Historically, website trends have often focused on superficial changes such as eye-catching color schemes, typographical innovations, and spectacular effects. However, the web design trends of 2023 mark a change, with a focus on critical aspects like accessibility, building trust, and ensuring responsiveness. In this post, we are going to explore 5 of these new web design trends you will likely see in 2023 that will help with improving accessibility, user experience, and design for mobile devices.

More social proof

Establishing trust is crucial for both personal and professional relationships, and the same holds true for the relationship between brands and customers. In 2023, savvy web designers will utilize social proof and trust marks to foster trust with visitors. One effective way to implement these trust builders on a website is to dedicate a page or a section on the homepage to testimonials and reviews.

Building trust on a website can be achieved through various types of content, including customer satisfaction ratings, client feedback, and average customer ratings. New businesses that have not yet built up enough social proof may need to rely on trust marks instead, such as an icon near a checkout button. Another strategy is to provide context and support for any claims made on the website.

Improved mobile features

Responsive design has become increasingly accessible over the years, thanks to widely recognised guidelines and the availability of responsive frameworks. However, sticking to a comfort zone can lead to a lack of motivation for improvement. In 2023, web designers will focus more on incorporating more effective mobile-specific features to tackle any hindrances and further optimise the user experience on mobile devices.

Supplemental Video

Different people have varying preferences when it comes to consuming online content. Some prefer reading written content, while others prefer to watch or listen to video-based posts, like vlogs. As a website designer or owner, it’s not realistic to cater to both audience preferences by offering both text and video options. This can significantly slow down the site’s loading speed.

However, there’s a solution! You can include supplemental videos or video alternatives in key areas to enhance the user experience. A video section on a page might be useful to summarise the preceding content, to show a video testimonial, or for other purposes. Strategically using videos and avoiding the use of autoplay videos is a smart move for web designers. This approach helps maintain fast and seamless page loading speeds, leading to a better overall user experience.

Hoverable Iconography and helper text

Creating user-friendly interfaces that require minimal effort is a top priority in web design. However, shortcuts taken by the designer for ease may have an adverse effect on the user, especially with regards to iconography.

Common icons like the shopping bag, search, and login icons are widely recognized and used correctly by users. The challenge arises with less frequently used icons, where users need clarification. Adding brief descriptions could help, but it would also add clutter to the design.

The solution is using hover-triggered helper text, which offers information without cluttering the design. This approach can also be used when hovering over product icons or variant swatches, providing users with the confidence to interact with the site effectively.

Shape texturisation

The trend of skeuomorphism, which once dominated with its realistic textures on digital screens, has lost its charm and is now seen as a distraction. However, in 2023, web designers are turning towards the use of organic shapes for adding subtle textures to their designs. These shapes serve as strategic highlights, drawing attention to key areas on a page.

For example, strategically placed shapes along the right margin of a page can guide visitors’ eyes and enhance their engagement with the content. As most users tend to focus on the left side of a page first, these shapes help ensure maximum visibility and interaction with the page’s content.