5 Webdesign Trends for 2023

It’s 2023, and the internet is alive with web design trends that are all about creating excellent user experiences (UX). In just five short years, it’s estimated that online sales will reach $58.74 trillion globally — a big pie that you no doubt want a stake in! 

So, if your business isn’t taking care of its digital real estate (aka, your website) by ensuring it looks fresh and works well, you’ll start to lose your position in these key areas:

1. Discoverability on the top search engines — without updating and optimising your website, search engines like Google will rank you lower on result pages.
2. Competitive edge against “me too” brands or close competitors — businesses with better online customer journeys will sweep customers away from you.  
3. Loyalty and trust of your customers — if your website doesn’t stay up to date with safety and privacy policies, customers will choose not to interact with you online.
4. Quality customer service delivery — the online experience you provide to customers is a significant factor in their decision to purchase from you. 

Before we dive into the top webdesign trends for 2023, let’s first explore why they matter and how you could implement them to ensure that your website stays relevant and engaging. 

Why pay attention to webdesign in 2023?

Let’s be honest, a good website, particularly one that requires integrations and performs key sales activities for your business, is by no means cheap. So, if you’re a business owner that’s recently pumped a tonne of resources into a website, you may not be so interested in any new web design trends. 

“What’s wrong with the very expensive website we already have?” 

“Instead of spending more time and money on a website, our sales and marketing team should be working harder!”

If these objections sound familiar, it may be time to shift your perspective. There are plenty of obvious factors that could be affecting your sales and marketing teams’ performance right now, but there may also be another key instigator: your website’s inability to meet the standards and expectations of a highly dynamic consumer base. 

As we move deeper and deeper into the digital era, the tools and technologies we use are continuously being improved at a rapid pace. A website that looked great only two short years ago may be outperformed by a competitor’s website that utilises technologies and strategies to align with your customer’s new preferences. So, if you’re not paying close attention, you may miss out on opportunities to leverage webdesign trends that could increase your revenue significantly. 

Which webdesign trends will be useful for your business?

Now, it’s important to note that all webdesign trends in 2023 will apply to you. In fact, the trends we’ve listed in this post are only a fraction of what you’ll see discussed online amongst many other experts. We’ve picked the most noteworthy and practical trends to implement. If, while you’re reading, you get excited about the opportunities that some of these webdesign trends could deliver for your business, it’s important to take a structured approach when assessing whether they will work effectively for your brand. 

By evaluating how your website currently meets your customers’ needs, you may be able to pick and choose the webdesign trends that will be most impactful for your business without a complete overhaul of your website. A comprehensive UX audit will highlight the most important steps you need to take in order to ensure that your website supports a powerful and conversion-focused buyer’s journey, and that’s something we can help you with. We can provide you with a qualitative and quantitative description of the potential we’ve identified relative to each channel you’re using and make recommendations on how to exploit this potential. Our UX audit is tailored to your market and serves as the crucial starting point for any webdesign decisions you may be looking to make. 

It’s also essential to distinguish that while some webdesign trends address the aesthetic or graphic elements of a website, others highlight developments in performance and functionality —— these are the behind-the-scenes tweaks that your developers could make to ensure that your website is providing the optimal UX. 

As the importance of a great user experience continues to grow, your web designers are putting even more emphasis on making websites as easy to use and navigate as possible. This includes incorporating intuitive navigation and responsive design elements that adjust to different screen sizes.

Let’s explore what some of the most exciting webdesign trends of 2023 look like. 

1. Bold, Bright Colors and Fonts

In 2023, we may see the battle of the Simple Minimalist vs Vibey Retro style website. The good news is that there is enough space on the internet for both web design styles to exist. It’s expected, however, that many brands will be keen to kick out the old monochromatic colour schemes and embrace bold, bright hues in a big way. 

From electric blues to neon greens, brace yourself for a lot of high-impact colours on websites in the coming year. This trend is all about making a statement and standing out from the crowd. In addition to the new colour schemes, there will also be plenty of attention-grabbing fonts — and not because someone’s accidentally pressed Caps Lock. Designers are using unique, capitalised or bold lettering to guide visitors to the information they most want them to see.

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2. 3D Design Elements

3D design elements are becoming more accessible and affordable. Naturally, brands will be keen to incorporate 3D graphics, animations, and augmented reality into their web design because of the value they add to the buyer’s experience. These elements aren’t just a draw card for design geeks; they’re successful in helping businesses provide more engaging and interactive experiences. Here are just a few examples of how you may integrate 3D design into your website: 

Product showcases: Businesses might use 3D graphics and models to showcase products on their websites. This could include 360-degree views, product animations, or interactive product configurators.

