Web design trends keep on changing every year with new trends gaining traction all the time. The current web trends have however seen an increase in the shift of attention in design trends from desktop to mobile website design. More and more individuals access the internet for basic information and their digital entertainment using mobile devices. The number of individuals who access the internet from mobile devices is slowly surpassing those who access the internet through desktop computers. It therefore makes sense for web developers to be abreast with the current mobile design trends. Below are mobile web design trends in 2016.
Increased Animations
One of the most notable mobile website design trends in 2016 is that there has been an increase in the incorporation of animations in all manner of websites and web apps. Animating almost all kinds of elements across websites for both mobile and desktop has become all the range this year. This is due to the fact that animations increase a website’s interactivity. Animations can even draw users to a certain section of the website or mobile app. Animations are increasingly being used to provide a richer user experience as they coincide with human interaction.
Increased scrolling
Although this is a trend that had started picking up in 2015, in 2016 it is definitely going to be cemented as a hallmark of mobile website design. In 2016, horizontal scrolling will be completely be done away with when it comes to mobile web designs. Instead, vertical scrolling will be given precedence over any horizontal scrolling. Vertical scrolling provides a more comfortable user experience and is the most suitable way of designing mobile apps. Parallax scrolling is going to be the most popular scrolling trend in 2016, together with parallax scrolling, modular scrolling and infinite scrolling. The later are also going to gain more popularity this year; these different scrolling methods will be used to provide a richer user experience.
Story Telling
Thanks to interactive scrolling and animations, mobile design will incorporate story telling in their design so as to make the user the centre of the narrative. The designs will incorporate the use of bold imagery and videos that will on most occasions be in the form of cards to make the user the main “character” of these stories. The use of animations and parallax scrolling will further add to this richer user experience in storytelling.
Blurred backgrounds
This year will see the increase in the use of blurred background for various reasons. For one, the blurred background effect will be used to add style to a website. It will also be used to draw attention to specific elements in the foreground which will have conveniently been left un-blurred.
Incorporation of subtle colour palettes
Although design of the mobile web has been largely been influenced by the desktop, the trend this year will break from normal desktop tradition where desktop websites are designed in bright bold colours. Instead, the mobile websites will incorporate the use of softer colours, ones that easily mix together and draw a lot of attention to particular elements of the application.
