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Web design, like any kind of design, is based on current fashions and trends. When a popular new design element is introduced, through technology or through a successful website or app, sites jump on board and borrow the idea. In time, the idea becomes commonplace and almost expected, and what you have on your hands is a trend.
Following trends can make your site look modern, but it also runs the risk of outdating your site if you are not prepared to remove those elements when they fall out of favor. You can often guess how old a website is from its fonts, colors and visual flourishes, and a dated look quietly costs you trust with visitors.
If your site still leans on any of the following, it is worth acting on. Here are four trends that were once all the rage and are now better left behind, or used far more carefully than before.
Skip the QR code on your website; keep it for print and in-store
QR codes were once hyped as the future of everything on the web. They did find a lasting role in print, packaging, signage, restaurant menus and payments, where scanning is the fastest way to reach a page. On a website, though, they are pointless: your visitor is already online, and a link is quicker to click than a code is to scan.
Use QR codes where people are away from a screen, send them to a mobile-friendly page, and leave them off your desktop pages.
Use script typefaces sparingly, never for body text
A script typeface is any font designed to look handwritten. Scripts make a heading feel natural, elegant and personal, and they were used heavily across the web for years.
The problem is readability. Script fonts get overused to the point of cliche, and they become hard to read at small sizes on phones, where most visitors now browse. If you like the look, limit it to a short accent such as a logo or a single headline, and set everything else in a clean, legible font.
Heavy skeuomorphism has given way to clean, flat design
Skeuomorphic design copies real-world objects, such as a button that looks like a physical button or a bookshelf made of wood grain. It can make an interface more intuitive, but making it a key part of your design feels dated. The shift to flat design, helped along by Apple’s move away from skeuomorphism with iOS 7, changed what users expect.
Today’s interfaces still use depth, shadows and subtle texture, but with restraint and a clear purpose, such as showing that something is clickable or has focus. There is a time and a place for realistic detail; the trick is knowing when and where that is, and keeping it from slowing down or cluttering the page.
One responsive site beats a separate mobile-only site
Separate mobile-only sites on their own “m.” address are a thing of the past. People view your content on an enormous range of screen sizes, and adaptive and responsive design let one site serve all of them. Google now uses the mobile version of your pages for indexing and ranking by default, so a stripped-down second site can leave out content that you need to rank.
Maintaining two sites also doubles the work and invites inconsistency. A single responsive site that does everything is easier to manage, easier to keep consistent and better for search.
Review your site against these four trends
Look at your own site on a phone first. Check whether you rely on a script font for text people need to read, whether any element exists only because it was fashionable, and whether your mobile and desktop experiences match. If a redesign is overdue, the right web design partner can modernize the look without chasing the next fad.
“We are thrilled with the amazing work SmartSites did on our website.”
Adam BraatzWisconsin Conservatory of Music
