it’s crucial. Users no longer have the time (or the patience) to muddle through a complicated website with unclear navigation or slow-loading pages due to large motion graphics. So the future of web design is simple; when we say simple, we mean in every way.

3. Grid-Based Design

Modern site designers will be opting for an asymmetric style in 2023. CSS Grid Layout is famous for bringing the full power of print layout to the web. Grid Layout is a 2D grid layout method for cascading style sheets.

Grids allow website designers to construct layouts for complicated responsive web designs. It also gives sites a clean look.

4. Enhanced User Experience

Your audience is at the heart of your business. To have a successful presence online, you must provide your audience with a positive user experience (UX), so they remain on your site and learn about your business.

Think about what they want to see on your site or what elements would enhance their experience. Whether it’s the navigation, typography, media, or information on your site, you always want to consider how your audience will respond.

Good UX is the difference between earning leads and losing them. You can have an attractive website that represents your brand well, but that doesn’t matter if the UX isn’t optimized. Ensure your UX is optimized next year to retain your audience’s interest.

5. Animated Cursors

Another fun way to customize your user’s experience on your website is to design how they interact with your web elements – including their cursor! This 2023 web design trend is delighting users with its unexpected subtlety.

By modifying the form of the cursor or by implementing cursor-triggered animations, visitors can have fun interacting with different scrolling behaviors or on-click commands.

6. Parallax Scrolling

Parallax scrolling is a popular web effect that makes web page sections more dynamic. It is popular in full-width applications along with image, video, or texture imagery that adds depth to a page.

As the user scrolls past the image or video, the scrolling behavior makes it seem like the image is behind the neighboring sections. This subtle behavior makes the content more engaging.

7. Horizontal Scrolling

Once considered a design mistake, horizontal scrolling makes a comeback in 2023. However, rather than replacing the conventional vertical scrolling, horizontal scrolling will be used where it can improve the user’s navigational experience.

It will be essential in designs with large volumes of visual content, for example, portfolio websites, image galleries, and catalogs. Here, horizontal scrolling will provide a seamless user experience, optimally utilize the designs’ real estate and motivate users to explore the website’s entire length without scrolling.

Essential aspects to consider in horizontal scrolling are:

• Give a clear visual indication of where horizontal scrolling is implemented
• Use them only where they can contribute positively to user experience
• Provide alternate ways of navigation

8. Full-Page Headers

Full-page headers will be a popular 2023 web design trend. A common approach includes placing important text or call-to-action buttons on the left of the header and using enticing graphics to the right. This strategy is because visitors focus most of their attention on the top-left portion of your page.

9. Full Height Homepage Hero

Like a giant billboard, making your homepage hero section full-height can focus your users’ attention and serve as distraction-free messaging.

Think of full-screen hero sections as an opportunity for great storytelling. Just keep in mind that images will crop differently based on browser dimensions. So you should use an image that will accommodate the design accordingly.

10. Text-Only Hero Images

Newspapers always put their most eye-catching, important information “above the fold” to increase sales. The website equivalent of this is at the top of a page and is called the “hero section.”

A current trend to catch internet users’ attention who are bombarded by different web pages every day is removing the typical background image in the hero section and replacing it with eye-catching typography. A bold, unique font could be just the thing to get a user’s attention quickly.

11. Custom Illustrations

Stock images are out; custom graphics are in! Illustrations help to bring your company’s brand to life. Custom illustrations will lead the way as cookie-cutter stock graphics take a backseat.

12. Visible Grid Lines and Borders

Invisible grid lines and borders were the norms in the past, but in 2023 the trend will be about exposing those grid lines. This trend adds a futuristic and modern touch to web designs by revealing the borders, grid lines, and frames.

It also has the advantage of making each section distinguishable and easier to scan. Finally, the explicit separation makes the web pages look less cluttered and more organized, even with large volumes of content.

Geometric grids will gain traction and contribute to a “clean” look. Both symmetric and asymmetric grids are expected to trend, with the focus lying on the weighted lines that showcase a solid layout.

13. Blending Photos and Graphics

You might have noticed overlapping graphics on images in your social media feed. This mixing technique brings creativity and fun to a typical appearance.

