Now that we are in the final quarter of 2014, we can conjure up an idea of what web design trends will be influencing the way we design our sites in 2015. This is obviously subject to personal preference, however certain trends seem to be featuring more predominantly throughout the web.

2014 (and a little earlier) has seen the introduction and use of some great features and styles, all of which make your browsing experience more enjoyable. WordPress has kept up very well with all these trends through a multitude of themes and plugins.

For anyone looking to keep up with the latest developments in the web design world, or even for those looking for the best way to design their new site ahead of the new year, the trends I mention below are essential.

Not all of them apply to every business, blog or any other type of site. Not all of them would look good on every type of site. However, keeping them in mind and applying them in the right areas can help you create an amazing website that your users would love to come back to every time.

So, here we go; the web design trends that will assure you of web stardom! (or at least get your site noticed).

More than a trend, Responsive Design is quickly becoming the norm. Making your site fully responsive is practically a must nowadays. Browsing is expanding to multiple devices at a very fast rate. From desktop computers to mobile phones, you need a site that will look good no matter what device you’re viewing it on. Having a site that breaks down on small screens or one that stretches out horribly on a wide screen is not acceptable. It will drive your users away. Keep it responsive and keep the visitors flowing in from all directions.

Responsive design is more on the back-end, but Flat Design is what you can see up front. Flat Design is a style that omits any effects such as shadowing, bevelling, texture, and others, to create a literal “flat” design. It keeps your site looking clean and elegant while still pulling users in using bold colours. It’s a minimalistic design that is growing in popularity and has the potential to keep growing into 2015, possibly developing a little further along the way.

Full-screen background images and videos are gaining in popularity too. These make your site stand out, emphasising what your site is about in a beautiful and powerful manner. A short clip showcasing your work, or a stunning image with a short, descriptive text overlay can make a much bigger impact on your visitor than large groups of text and images, especially when it comes to browsing on mobile phones or tablets (once again, this is where responsive design is vital).

Until just a short while ago, finding and using the right typography came at no small cost and not everyone had the leisure of using it as they wanted to. However nowadays, with the prices going down and free web fonts available from various places (such as Google Fonts), typographic art is taking a more central role in web design. Those tired old fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are being replaced by cool, stylish and sophisticated fonts that bring a touch of class to your site.

With more emphasis being placed on web design practices that can function on all sorts of devices the importance of scrolling is increasing. The use of single page sites, or stacked pages that you can scroll through will be more prominent, even if they don’t provide the same SEO power as multi-page sites would. But scrolling doesn’t just make for a more user friendly experience on your phone, it also looks and functions well on the more traditional devices by cutting down on load times and giving that more intuitive feel.

The use of Card Design on sites such as Pinterest and Spotify proves the worth of such a style. It allows you to share your information in a more digestible way, keeping your site looking modular and organized. Cards also urge the user to browse further down the page, revealing more and more as they go; an ideal way to showcase your work on mobile phones and tablets. It’s a style that has been around a while, and will stay around for longer due to its simplicity and effectiveness.

In Conclusion

I think that the trends we have seen flourish in 2014 will continue to do so through to 2015 and beyond. There will be modifications and growth in some, while others might eventually start to fade out (or into another form). But whatever the case they are all resulting in some wonderful WordPress themes and plugins that allow even the most beginner of users to create some stunning websites without any knowledge of code.

Ultimately, we are responsible for their success or failure; pushing them to their limits, or leaving them to die out. Others might start to develop along the way, possibly branching out from some of those present today, and I look forward to seeing what the WordPress world has to offer in the coming year or so.

If you have any other trends in mind that I might have left out, or something that you feel might gain popularity and grow into 2015, feel free to comment below. Your opinion might be the spark someone needs to develop the new trend!

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