I think most of you agree that when it comes to websites, design matters! Sometimes, that’s what the project is all about. “Life moves pretty fast; if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. There are some patterns which are quite easy to notice in how people design. Let’s take a moment to look around some trends we witnessed in last couple years. Of course, it is not the ultimate list – it is the one that, in our opinion, contains the most widely-used techniques.

Note: Article contains many images.

Single page websites

Once frowned upon by both clients and designers, long pages which require a lot of scrolling are now all over the web. One explanation is that users are so accustomed to vertical scrolling (assisted by mouse wheel) that it’s actually worse to split the content on separate pages – it requires more effort from users to find it and reach it.

Some quite successful and famous companies — including Apple — use very long pages to present their products, with a high degree of success.

Single page websites

Good examples to check:

Photo backgrounds

Another design trend that has been around for quite some time states the photography. Pioneered by fashion brands and photographers, this design approach is now being used in virtually all industries with great degree of success. Photo background approach is great for branding and presentational purposes – when your main objective is to make a strong visual statement. This is why it’s often used by fashion, clothing brands, travel industry and many others.

Photo backgrounds

Example to check:

Solid blocking

This trend is basically introduces a brick-like design grid which features blocks of solid color coupled with blocks carrying photos or text. It sticks with users because of its simplicity. Contrast between blocks of solid colors and blocks with images / text creates strong visual interest, which usually stimulates users to explore more.

Solid blocking

Examples to check:

Oversized imagery

This trend semi-originates from the popularity of Mac OS X icon designs. As programmers began to launch websites for their Mac applications we all too frequently have seen the enormous sizes represented in branding. Accordingly this trend has also been picked up through iOS developers and now comfortably rests within modern design culture.

Oversized imagery

Examples to check:

Focus on simplicity

The desire to simplify has been a leading trend in 2012, with many sites resorting to sleek, intuitive designs. Minimalist design seeks to simplify by combining or eliminating unnecessary pages to give a user exactly what they need. Minimalist design is often achieved by using big, bold typography and oversized imagery to convey only what is important.

Focus on simplicity

Examples to check:

Responsive web design

With the continued growth of mobile and tablet browsing, responsive web design has become a huge part of modern day web development. Having a page that adapts to fit the size and format of any device is paramount. Responsive site design ensures viewers can see your content the way you intend whether they are viewing on their mobile device or desktop computer.

Responsive web design

Examples to check:

Parallax

“Parallax” is when two or more parallel objects move at different speeds. Parallax scrolling is a technique that helps break up the linear monotony of a website by having various objects on a page scroll at different speeds. While parallax will likely become more popular as more modern browsers support it, there are already many beautiful sites employing parallax scrolling.

Parallax

Awesome examples:

Typography

Long gone are the days when designers were limited to typefaces available on users computer. Web font foundries, such as Google fonts and Typekit allow you to use virtually unlimited number of fonts in your web designs, dramatically enhancing their appeal. Designers have been taking advantage of this opportunity for some time now, and more and more sites are being built with a strong attention paid to typography. Some of the sites, like Typographica, rely almost entirely on type and still look beautiful.

Typography

Awesome examples:

These design approaches are less likely to become outdated, and you can combine them in a myriad of ways to make great looking websites.