Web Design Trends for 2023: What We’ve Seen So Far

Website design is constantly evolving, with new trends emerging every year. 2023 is no exception and there are several website design trends that are likely to dominate the layout and functionality of modern websites. In this blog, we’ll explore the top website design trends for 2023, including why WordPress, experimental navigation menus, micro-interactions, SSO, parallax scrolling, dark mode user interface, favorites plugin, and mobile-friendly designs are essential for modern websites.

WordPress still reigns supreme 

As we enter 2023, WordPress remains the most popular content management system (CMS) for website development. It currently holds a 63.5% market share, an increase of over 10% from several years ago.  This is due to its ease of use, customizability, search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities, mobile responsiveness, and security features. 

WordPress allows users to create and manage a website without requiring extensive coding knowledge. Additionally, its wide range of themes and plugins allows for customization and functionality, making it suitable for different types of websites. With its mobile responsiveness, WordPress can also ensure that your website looks great on any device. Lastly, WordPress is known for its security measures and is regularly updated to address any vulnerabilities.

Experimental Navigation makes a breakthrough

Since the inception of navigation menus in the early days of the internet, very little has changed.  This is due predominantly to the fact that people find the standard hyperlinks at the top of the page easy to use.  However, today we access the internet from myriad devices of varying screen sizes.  Our ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape has finally allowed designers to get a little more creative with their approach to menus.  

On this site, our redesign included a minimalist approach to the menu.  The single word “explore” opens a violet overlay of all the destinations on our site.  While not necessarily suitable for every genre, expect to see more experimentation with how web designers organize navigation.   

Micro-Interactions: Keeping visitors engaged

Micro-interactions are small, interactive elements on a website that respond to user behavior. These include things like hover effects, loading animations, and buttons that change color when clicked. These subtle animations can make a big impact on user experience, making the website feel more engaging and interactive.

There is always the possibility of over-animating your website.  Finding a balance between enough micro-interactions to make your website fun and so many that it makes your users dizzy is important.  Always solicit feedback from your team on their overall impression of the movement on your website as they engage with it.  

Parallax Scrolling still scrolling along

Parallax scrolling is a technique where the background of a website moves at a different speed than the foreground, creating a 3D effect. This adds depth and dimension to the website, making it more engaging and visually interesting. Parallax scrolling has been around for quite a while and though there have been moments in time when other, more static styles appeared to be coming back in trend, parallax scrolling remains popular that is likely to continue into 2023.

Dark Mode User Interface keeps its cool

Dark mode is a design trend that has gained popularity in recent years. It’s a user interface option where the background is black or dark, with white or light-colored text. Dark mode is easier on the eyes and can reduce eye strain, especially when using devices at night or in low-light environments.

You’ve seen this implemented in software as well.  For a long time now, Google Maps on your phone automatically switches to dark mode based on the brightness of your surroundings.  Slack, Discord, and many popular apps and browsers offer a dark mode option.  Generally, websites that offer specific functionality or serve as regularly used tools for everyday life and business should look to offer this eye-saving design choice to their users.

Favorites Plugin for a personalized experience

For our clients in the insurance industry, their agents and advisors have access to many tools and resources that they use every day.  A common trend on platforms and websites with multiple services is to allow the user to dictate the dashboard.  Part of this self-selecting customization involves making certain tools your favorite.  

Our favorites plugin follows this trend by letting your clients choose the tools that they use the most to appear on their dashboard to make finding their go-to’s easier.  Self-customizing the user experience takes the guesswork out of what your clients want and improves productivity for dashboards on your website.    

Mobile-Friendly Designs are here to stay

Mobile devices continue to dominate internet usage, and websites must be designed with mobile users in mind. Mobile-friendly designs are essential for a good user experience and can impact everything from page load times to engagement rates. In 2023, mobile-friendly designs will be more important than ever, as users increasingly rely on their mobile devices for internet access.

Adding to this requirement is the impact of SEO.  Google’s algorithms heavily favor strong mobile development.  When creating a website in WordPress, a lot of this work is done for you in the background.  Be sure to always check out how your site looks on different devices to ensure that your visitors find a pleasant experience no matter where they are connecting with you. 

Single Sign-On (SSO) makes everybody’s life easier

For people who need to log into several services to complete a task, remembering and typing in a bunch of password credentials feels ridiculous.  Our lives are already so cluttered with credentials that we are reliant on Chrome’s password vault to access our most important URLs.  For businesses, and certainly, for our clients, Apis’s Single Sign-On plugin makes the task of jumping from one quoting or illustration tool to another as easy as clicking from here to there.  And isn’t that how the user experience should be?  

We are accustomed to being permanently signed into our favorite streaming services and our smart TVs and Apple TVs do this for us.  But for commercial applications in the business world, where security is paramount to smooth operations, Single Sign-On shines in both its ease of implementation and its devotion to maintaining security across platforms.  

Keeping our eyes open

The design team at Apis Productions tracks trends online and in the industry that we serve.  We are always delighted when a client wants to “freshen” up an older site with new ideas, colors, and branding.  Sometimes rearranging the furniture, a new coat of paint, or modern lighting can make a room feel more engaging.  Let us know how we can help you bring your website into the latest fashion and create a stronger connection with your target audience.