Immersive experiences: 3D graphics and models could be used to create immersive experiences for users, such as virtual tours of physical spaces, interactive games or simulations, or animated stories.

Navigation: 3D graphics and models could be used to create visually engaging navigation menus or interfaces, such as 3D maps or animated menus.

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3D in web design is certainly becoming more sophisticated and immersive in 2023. For businesses looking to create more distinguished branding and offer engaging experiences that help online customers make purchasing decisions faster, this is one trend you’ll want to consider. 

3. Dark Mode

Let’s face it, more and more of us are becoming night owls — by choice and necessity. Since no one is likely to be putting their device down any time soon, tech companies have figured out a smart way to help us cope with the inevitable eye strain. Cue Dark Mode —— a simple web design feature that helps us read in low-light conditions but also looks kind of sleek and modern. 

Dark Mode is a trend in web design where the user interface of a website or application is designed with a dark colour scheme instead of a light one. To ensure you create the right mood with your Dark Mode website, be sure to choose the right colours and test your website for readability. Contrast must be used effectively to ensure that text and backgrounds are in balance and key information isn’t rendered invisible.

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4. Textured Backgrounds

From abstract patterns to organic materials like stone and wood, textured backgrounds are a great way to add depth and structure to a website. This trend is all about breaking away from flat, plain backgrounds and incorporating more dimension into the design. Textured backgrounds are a trend that involves using images, graphics, or patterns to add texture to the background of a website.

A plain, flat background can make a website feel static and uninteresting, while a textured background can create a sense of movement and dimension. Textured backgrounds can also be used to create a specific mood or atmosphere, such as a rustic, natural feeling for a website that sells outdoor gear or a luxurious, elegant feeling for a website that sells high-end fashion.

Another benefit of using textured backgrounds is that they can help to establish a visual hierarchy and guide the user's eye towards the main content of the website. For example, a textured background that fades towards the edges can create a sense of focus on the central content, while a background with a strong texture or pattern can create a sense of emphasis on a specific element.

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5. Voice User Interface

A voice user interface (VUI) is a technology that allows users to interact with a device or application using voice commands. With the increasing popularity of smart speakers and voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri, businesses are starting to explore the integration of VUIs into their websites to provide a more convenient and intuitive experience for users.

One of the primary benefits of using VUIs in web design is that they can help to improve accessibility and inclusivity for users who may have difficulty using traditional interfaces, such as people with disabilities or elderly individuals. VUIs can also provide a faster and more efficient way for users to navigate a website or complete tasks, as they can simply speak commands instead of typing or clicking.

In addition, VUIs can help businesses to gather valuable data on user behaviour and preferences. By analysing the commands users give through a VUI, businesses can gain insights into how users interact with their website and what features or content they find most useful.

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Review and refresh your website with BEE

Have any of these trends got you? There are so many interesting and exciting things happening in web design in 2023, and you’re no doubt envisioning how these features and design elements can serve your business. But before you start looking into them, we recommend getting the basics right first. 

Yes, having a website that does new and adventurous things could deliver fantastic results for your business, but there are a few long-established rules that you should never skip over when attempting to put new bells and whistles on your websites. One of those, for example, is page upload speed. 

Many businesses focus on creating overly complex sites that are difficult to manage and continuously come up with niggles. Others have partnered with specialists that have gated accessibility to your website, and you cannot update it independently, which makes it difficult and expensive to make adjustments and optimisations. 

Before you start looking at which trends you’d like to implement, here are some key questions to ask: 

• Is your existing content relevant and valuable to customers, or will you have to invest in a new content strategy?
• Are there any technical friction points that you need to address?
• Is updating your website easy, or does it require third-party intervention?
• Which CMS have you used to build your website, and is it intuitive and user-friendly?

Many of these questions are answered when we conduct a UX audit of your website. Our team will take a proactive approach to assess your website’s performance, reviewing your goals and objectives and making practical suggestions to help you create a dynamic website capable of adapting to your customer’s changing needs. 

Overall, the web design trends that businesses should pay attention to in 2023 are those that focus on improving user experience, engagement, and accessibility. Let us help you make a stand-out website that truly captures the attention of its users and helps your business drive conversions.