5 Web Design Trends for 2021

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For almost everyone, 2020 was a bummer. Many businesses were forced to take creative measures just to survive. Consumers had to make adjustments as well, and even the Web has had to make some changes. 

Some of *yesterday’s” design trends had to make way for new ones too.

What, then, can we expect to see in the way of new design trends in 2021?

We’ll show you some examples of websites that have incorporated some of these new trends, along with a selection of BeTheme pre-built websites that are also putting them to good use.

Whether you’ll be creating sites for new clients or reworking existing sites to align with the newest trends, the following five design approaches should give you some valuable insight.

1. Use Soothing, Reassuring Color Palettes

Recent design trends have favored strong, bold colors. Various gradient schemes have also been both popular and effective. Why? Because these distinctive trends had a strong tendency to capture a visitor’s attention.

2020 gave us more than our fair share of worry, stress, and drama. We eagerly look forward to a return to a time in which we’ll once again feel more comfortable in our surroundings.

We don’t want people shouting at us, or websites shouting at us either, for that matter. Hence, the change to calmer, more toned-down color palettes.

The Bellroy website offers a good example of this toned-down look, with a calming color scheme that fits right in with its line of useful everyday products.

Note that when a brightly-colored product is displayed against a natural color palette it will still stand out, but without getting in your face.
 
The BeSpa pre-built website, with its soothing color scheme, is another example of sending a message that’s calm and inspiring.

Calm and comfortable doesn’t need to be boring. Far from it. An image like this encourages a visitor to live for the moment, and the safety and security that goes with it.

2. Strive to Creatively Blend Physical Experience with Digital Imagery

For the first time in their lives, many people found themselves stuck at home in 2020, with little to do but look at their screens — which in some cases involved remote work, and in other cases playing digital games.

Some web designers have picked up on this by blending real-world images with illustrations and/or special effects.

A case in point is seen on designer Constance Burke’s website.

Instead of showing hand-drawn fashion sketches, or real models wearing real products, her portfolio creatively blends the two.

The BeSki pre-built site also blends the digital with the physical, but in a vastly different way.

[video width="900" height="492" mp4="https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1612661749beski.mp4"][/video]

The home page starts with a physical image of a skier. Notice how the snow in the hero section blends in with the next section, a section comprised of digital imagery. That section then blends into another real image, which blends back into a digital design.

Continue reading 5 Web Design Trends for 2021 on SitePoint.

This content originally appeared on SitePoint and was authored by SitePoint Sponsors