Mobile Web Design Trends for 2018

In 2016, mobile website browsing finally overtook desktops. Consequently, web design trends since then have been largely focused on the mobile market. We can expect this trend to continue over the next year. The rapid adoption of HTML5 has helped to boost the adaptability of websites, and most websites now display correctly on mobile devices. In this article, we take a look at some of the trends in mobile web design that look set to dominate 2018.

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Use of Negative Space

Minimalism has been a popular web design choice for many years. Over the course of 2017, though, we have seen a much greater push towards making effective use of empty space. In the past, this has been a design choice borne out of practicality; mobiles are generally slower at loading webpages and so the less work they have to do, the more efficiently the page will load. This is also beneficial from a design perspective because it encourages the designer to make the most of what is there, leading to less clutter and a more focused approach.

Bold Typography

This has been a byproduct of the other minimalist considerations; making effective use of typography draws the user’s eye. With few elements on the page, the text is going to be taking center stage and so how it is presented will affect the user’s perception of the webpage as a whole. Typography also has a minimal impact on the performance of the site.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is an important consideration for modern web development. Now that websites are designed to adapt to mobile devices rather than serving up an entirely new page, SEO considerations are becoming important to mobile web design. Alternatively, web designers might hire a company such as Tim B Design – Construction Company Website Design to help improve their search rankings.

Cinemagraphs

A cinemagraph lies halfway between an image and a full-blown video. By only animating a small section of an image, website owners can create simple animations which have a minimal impact on performance. Even though their impact is considerably less than that of a video, cinemagraphs are still used sparingly because they do have some impact. Again, though, sparing use encourages efficient and considered use.

Scroll Triggered Elements

Scroll triggered elements are elements of the webpage that will not load until the user scrolls their device so that they are currently on screen. By not loading objects that are off-screen, scroll triggered elements can save bandwidth and load webpages more efficiently than processing everything at once.

Conversational Bots

Conversational bots are a logical product of our current efforts researching artificial intelligence and making efforts to produce bots who can assist users and provide intelligent technical support and advice. Conversational bots are starting to appear to perform the most basic functions of technical support for websites and businesses. Right now, these bots are fairly rudimentary, they are capable of responding to queries based on their recognition of keywords and preset responses. In the future, however, these bots will be able to intelligently appraise the issue the user is having and devise an appropriate response using a real understanding of the system.

2018 looks set to be another year where innovations in mobile web design will be plentiful and will continue to drive the overall direction of web design in general. Smartphones are becoming more capable and as more manufacturers embrace bezel-less designs and large screens web designers may once again find themselves adapting in unexpected ways.