Best Web Design Trends of 2015
December 6, 2015
This year has been amazing! We’re so grateful to be able to work on so many fantastic WordPress websites that we just had to list of our favourite elements of all the websites we built in 2015 that made Santa’s good list.
Also see our post: best website design trends of 2013.
#1 The Hamburger Menu
When you’re browsing the internet on your phone, you’ll see nearly every website having one of these. These three lines signifying a navigation menu for your site are known as a hamburger icon.
On mobile, the screen size is smaller so real-estate is crucial. Having these hamburger icons give your visitors a way of browsing your website without that pesky navigation taking up precious pixels. Thus freeing up space to offer your visitors value!
See an example (visit on mobile): http://tacsports.ca
#2 Storytelling
Humans are pre-programmed (you see what I did there?) to love stories. We are story telling machines and stories help us connect to other human beings. Stories let us build trust with others; and that’s why it’s important to incorporate storytelling on your website.
On a website, storytelling drives an experience. Engaging visitors through a unique blend of visuals and text will really illustrate what the company is all about
See an example: http://nucap.com
#3 Two Factor Authentication
Keeping your website secure (especially WordPress Websites) has become a constant battle. Nothing is sacred any more! Hackers will go after the even the most basic websites to add to it’s botnet network. But with great WordPress plugins like Wordfence leading the way, security has never been so simple! One of the greatest features of Wordfence is two factor authentication.
Two factor authentication has become the leading way to prevent unauthorized entry to your website. Essentially, you must login using your phone as a secondary verification method to gain access to your account. This stops anyone from gaining access to your website without first gaining access to your phone – which unless your keen on losing your phone, isn’t very likely.
#4 Background Videos
Over the last year video backgrounds have become all the rage. Videos are very good at depicting what it is you do, who you are, and what value you can offer really fast! Being really selective of where you use these videos is important – and it definitely should only be used in situations where appropriate.
We have a great example launching in 2016 for a vlogging website which I’m very excited about! Until it launched, one of my favourite examples is toggl.com. This site uses video backgrounds very effectively to demonstrate that you can essentially time track anything using their software.
#5 SVG Images
With screens sizes and resolutions changing frequently, image quality was becoming a huge issue. Website’s have started using SVG graphics, which are vector images that use mathematical equations known as to scale the images between different sizes and pixel densities. This means you never lose quality when you use an SVG image as they can be scaled infinitely!
Only simple images like logos can be used as SVG’s, but this technology is looking good for the future – and it will be saving you from embarrassing pixilation.