Just by observing the evolution of web design, we are able to see how much can change in only 20 years. Imagine how quickly your current website will date if you don’t constantly adapt, evolve, and change the way it looks.

As business owners, we all know how imperative it is to stay on top of emerging trends. Features and functions on your website should regularly be revised to fit current best practice and new technological developments.

Where Web Design Is Headed

We are moving towards an age where technology and humanity are very much integrated. Paying $35–$80k for a brand-new website will be a thing of the past in a few years’ time.

In the recent years, we observed trends such as minimal, flat, and mobile-first designs; the use of video sliders, background videos, CSS animation, long scroll, hero images, hamburger menus; the refinement of webs to make it responsive; the addition of newsletter pop-ups; and the use of front-end frameworks.

Now, we are heading towards refining previous trends and, most importantly, towards mobile and user experience (UX) trends. Internet users now have higher expectations when it comes to web UX. Web designers must consider this when they create websites to ensure that they come up with websites that are more personalised, engaging, appealing and accessible to all kinds of web users, and efficient.

In April 2016, The Grid was launched. A self-adjusting, artificially intelligent web design platform that’s self-designing and self-generating. The Grid scours the Internet to stay ahead of emerging trends and self-adjusts to ensure its websites stay competitive. If a designer can manage 1 project a week, that’s 4 projects a month and 48 in a year. A computer will only ever be limited by its computing power…and guess what? That doubles every 18 months in an exponential curve.

But how can a website understand graphic design and colour combinations? Simple. Design isn’t unexplainable magic but a series of mathematical principles like the golden ratio, sacred geometry, and Fibonacci’s spiral.

More and more so, companies have been experimenting with how technology can change the way they run their day-to-day operations.

What Can You Do?

Stay ahead of trends. Update your website. Ensure that functionalities are above the industry standard. Incorporate best practice.

All these actions will increase your chance of standing out and ensuring you retain your customers.

Written by Lina Lau, Digital Executive at Step Change

Lina’s natural flair for Java code meant she was presenting theories to her own lecturers before even graduating. A computer science and law major, she brings unique ‘systems meet psychology’ approach to marketing and strategy. Strategic problem-solver at heart, she honed her tech skills by teaching herself how to hack and understanding crypto currencies. Her diverse range of skills and natural love for entrepreneurship and understanding businesses led her to Step Change.