Popular WordPress Website Design Trends in 2018

“WordPress Just For Bloggers” “No Way!”

To stay on top of what’s new in design, you must be mindful of what is hot in the WordPress community. Even more so, you must know why trends happen in the first place.  Looks may be deceiving – what is hot is not always arbitrary. By knowing what design aspects to implement and why, you’ll be more prepared to produce a WordPress website that is gorgeous, practical, and contemporary.

Let’s begin by viewing the most riveting web design trends happening right now. Afterward, we’ll reveal how to use them on your WordPress website.

1. Gutenberg

With so many themes to choose from, it can be hard to produce a layout that is original. But this paradigm is short-lived – web design is in the process of becoming a democracy.

This can be attributed to the growth of website creators, including Remixer, a WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) platform that allows users to personalize the appearance of their website pages. Web developers reduce the WordPress web design threshold, giving novice users a way to produce eye-catching websites quickly.

To stay one step ahead of the competition, WordPress is concentrating on this kind of functionality. There are many WYSIWYG creators purposely produced for WordPress like Elementor and Beaver Builder. WordPress themselves will be participating in this act later this year with the debut of the Gutenberg editor.

This new text editor is intended to take the place of the existing TinyMCE-based editor in WordPress. Gutenberg, which took inspiration from similar WYSIWYG creators, boasts a drag-and-drop platform that allows you to openly personalize pages or posts. It’s not just a way to build pages either – it won’t let you personalize themes, for instance – but it is stimulated by the dynamic, user-friendly aspect of website creator platforms.

For now, is intended to be released at the same time as WordPress 5.0. That said, you can try out the beta plugin immediately. If you are going to try it out, do so on a staging website. The beta release is not completed and might lead to problems if used on a site already running.

This modification will, of course, have a substantial effect on the WordPress experience, and the endeavor does have its critics. Despite that, it seems apparent that page creators are going to be the new normal, and we’ll probably see them expand and evolve.

2. Evolutionary Minimalism

Flat designs have seen been around for quite some time now and will be for a while more. This kind of minimalist design concentrates on the fundamentals via transparency, flat colors, and an abundance of white space.

As a result, your content is displayed beautifully and fast. In the Avada theme, this kind of minimalism is apparent. That particular site is targeted towards creative people and utilizes plenty of white space, allowing the pictures and text flourish.

While this might be a mainstay trend, it isn’t being phased out. Designs have evolved to include shadows, gradients, and pictures better than ever. On each page, you end up getting a better sense of depth.

Utilizing large, attention-grabbing photos and video is also rising in popularity as internet speeds are increasing everywhere.

By utilizing this minimalist tactic for design, you can produce unique websites. Also, this approach enhances your site’s loading time and simplifies the process for visitors to locate the information they’re looking for.

3. Bright Colors and High Saturation

Nowadays, contrasting mixes and stark colors are typical. People have visceral responses to color, so the scheme you choose can impact how a website or brand is seen. 90% of our decisions are made mostly on color when it comes to product selections, based on a report from Buffer.

It makes sense that the use of a bold mix of colors is the ideal approach to making your site stand out. Most WordPress themes focus on being color-centric. Bold contrasts have also seen a surge in popularity as of late. The use of contrasting colors provides your site with an enjoyable, artistic feel that can also help with accessibility.

It’s surprising what a little bit of color can do to liven up any website. As you’ll notice with several WordPress themes, maintaining a regular color scheme throughout your site, which includes your pictures, can leave a lasting impression.

4. Broken and Asymmetrical Layouts

There is nothing wrong with using flat designs and minimalism, but occasionally, you want to go in the opposite direction. Developers as of late are producing websites with intentionally asymmetrical designs and broken grids.

This kind of design is hard to accomplish. It teeters on the edge of being aesthetically eye-catching and functional. While the content is laid out across the page in ways that break the norm, things must still be easy to read and see without a struggle.