The trend is also catching on with websites. Mixing photography with graphics can reinforce your company branding and keep website visitors engaged with your content.

14. Organic Shapes

Geometric shapes were a big website design trend in 2020, but in 2023, it’s all about organic shapes. Organic or fluid shapes are anything that doesn’t involve straight lines. Think of shapes that happen in nature, like hills and the edges of a lake or river, and how they are asymmetrical and winding.

Fluid shapes are a great way to break up website sections without harsh lines or angles. They’re also great to use in the background.

15. Bold Typography

Your typography is a crucial part of how your audience experiences your site. The type of font you use sends a message to your audience.

You must have readable typography to ensure your audience can read your text. Bold typography will be a common trend for web design next year. You want to have typography that stands out but also is easy to read.

When you use the appropriate font, you build trust with your audience and ensure they get the message from your text. In addition, your typography enhances your website’s design. It adds flair and character. As you comb through your site, see if you can upgrade your font choice to make it more interesting for your audience.

16. Bold Colors

Colors have a significant impact on how your audience views your website. Your color palette is a big part of your brand identity. People will look at your colors and associate them with your brand. It’s a crucial part of your business, so you want to keep them fresh.

One of the emerging website design trends for 2023 is using bright colors.

Bright colors capture your audiences’ attention and engage them with your page. If your color palette is old or outdated, it is time to update it. You can opt for brighter versions of your color palette to make your website pop.

It’s a great way to help your website stand out. Bold colors bring a unique and fresh aspect to your website. In addition, you’ll make your website pop by updating the colors on your pages.

A black-and-white palette with bold color accents is an upcoming trend on another end of the spectrum.

Black and white palettes add a unique experience to your website. It allows your audience to see your website in a new view. You can see textures, shapes, and points of interest differently.

With a black-and-white palette, you can input different accent colors to make various parts of your website more appealing. It’s a great way to create additional points of interest on your site.

Overall, you’ll want to take a second look at your color palette and ensure it’s still attractive to your audience.

17. Colorful Gradients

Gradients are a long-time trend that has evolved from subtle color overlays to eye-catching backgrounds.

You can use gradients to add depth, as a striking background, or subtly to add texture to an illustration. We increasingly see it used in more extensive and bolder typography.

This trend has staying power. We’re excited to see the continual evolution of its use on websites.

18. Frosted-Glass Effects

Recent advances in web technology have allowed the easy implementation of the frosted-glass effect on websites. The blurry appearance of elements behind the frosted glass overlay helps add color to an area while allowing text or objects to appear over the image and remain readable.

The effect has become a popular option in a designer’s tool belt and is increasingly being used as a background in place of gradients.

19. Neobrutalism

Brutalism or anti-design has been a trend in website design for a while. Brutalism was inspired by the architectural movement in the 1950s, which encouraged the raw and brutal nature of buildings and advocated against decorative elements.

When translated to web design, the brutalist movement was all about raw, distorted, and chaotic style. But, predictably, it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Neobrutalism takes after the brutalist design concept but uses a more structured approach. While brutalist designs were maximalist, neobrutalism promoted minimalism. In addition, it brings an unconventional look to designs through the usage of high-contrast and clashing colors, quirky fonts, and modern illustrations.

20. Abstract Compositions

Abstract art will take a new look in 2023, combining with the web design trend of neobrutalism. Loud and vibrant colors, assorted shapes, and out-of-the-box illustrations will add an energetic and creative look to websites, making them stand out from the crowd.

Abstract compositions will be a significant element of the neobrutalism design, along with retro typography, visible borders, and modern illustrations.

21. Smart Video

Video has long been considered a must-have for websites. People love videos! Video is engaging and is the most effective online marketing tool!

While video is excellent, it needs to be thought out. That’s what smart video is about: a video with a purpose and meaning. Gone are the days of embedding a YouTube video on your site simply to have one. One well-thought-out, high-quality video is better than a dozen haphazardly assembled ones.

22. Dark Mode

Dark-mode web designs serve a couple of different functions. On the practical end, they help reduce eye strain, a concern for many as we spend more time looking at screens.

