Want to know what's hot in the world of web design? Here are the most important web design trends 2022 that you should definitely know. Have fun!

Some companies go for a traditional style. Others want to stay up to date in terms of design. No matter which group you belong to and for whom you design your websites: it never hurts to know which trends in web design are currently in demand. 

In recent years, a good user experience has been one of the web design trends par excellence. And a focus on a better UX should and can always be integrated - no matter what branding strategy your customers follow.

Headers: Big videos & strong typography

Cinema Style Videos 

Videos as full-screen headers are in vogue. With new, more web-friendly formats (such as WebM), large-scale videos can be implemented without breaking the loading time. The special thing about Cinema Style Video: Whoever visits your website not only sees an appealing video, but is immediately in the action. The company 11coffee has done this very well. 

Watching the video, you feel as if you are sitting in a café. You immediately get a sense of the hustle and bustle. And you also get an idea of the products that are offered on site. You can make a personal connection with the employees and the brand before you get to know them.

The special feature of this style is that visitors to your website are integrated immediately. This helps to reduce the distance between website and visitor, or product and customer. In addition, you minimise the use of text on your website.

A video that is used in such an important place must be provided with a fallback image. This way, if in doubt, visitors are not greeted by a screen-filling error message in the event of a poor internet connection, but at least see an image.

Oversized typography

This approach offers the opposite of full-screen mode. Oversized fonts can be supported by visuals as slogans, such as Best Boutique Hotels Worldwide.

Web fonts can also be found as the sole visual element in the header of your website. In the example of Onomatet, the typo does not function as a headline, but as a navigation element.

This style can be very minimalist under certain circumstances. In this example, it concentrates on the essentials and prevents visitors from being overwhelmed by stimuli.

Let's compare this with the video header from before: Through the video, closeness and personality are built up. We develop empathy with the product and the employees. With the help of the sober and minimalist use of typography, a cool distance is created. And at the same time a kind of elegance. The design generally feels more pragmatic. 

Layout & visual elements in web design

Diagonal lines

Lines have long been a popular visual element in web design. With the use of diagonal lines you can make your design more interesting. Diagonal lines are more "open" than horizontal lines. This is because diagonal lines connect content instead of separating it. 

So they help enormously to navigate through your content. With the help of diagonal lines, you can guide the eye of your target group. And navigate them to the relevant areas of your website.

Kris Real Estate has what I consider to be a somewhat jerky approach. Visually, I find the red line that the mouse pointer leaves behind interesting. However, it distracts from the important content - and an added value is not (yet) apparent to me.

Scrollable text elements

Scroll effects can be integrated well with oversized headlines. There are many different approaches here.

The Peppasauce website consists almost entirely of large typo that moves as you scroll. This gives the otherwise rather static feel of the website mobility.

With Dot To Dot we see a menu that scrolls horizontally.

Unlike the two predecessors, Pierre Grosjean uses scrollable text as a background element. This allows you to give your website more dynamism without visually overloading your visitors.

Shadows and floating elements

Flat design has persisted and still finds its place in web design today. Flat Design later evolved into Flat Design 2.0, where flat graphics are given more depth through the use of shadows.

In the future, this style will continue to accompany us. By using different types of shadows, you can also give your 2D design the feeling of different layers. This way you can pull important elements into the foreground. This can be combined well with floating objects. 

This allows you to create the depth of 3D spaces through the arrangement and use of 2D elements. Two good examples of this are My Mortgage Hub and Luminous.

Elements that overlap

We saw in the previous section how you can create depth with different layers and shadows. Another way to play with 2D design is to superimpose elements. 

Under certain circumstances, you can override the physical properties of your elements. Background elements then lie in front of a foreground element. This effect can be intentional, but it can also lead to confusion.

We find a well-sorted approach at The Stylist Group.

When overlapping objects, you should make sure that none of your content is lost and that all texts remain legible. You can implement this style wonderfully with the help of CSS Grid.

Interactive web elements

Another way to bridge the distance between visitors and website operators is the use of interactive elements.

This does not have to be elaborate. The first question would be: What offers added value to your target group? Offer a questionnaire to adapt your product to the preferences of your target group.

However, interactive elements can also be humorous and offer no direct added value, as on the How Many Plants website. Here, the mouse pointer turns into a watering can and you can hover over the plants.

Clear and prominent call to action

Here is another web design trend that addresses the user experience. In future, calls to action should be clear and prominent. Buttons also remain rather large and bulky, so that we can reach them on mobile devices without problems.

Progressive forms

This web design trend also serves the user experience. Progressive forms are forms that have been divided into several, clear steps. They ensure that your users do not immediately give up when they see larger forms. 

Once some information has been entered, it is also more difficult to leave the progress made than to complete the form.

Conception & strategies for your website

Show donʼt tell

A principle that I have known for a long time in the field of creative writing will also have an impact on web design in the future. With the "show don't tell" principle, you make your brand or product understandable through the structure and use of visual elements. Instead of juggling a lot of words, you let your target group know what you offer and who is behind it through the look and feel. If you do this successfully, you will eliminate the need for a lot of text and your website will become more manageable and innovative.

We often follow this concept with scrollytelling. Here we tell stories that unfold pictorially and in words - similar to a digital journey through the website. 

The use of full-screen videos supports the visual representation of your brand: you tell a story about your brand or your product without using words.  

Google has developed an appealing website to explain and attract local guides. It underlines each step with an animation and explains in a comprehensible way which actions are possible. 

Positive design with a humorous twist

After two years of worrying news, we are looking for a balance. Web design is becoming more humorous and easy to digest. Even supposedly serious companies are allowed to focus on positive design.

Small surprises make us smile during our journey through the web. In Luminous, for example, we get a visit from a shy cat peeking out from the right edge of the screen. 

Local SEO

If your brand has a physical shop, stick to keywords and content that are environment-related. This way you will be found and listed in a search for "service XY near me". 

Local SEO has been around for a long time. At the beginning, however, it was mainly used on the desktop. In the meantime, it also plays a major role for mobile devices. The Local SEO Guide offers you a comprehensive insight.

More web design trends 2022 

According to a survey by GermanUpa, chatbots, artificial intelligence and AR/VR are at the top of the list of the most annoying trends. Especially with new technologies, you should always consider for whom you are designing the website. Depending on your target group, it may be worthwhile to forego some trends in web design.

Old but Gold: Trends that stay

What we will continue to see in 2022: 

• Personalised contents
• Light and Dark Mode 
• Minimalism 
• Accessibility
• User-centred design
• Page Speed Optimisation
• Micro Interactions
• Mega Footers