Ultimately, the last thing you need is a website that people don’t know how to use.

5. CSS Grids

We’re the type of web designers that believe that web design is beholden to outdated publishing standards. We think CSS grids stray from such restrictions. But what is a CSS grid, anyway?

Succinctly, it is a responsive kind of grid that dynamically alters based on the device it’s being shown on. You may have seen this kind of design on a smartphone. Page elements will restructure based on the window size. This is also applicable to regular browsers – the layout of the page shifts as the window size changes.

6. Designs that are Mobile-Friendly

A couple of years ago, mobile internet use officially surpassed desktop internet use. This solidified the fact that producing responsive websites for mobile devices was integral.

WordPress sites can be optimized for mobile users. This can be achieved using the WPtouch plugin, which will produce a mobile theme for your site that can be customized. Google encourages developers to download this plugin, which ensures that your mobile theme adheres to their standards (be mindful that not everyone agrees with this, though). Another way to make your site mobile-friendly is to use the Jetpack plugin.

 

7. Microinteractions

The devil is in the details when it comes to design. The growing popularity of Microinteractions concentrates on minor aspects that have become more sought after as of late. As the name suggests, this idea describes how elements on a website react to interactions.

For instance, a brief animation may play as an icon is hovered over or clicked on. You’ve likely seen this before on Facebook’s reaction emojis:

Microinteractions provide your website with a tactile, living factor. They instill the feeling that you’re truly engaging with the page instead of just viewing static details. Microinteractions can also be used on text much like the way they can be used on pictures and animations.

For example, several pages offer you the choice to share highlighted text on social networks. This feature can be implemented on your site with the plugin called “Highlight and Share,” which is supported by LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and other social networks.

8. Diagonals and Slants

Allowing your site to appear off-kilter may sound discouraging at first, but it’s a trend that is rising in popularity. Diagonal breaks and slanted lines provide your site with a modern touch and help guide the reader from one area to another.

This functions optimally on one-page designs, dividing every section in an aesthetically satisfying way. Numerous WordPress themes can give your site a slanted appearance.

To see this in action, check out the Flamingo theme, which lets you produce an original design with diagonal dividers. The outcome is unquestionably mesmerizing, and the ability to personalize things allows you to be liberal with the final look. The use of an unconventional design can give your site some expression. It’s also ideal to divide content transparently and steer your visitor’s eyes on what you deem relevant.

9. Large, Stark Fonts

Processing and printing type is an art called typography. To put it another way, it’s a method to convert words into artwork. The use of a stylish header with big fonts can establish the tone of your site. Further, the bigger text will make sure that the message will be seen no matter how small the screen is.

Creative font use isn’t limited to headers. Keep in mind that readability is important. If your text is legible, consider trying out various font sizes, styles, and placements.

10. Custom Branded Photography and Hand Drawn Illustrations

Historically, many websites have used animation and pictures beside worded content. This is a trend that is changing, though. Most WordPress designers are starting to see that commissioning pictures allows them to produce an original identity. It also gives designers more liberties with regards to aesthetic branding.

Using pictures as part of the design of your site is an ideal approach to articulating a customized message. Employing an artist can be more budget-friendly than paying a group of photographers when your site needs an update.

There is no one way to achieve this trend. The important thing is to locate an artist who has a style that can complement your website. It is vital to compensate the artist for the work they do. Talent like this is a job, and people aren’t working for exposure as much as they want to put food on the table.

A series of properly organized pictures can enhance your site a great deal. The story you’re trying to convey will also be enhanced and will provide your site with a completely original and special identity.

Bottom Line

There is no question that 2018 will be full of exciting things for WordPress users. You’ll need to do your best to stay on top of the most recent developments. Designers are always working to make WordPress look great and run better.

As new designs arise, visitors to your site won’t settle for an out-of-touch layout. You always need to stay on top of what’s new in the world of WordPress web design.