On the aesthetic end, dark mode easily creates an ultra-modern look for your website while giving you the ability to highlight other design elements just by darkening the aspects that surround it.

23. White Space

The use of white space is about giving content room to breathe, not trying to cram the most information possible on the screen. As a result, the experience is more relaxing for your website visitors, the content stands out better, and readability is improved.

White space is just the term for the spacing we give between elements. It does not have to be white as long as the area is empty. This reason is why it’s also known as “negative space.”

24. Interactivity

Adding interactive sections to your website is a great way to provide value for visitors, get them to engage with your website, and learn more about them.

Suppose you were a realtor and added a mortgage calculator to your website. You’re offering value to your visitors while learning more about them based on the data input into your calculator.

Examples of interactive marketing include:

• Assessments like quizzes
• Polls and surveys
• Calculators
• Contests

25. Voice-Activated Interface

How we access information is changing – instead of typing into Google, we now ask a question or make a demand. As a result, we can expect to see more and more websites integrating voice search as an option for traditional text search.

This change means web design is adjusting to keep up with the prevalence of voice chatbots and virtual assistants. While a voice-activated interface isn’t commonplace for most websites, this emerging trend isn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

With more users relying on voice technology like Siri and Alexa to find what they’re looking for online, your website must use natural language processing (NLP) to appeal to every audience — including those searching by voice.

26. Improved Accessibility

Inclusivity and accessibility are more than a trend, but there is a growing need for web design to factor in the needs of people with disabilities. Having a site that every visitor can navigate and interact with is more than just part of good customer service and providing an excellent experience. It can increase conversion, boost your SEO, and help you reach a bigger audience.

Elements that improve accessibility include:

• Creating strong color contrast between text and backgrounds;
• Adding focus indicators, such as the rectangular outline that shows up around links when using keyboard navigation;
• Using labels and instructions with form fields rather than low-context placeholder text;
• Using functional alt tags for images (which also boosts SEO!);

27. Micro Interactions

On a website, micro-interactions are small animations that offer subtle feedback to users. For example, one of the most commonly used micro-interactions is seeing a link change colors when a user mouses over it.

With the focus on micro-interactions, you might give that same experience more attention to stand out. For example, imagine a gradient slowly shifting hues as you scroll down a page or a pop of color exploding from your mouse after you click an element. These are prime examples of elevated micro-interactions that you’ll see more often.

28. Micro Animations

As you might have guessed from the name, micro animations are small. But in this case, small doesn’t mean insignificant. On the contrary, micro animations are extremely helpful in guiding users through their interactions with your website. They can also add an element of playfulness to your site.

Micro animations have been popular for a few years, but in 2023, it’ll be about using them organically. For example, one of the latest web design trends for ecommerce sites is using micro animations to enhance user experience and give shoppers a more dynamic vision of their products.

29. Browser-Based Content

It’s no secret that most advanced websites track your browsing history and know your location. But cutting-edge web agencies will advise their customers to display dynamic content based on past user behavior or what we know about a user. Not generic content made to serve everyone.

Personalized content is probably more important for e-commerce website owners. For example, displaying recently viewed, saved, or liked products for online shoppers can increase conversions. In addition, highlighting abandoned cart contents for returning customers is crucial to maintaining a higher conversion rate.

Custom content created for users returning to your website for a second or third time can increase conversion. Without realizing it, personalized website content has become more expected by users; and it will be an even more dominant focus for a successful web presence.

30. Smart Content Loading

Lazy loading and infinite scroll are not brand-new technologies. The top social networks have used this for years, especially regarding infinity scroll. The approach is also popular with long (one) page websites.

All websites should consider how implementing one or two technological approaches might help them outrank or outperform their competition. In addition, these features can help improve the user experience for all website visitors, improving your conversion rate and ranking.

Lazy Load ensures the web browser (like Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox) will download only the content you see on the screen without wasting valuable server resources and TIME to load offscreen content visitors might never see.

31. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is creeping into every area of marketing, even web design trends, for a good reason. When you implement AI on your website, you can use data to satisfy customer needs.

For example, many websites integrate chatbots that use artificial intelligence to reply. Not only do chatbots benefit companies since it allows them to focus their energy elsewhere, but it also helps customers with questions by immediately providing a reply.

