3D designs have been taking the web design world by storm for a few years now, but in 2023, it has become one of the biggest web design trends. Many websites have been using immersive scrolling experiences that pull viewers into the page, which has now developed into completely immersive, fully rendered 3D worlds. These 3D world stend to be more stylistic than realistic, creating an escapist alternate reality for the user which challenges static layouts that are built around a button.

Another way that web designers can use 3D in their web designs is by using illustration. With flat illustration designs dominating the trends in recent years, 3D helps businesses to stand out from the crowd. With advances in design technology, you no longer need to be an expert to take advantage of this trend, with many pre-built 3D libraries available.

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Example: Apple

Adding interactive sections to your website is a great way to make a user's experience more exciting, resulting in them staying on your website for longer. This is one of the most popular web design trends in 2023 and is a reflection of emerging technology and its impact on society.

 Interactions that showcase simulation, cinematic techniques, and immersion such as immersive 3D worlds, interactive cursors, parallax zoom scrolling and animated product reveals will keep your users on your site for longer periods of time while making their experience fun!

Example: Species in Pieces

AI and mixed reality are paving the way for the future of web design. We’re only just beginning to understand the power of artificial intelligence and how these technologies will affect our daily lives and livelihoods, so what exactly is AI?

 Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI is a set of technologies that include machine learning. These systems are based on the idea that computers can be intelligently programmed to make predictions, enabling them to make decisions and take action.

 When it comes to web design trends,AI is all about the tools used to aid website design. One of the most recent examples of mainstream AI is Chat GPT, which can assist web designers by generating content. Chat GPT can understand the topic, style of voice and tone of the text you require and create relevant content, therefore saving time coming up with topics to write about.

 Chat GPT or any similar tools should only be used as inspiration, but they are still extremely revolutionary when it comes to web design. Another example of a helpful tool that uses AI is Midjourney, which is used to quickly generate a logo, illustration, and web UI in a few minutes.

Minimalist websites are one of the biggest web design trends in 2023, with many UX/UI builders ditching bright colours and whimsical animations for a clean, classic design with lots of white space. There are many benefits to having a minimal website design, such as the fact that it provides an improved user experience, faster page load speed, easier mobile optimisation, an increased aesthetic appeal and it is less likely to become outdated quickly.

 Minimalist websites use a limited colour palette, with only as many design elements as necessary to share information with the user. It focuses on simplifying the user interface and bringing attention to the areas of the site that are most important, it is also more cost-effective due to not requiring complex designs. In 2023, the number of people using mobile devices to access the internet is higher than ever before, which helps minimalism to remain one of the most popular web design trends for years to come. This design trend is well-suited for smaller screens and touch-based navigation, whereas bolder designs may be more difficult to optimise for mobile.

Example: Isaac Powell

Increased accessibility in web design means creating websites that can be used by a diverse audience, including users with impairments and disabilities. With inclusivity being a main topic in 2023, it’s important for web designers to make sure that their websites can be used by all users.

 Some ways in which web designers are making their sites more accessible in 2023 are; strong colour contrasts between text and backgrounds, voice chatbots, keyboard navigation aids for users with motor disabilities, descriptive alt text tags for images for users with impaired vision, avoiding flashing or flickering content that can triggered seizures, regular testing with assistive technologies to ensure that any issues are quickly resolved, and accessible contact forms with clear instructions, labels, fields and more.

 By designing a site that can be used by everyone, you will not only be providing good customer service, but it can also increase conversions, boost your SEO and help you to reach a larger audience.

Example: Lush

Creative data visualisation is one of the biggest web design trends in 2023, it is the art of putting data into a visual context which makes it more exciting for users to view, therefore resulting in users interacting with certain products more. More brands are on the hunt for data visualisation tools that can increase brand transparency and help them to build better relationships with their consumers.

 Some prime examples of data visualisation tools that make website users' experiences more exciting are dynamic maps, interactive bar charts and graphs, dashboards, interactive infographics, data art and more. Some tips for using creative data visualisation are to choose the right chart types for the data you are presenting, keep it simple, and make your designs responsive and accessible.

Example: Bioage

Dynamic cursors are custom cursor styles that can change or respond to user interactions and events on a webpage. Web browsers traditionally have a default cursor style (arrow, hand), but one of the most popular web design trends in 2023 is experimenting with more engaging and unique cursors.

 Custom images or icons can be used instead of the default design, which makes the cursor align better with a website’s theme/branding.Cursors can also have hover effects which can help make the site more accessible, for example, a cursor may change when it hovers over a button to show that it is clickable. Cursors can also change when dragging an element or resizing a window.

 Animated cursors are also something that web designers are experimenting with more often, with cursors having dynamic animations to make them more engaging, therefore making users stay on the webpage for longer.Trail effects are also another way to animate your cursors, adding a creative touch to your website. While dynamic cursors can be visually appealing, it is essential to have a good balance between aesthetics and functionality; they offer an exciting way to keep users engaged and provide subtle cues for interactions throughout the site.

Example: Mercure Studio

If you are looking to get a website built and would like to speak to one of our Web Designers at East Coast Design Studio, please get in touch.