The next phase of the internet in 2023 has begun with the commencement of new web design trends. As ever, these digital trends are a byproduct of the emerging technology and its social impact.
Over the course of the years, there have been plenty of major advancements in AI. These advancements have been done to the point that it can create its own art. Interestingly, the metaverse has pushed VR further in the mainstream. Web design trends that display immersion, simulation, and cinematic techniques have followed. Simultaneously, a global recession has inspired both a retreat from opulence, and push towards joyful escapist experiences.
All of this has occurred under the backdrop of the big flat now, wherein the internet and mobile phones have reached a zenith in global availability. The result is the web design trends that are less restricted to the immediate and the local as aesthetic innovation becomes a fast paced, global effort.
With all these factors at play, the below mentioned web design trends for 2023 are poised to seize the very foundations of the world wide web.
The top 10 web design trends for 2023 are as follows-
- Animated product reveals
- Immersive 3D worlds
- Overstimulation
- Parallax zoom scrolling
- ‘90s navigation
- Animated product reveals
The trend of animated product reveals helps the user to achieve several objectives at once, It supports speed browsing, as the viewer can quickly review the product without clicking into another web page. It animates the product, offering a teaser of how it can be used. It boosts a minimal interface, displaying photos one at a time, and also keeping the page free of image clutter. It can introduce a new foreign dimension to the website, animating product photos on top of the existing page.
Ultimately, like maximum surprise interactions, these animations build a feeling of discovery, making the viewer want to keep exploring to find even more reveals.
- Immersive 3D worlds
The previous year, a lot of websites favored immersive scrolling experiences that attracted the viewers into the page. Partially, due to a continued interest in the VR tech, this trend has now evolved into entirely immersive websites. These are completely rendered 3D worlds.
Immersion gimmicks are not new, however they rarely do go far as to take the user into a journey through digital space with the smooth tracking of a crane camera. While the audio techniques used to be considered a tacky relic of the early internet, subtle music is making a comeback in order to add a cinematic touch. Also, the audio still comes with accessibility challenges, maximum websites will ask for permission to play music before loading the page.
This trend takes a lot of effort to pull off. Sometimes, it necessitates 3D modeling and sound mixing. Hence, it is the most useful in one off campaigns. While these websites tend to be more stylistic instead of realistic, this is exactly what makes them appealing. They are imaginative, escapist spaces that the users will want to lose themselves in. At the peak of their powers, they have the capability to challenge the multiple stale layouts that orient the page around the CTA button.
These websites trust the visual experience in order to leave a lasting mark on visitors instead.
- Overstimulation
“Less is more” has been the digital law for decades now, mandating the intuitiveness of the websites to the point that users don’t have to think. In recent times, a lot of designers have rebelled against such constraints via anti design, and the reinvention to the gaudy interfaces of Web 1.0. However, regarding 2023, the rebellion against UX minimalism is digital maximalism. These are the designs aiming for complete overstimulation.
This trend declares all out war on white space, customizing nearly every page element. An individual web page might have animated backgrounds, animated foregrounds, oversized typography, hover and click effects, flashing images and splashes of color at the same time.
The effect is supposed to create websites that are not only rebellious but also expressive, novel, and undoubtedly weird. It takes engagement and entertainment to impressive new heights, prioritizing experience over intuitive navigation to incentivize exploration.
At the same time, this trend appears with obvious accessibility barriers, and businesses subject to accessibility law might find it irrational to design WCAG compliant pages in this style.
- Parallax zoom scrolling
The parallax effect refers to an animation technique wherein the foreground elements move quicker than the background elements, building a sense of realism and depth. It has been a popular web design aesthetic for some years now, however, 2023’s websites are specifically favoring parallax zoom scrolling.
Rather than scrolling horizontally or vertically, this parallax scroll takes the viewer inward or outward from the horizon line, building a sudden three dimensional movement. As a zoom effect, it mirrors the ease of zooming that apps such as tiktok has provided to video creators.
It also has clear ties to the immersive worlds and overstimulation trends. A simple scroll makes the visitor feel like they have been taking a ride in the unknown.
- 90s Navigation
‘90s retro has become a big theme in the web design trends of the previous year, that are an expression of the overall collective longing for the innocence of the early internet. In 2023, these trends display no signs of abating. Designers are now ramping up their creative interpretation of nostalgia, with a specific emphasis on navigation.
Nostalgic navigation can be manifested in extremely literal ‘90s design techniques, like pixelated desktop icons or bright menu color blocks. It can also incorporate bygone artifacts from the 90s, as seen in the SIRUPs clever CD tower navigation menu. Both these styles rely on sense memory, that of sorting through stacked cases by hand or clicking through an outmoded, yet familiar interface.
However, even in the absence of sense memory, the trend can still attract younger users, building a digital facsimile of a world they didn’t get to experience.
Generally, nostalgia is always useful for providing the audience with warm fuzzies, especially when faced with trying times. However, its inclusion in navigation might also suggest that we are moving forward by taking cues from the past.
Final Conclusion
The web design trends of 2023 are a diversified group, reflecting various simultaneous impulses at once. Parallax zooms, overstimulation and immersive worlds are pushing the boundaries of digital tech and what constitutes a website.
Like the actual world, the web can also be a dark place sometimes, wherein information is warped and outrage fuels attention. Design alone cannot solve this, however it can provide the users tools to make their lives a little bit easier. Also, these web design trends aspire for much more, giving the viewers artful experiences and memorable interactions.