32. Personalized Chatbots

Chatbots are another feature that has been popular for a few years and will continue to be relevant in 2023. As artificial intelligence and machine learning become more sophisticated, we expect chatbots to become the norm for simple customer service requests and “personal shopping.”

For example, if a customer visits your website looking for phone support, the chatbot knows they have an available free phone upgrade. So the chatbot can let them know about the promotion. This assistance can lead to a positive experience for the customer and save the business the customer support cost associated with talking to a live person.

33. Virtual Reality

VR experiences on websites will continue to increase over the coming years. Think of sites like Airbnb that let you tour a rental before you book a reservation. Or the furniture site IKEA can showcase what a sofa would look like in your room.

VR can be a powerful tool for a website to serve applicable, meaningful content to a visitor in a way that helps them make buying decisions.

34. Online Lead Generation

Online lead generation forms are one of the most critical elements of a marketing website. You want to learn a lot about your website visitors, but you can’t ask too many questions at once. A better strategy is placing progressive/dynamic contact forms on the landing pages and displaying fields according to the lead’s journey.

35. Faster Page Load Speed

One of the most critical web design standards is ultra-fast load time. Quick loading times have been essential in UX and SEO for years, and it continues to be a top priority for websites that want to rank well and convert better.

Studies say that over half of internet browsers expect a website to load fast and no more than two seconds after clicking a link. If it takes more than three seconds to load your site, your visitors will most likely leave, and they will not be back again!

36. Thumb-Friendly Mobile Navigation

Responsive design isn’t enough anymore. Your website should work well and be user-friendly on all mobile devices – regardless of the size! But in 2023, web design will continue to focus on creating thumb-friendly websites.

What exactly is “thumb-friendly”?

We’re talking about the way we use our phones. If you’re reading this on your phone, look at how you’re holding it. Your fingers are probably wrapped around the back of your phone, leaving your thumb to do all the work.

37. Data Visualization

Communicating data in an engaging way is a struggle. But the struggle is worth it because using data visualization takes advantage of the fact that humans are visual creatures and still conveys the message you need to get across.

Data visualization creates images out of your data that engage your reader and makes them want to learn more about your brand. Infographics and graphs are some of the most popular ways to bring data to life.

38. Design Systems

Though not an outwardly web design trend, design systems are something to look out for in 2023. This trend is particularly applicable to large website designs like ecommerce designs, where consistency and the need for scaling are crucial.

Design systems make updating and maintaining websites simple and quick. Tools like Figma simplify creating design systems by providing free design systems templates to designers.

Moreover, by taking inspiration from the existing best design systems, it is easy to build an effective one.

Significance of 2023 Web Design Trends

The exciting web design trends for 2023 have an underlying emphasis on returning to the old style. So whether it is retro typography, brutalism, or horizontal scrolling, the trends that didn’t fare well in earlier years will return better in 2023.

Along with it, the new design trends intend to bring a sense of awe in people, evident from the trends such as creative cursors, custom illustrations, and 3D visuals.

There will always be aspects of web design that are never going away – user-friendly navigation, data security, and fast load times should be a given on your website.

However, you can keep your site at the forefront of design and search engines by adding some innovative website features and elements that promise to be hot for 2023.

When you think about web design trends for 2023, think of custom illustrations, animated cursors, and blending photos with graphical elements. All these and more will help keep your site fresh in 2023.

Updating your website’s design can positively impact your brand and revenue. If you want a modern and user-friendly website, contact our team today. We are here to help!

Do You Want to Incorporate 2023 Web Design Trends?

Are you looking to redesign or update your website or online store for your business or product brand? Are you unsure how to incorporate a few of our 2023 web design trends? Our team of WordPress experts will be happy to help you with this. But first, look at our portfolio and read our case studies.

Then, if you believe we are a good fit for your business web design needs, let’s talk! We offer a full range of consulting and design solutions for businesses and product brands.

If you are unsure how to build a website to support your business objectives, let’s talk! Our team will listen to your concerns, evaluate your needs, and create a website design to keep you ahead of your online competitors.

By Gregor Saita

Co-Founder / CXO

@gregorsaita