UX (User Experience) design trends can no longer be ignored, as organizations are pushed to provide audiences with seamless and convenient interactions. Website visitors are no longer looking to be sold products or services, but instead sold an experience. It’s safe to say there will be continued emphasis placed on UX in design, and organizations will be driven to look for unique ways to capture their audience’s attention.
Here are a few UX trends to look out for this year:
Personalization
Websites are no longer one-size fits all. Based on meta-data provided, designers can alter a web experience based on visitor preferences. For example, if an elderly site visitor is viewing your site, you can provide them with an “easy-to-view” experience by showing them a webpage with larger text and simplified navigation. Designers can also use this data to make sure they are providing audiences with the information they are likely looking for right away. In push notifications, personalization can boost open rates by up to 800 percent. Personalization also can be utilized by gathering information based on location, purchasing behaviors, app history, and more to create a completely unique user experience.
Death of Navigation
The less actions it takes for a site visitor to reach their goal, the better. If an action can be accomplished with one-less click, your visitor is more likely to continue on. Designers have recognized the need to create a simplified experience and have begun to replace standard navigation with a long scroll. Long web pages have become widely adopted, driving designers to tell a compelling story as web visitors move down the page. Instead of putting all the most important information “above the fold”, designers should use this space to immediately capture audiences attention, sparking their curiosity and encouraging them to continue reading (scrolling) on.This allows organizations to provide their audiences with a well-thought out narrative, instead of leaving them to discover it on their own.
Animation
With this push toward visual storytelling, animation is making its way back to websites. This is not in reference to the outdated flash animations, or famous dancing Windows paperclip, but subtle movements that will capture audience attention. These bits of animation have the power to pleasantly surprise your viewers and help you bring your story to life. These animations should contribute to your message, and help create a memorable experience.
For examples of animation in visual storytelling, feel free to check out some of our work.
Mobile in Mind
Each passing year, we continue to see a shift from desktop to mobile. If your website doesn’t look good on mobile, it’s not helping you. According to SimilarWeb’s State of Mobile Web US 2015 report, roughly 56 percent of consumer traffic to the leading US websites is now from mobile devices. This is nothing new – mobile-design has been at the forefront of design trend reports for years. However, instead of creating entirely new mobile sites based off a desktop version, we are beginning to see the two look more and more similar. Noah Allush, founder of SITE123 predicts, “Most of the desktop websites will look like an app. This is something that Google search engine, already began this year by removing their ads from the right menu – and the industry follows.” With the push toward greater usability, desktop sites will become much more condensed than before.
Time-Saving Design
Great UX design saves audiences time and is intuitive. Uber’s use of linear design is a great example, directing riders to take one action at a time in order to accomplish their goal. Their time-saving design creates a quick and seamless experience, offering its visitors a convenient way to utilize their ride-sharing service. In the era of endless distractions, it’s important for organizations to provide their audiences with the easiest route possible, otherwise they will likely see an increase in visitor drop-offs.
Chatbots
Chatbots have been exploding over the last year and are being used to create a more seamless user experience. Organizations are finding clever ways to have their bots engage with site visitors, driving greater conversions and answer questions they may have when visiting your site. Instead of searching through a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page, visitors can have their questions answered without ever leaving the page they are browsing. The best part is, these bots are also saving companies time and resources as it’s a completely automated tool.These bots are helping companies seal the deal and increase visitor satisfaction without lifting a finger.
Are you ready to take your website to the next level? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
