As we rapidly fly through 2021, which for a few bizarre reasons seems to be going quicker than 2020, we are seeing the face of web design change at a far faster pace.
Below are a number of the most well-liked web design trends for 2021, most of which have already made a large impact and you may have seen, others are still gaining traction and appearance to grow even further over the year and beyond.
Summary of 2020 web design trends:
2021 has seen the online continually evolve from where 2020 left off, but at a potentially more rapid pace than expected.
Here’s a fast rundown on a number of the newest website design trends for 2021 and a few inspiration and website ideas to assist your website air trend for 2021.
Parallax, a word that has been used for several years now and has really peaked has evolved and continues to be the most popular web design trend for 2021 as we move from the classic scrolling images and text to maneuver interactive and more fun parallax animations.
The parallax effect has led naturally and beautifully on to scrolling transformations. Well, thought-out interactions that either work automatically upon scroll or are triggered by the clicking of a button and build a very cool scrolling effect to allow an often 3-dimensional feel to your website.
Retro fonts are making a comeback, as they say: History Repeats and it might appear that an enormous web design trend for 2021 is that the return of retro fonts with a pleasant modern 2021 twist to them.
Horizontal scrolling was one of every of the planning trends gaining traction throughout 2020 and has really become a red-hot web design trend for 2021.
Instead of the standard scrolling down, designers are becoming created and developing websites that scroll across the screen.
Perfect for storytelling, conveying brand personality, and is usually paired with a pleasant scrolling parallax transformation to convey a website that extra added layer of depth and interaction.
3D elements have always been pretty big and also gained plenty of traction in 2020 as an online design trend, but still, evolve and add new dimensions to websites in 2021.
With the use of more realistic elements and adding depth to web pages, websites are really jumping off the screen and searching more realistic than ever because of the growing and inventive use of 3D elements.
Finally, an impact that can have peaked by now and saw huge growth in 2020 but issued exponentially in 2021 is that the use of a ‘Gaussian blur’ effect, particularly in website backgrounds to create shapes and items less dominant and adding subtle shading to websites without being overbearing.
As you'll tell, 2021 web design trends all seem to sit down around adding more depth and dimension to websites.
Below we are going to examine these in additional detail with visual examples.
Top 7 2021 web design trends:
Parallax animation
Parallax animations still grow through 2021 and appear set to evolve even further into 2022 and beyond.
The timeless classic of text moving slowly over a background image still exists and continues to realize momentum as accessibility grows.
However, Parallax has evolved further and Parallax animations, covered below, are now a large thing, but here are some dedicated samples of websites that use parallax:
-Web Flow / Web Design liberal arts
-Canals
-NY Times / Tomato Can Blues
Scrolling parallax transformations
Whilst you shouldn’t distract from the most purpose of a website's goal, scrolling parallax animations is a natural evolution of the essential ‘scroll down a page’ effect that you simply would often determine.
By now adding in individual layers, icons, and backgrounds of a website is really delivered to life, items can look like they're floating and their shadows on the move, there’s such a lot that will be through with a scrolling parallax animation.
A word of caution though, parallax is often overused and it could also cause usability issues for somebody who suffers negative effects from illusions and moving animations, so it's always recommended to own the choice to show a parallax effect off as best practice – Something you don’t see very option on websites that use scrolling parallax animations.
Here are some great samples of scrolling parallax effects:
-Cann Social Tonics
-Delassus Group
We expect the parallax effect to grow over the following few years, and hope that it’s here to remain because it can make websites look really dimensional and interesting – It sure is a technique to feature during a wow factor, but we expect to work out it getting used a touch more subtly instead of being so in your face as web design trends still evolve.
Horizontal scrolling
The next logical web design trend for 2021 after scrolling parallax transformations – Horizontal scrolling.
Who said an internet site has got to only scroll down?
This is certainly a method to avoid content going ‘below the fold’ but will users adapt to this? Will it become the new normal or does it go against the grain and just put visitors off who are wont to naturally scrolling downwards?
It certainly does break a well-ingrained scrolling pattern that we all have.
Here are some samples of exceptionally good horizontal scrolling websites that have nailed this 2021 web design trend:
-Kwok Yin Mak
-Peak’n Film
-Studio Bjork
Retro fonts
Not quite “hello times new roman!” again, but more a revisiting, refining, and bringing into the 20th century of fonts.
This one could be a little under the radar as lots of promotional materials use retro fonts anyway, especially when promoting something retro.
Whether this can stick around or not is tough to mention. We don’t see it becoming a large trend that runs with the momentum like parallax does, as you won’t see websites adapting this as a typical font to read main content or using it in their logo or imagery if it doesn’t fit.
It’s great to determine fonts freshened up for 2021, we may eat our words, but we don’t expect the current as a large trend that grows legs and snowballed through 2022 and into 2023 as a serious web design trend.
Here’s a good example of a retro font with a contemporary day twist from Spotify/Carnival.
3D elements
A real beauty and an excellent thanks for adding depth to any website.
Whilst most websites use rather flat 2D images, the new kind of 3D images may be sure thanks to making your website appear as if it's jumping off the screen.
A really cool effect that will add dimension to the foremost boring and flattest of internet sites, we expect the 3D elements to continue and gain momentum into 2022 and perhaps beyond.
The cost and skillset required to make 3D images may be prohibitive to some, and therefore the requirement to integrate 3D images properly instead of just simply dropping them onto a page, when used correctly this might be an extremely great 2021 web design trend to utilize and that we hope to work outgrow into 2022.
-Stripe
-Campo Alle Comete
Gaussian blur backgrounds
Something we actually like hope grows legs and runs away into the longer-term – Gaussian blur will be accustomed to replace those harsh gradients that have dominated the online the last 2 years.
This soft blur adds a pleasant dimension to those websites that wish to use colors, even strong colors but in an unobtrusive way and to subtly sit within the background and enhance an internet site experience instead of detracting from it.
Not a replacement effect in the least by any means, Gaussian blur might be here to remain and is one in all the items we might prefer to see carry strong momentum throughout 2021 and into the list of web design trends for 2022 further.
-Paperpillar / Dribbble
-Illyin Studio / Dribble
Neumorphism
Possibly the largest design trend of 2021 and positively the one gaining the foremost traction as an internet design trend for 2021.
With some roots in flat design, Neumorphism designs add a bit more depth and detail to them.
Instead of tiring to elucidate it, here are some screenshots of the most popular web design trend for 2021: Neumorphism.
-Varsha Singh / Quovantis / Dribbble
-Devanta Ebison / Dribbble
