An eCommerce homepage UX/UI design is crucial for building a brand reputation. According to UserGuiding, almost 90% of website users switch to a competitor after a poor user experience. And since more and more companies are going online every day, businesses need to create an appealing website design and provide a good user experience to differentiate themselves.
In order to engage visitors and persuade them to make a purchase, you should have an intuitive interface with a beautiful and engaging design. That is why constantly monitoring all the UI/UX novelties is vital. Be careful, not all trends from 2022 made it to this year. Some of them turned out to be inefficient and were replaced by others. Let’s have a close look at the UI/UX design trends of 2023.
What does influence the UI/UX design trends of 2023?
Product design is undoubtedly evolving in a world where everyone is coping with a pandemic. Lockdowns, the forced closing of stores, and other similar events have significantly influenced the software industry. The client’s needs are always reflected in technology and design trends throughout times of radical change. Therefore, the UI trends for the foreseeable future will emphasize speed, straightforward page designs, a mobile-first strategy, as well as artificial intelligence.
UI/UX design trends of 2023
UI/UX design has several golden rules that remain unchanged over the years. Among them are always putting users in control, providing intuitively clear navigation and a consistent interface. Other aspects tend to change all the time under the influence of overall design trends, web innovations, and global processes. Further, you’ll find the most prominent trajectories of today.
Dark Mode
The dark mode is a term for a low-light user interface when the background color is black or dark. It stands in contrast to the long-used, standard white interface. It does much more than merely offer a pleasing appearance.
Websites can reduce bounce rates and increase conversions by offering a dark mode. This is because some users may leave a website if they find it uncomfortable to view bright panels, especially at night. Dark mode has many other advantages:
- It protects users from Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS);
- Dark backgrounds help people focus;
- If the gadget has an OLED or AMOLED screen, the dark mode helps to prolong the battery life;
- It is better in terms of text readability;
- It suppresses blue lights and lessens screen glare.
Content-focused website
High-quality content is an absolute must for your website. Current and future customers are more confident when the products they search for are described in detail. It aids in brand awareness development and increases website traffic. The majority of the content you post on the website is evergreen. That contributes to a higher search engine ranking of the website.
Almost every visitor to the website is either interested in making a purchase or is curious about the goods or services you offer. Visitors get more engaged and begin to trust you when the website provides in-depth information outlining the offerings’ benefits and other attributes. Consequently, the chances of turning them into clients improve.
Animations and videos
Animations in UI/UX design trends have a purpose other than amusement. It can, for example, notify us when a process is complete, or we are performing something properly. This is referred to as functional animation. In UI/UX, there are numerous forms of useful animations. Functional animations are applied for various purposes, the most frequent of which is loading animations.
When it comes to videos, they keep the visitors interested and motivate them to purchase, increasing your business’s revenue. Search engines enjoy videos as much as people do. These videos are a great approach to boosting your SEO and raising the website’s ranking on Google searches. Overall, users tend to be more interested in your website’s content when they see animations and videos.
Chatbots
Chatbots are a collection of computer programs that assist your visitors in navigating the website more easily. They are assistant bots that imitate the functions of their human counterparts. Chatbots have been a popular eCommerce website design trend due to their capacity to supply all necessary information and execute basic tasks.
Chatbots are widely used in messenger programs, software development applications, and websites. As far as eCommerce is concerned, they provide customers with a distinctive online buying experience. The nicest part about incorporating this function in your online store is that it is available round the clock. Given the modern way of life, you should expect visitors at any moment. Aside from that, chatbots are cost-effective since they allow to hire of fewer customer service professionals.
Virtual try-on
The trend for augmented and virtual reality has entered eCommerce in the form of virtual try-on. Virtual try-on implies consumers using mobile phones or tablets to try on things digitally or to place furniture in a room, for example. The technique employs augmented reality, which layers images over the real world via the camera on their device.
Since customers can try before purchasing, they are less likely to return items. Also, virtually trying on clothing is a joyful experience that customers want to share. They try on your products and then share the photos with their friends. That’s an excellent brand promotion strategy. Another significant advantage of virtual try-ons is that they facilitate cross-selling. For example, a user may use your virtual try-on tool to mix and match different makeup products.
Product customization
If your products are available in different colors and forms or created according to individual orders, the product customization feature is what you definitely need on the website. It lets clients see one product in various sizes, designs, etc. Personalized products and services increase conversion rates while also improving consumer loyalty.
However, remember that you may need to engage experienced software engineers to introduce the feature to the website. Tech specialists can assist you in processing all of the products and presenting them in numerous formats, giving the customers a thorough grasp of what you have to offer. Creating personalized alternatives is quite an expensive and time-consuming initiative. However, after the developers create innovative customization choices, you will undoubtedly witness a considerable rise in sales.
Easy checkout process
To convert visitors into customers, you should have a secure checkout procedure with a clear call to action. You could invest a lot of time and money in establishing a user-friendly, informative, feature-rich website, but it will all be for nothing if the checkout page is not straightforward.
People frequently cannot purchase a product they desire due to a lack of suitable payment methods. Create a straightforward checkout page with as many payment alternatives as possible. Here’re some tips on how you can improve the checkout process:
- Make the checkout open in a preview mode;
- Guest checkout option should be preselected;
- Determine the sequence of steps for PCs and mobiles;
- Delete unnecessary navigation elements;
- Provide the option of editing orders;
- Integrate features assisting in filling forms;
- Provide a proper keyboard for different forms.
For instance, Glossier offers you to instantly proceed to checkout after adding an item to a cart or keep purchasing. Apart from that, there’s an option of express checkout with multiple payment methods available.
Neumorphism
Neumorphism is a modern take on skeuomorphic design. Based on aspects of photorealism and three-dimensional design, neomorphic brings simulated physical attributes such as shadows and textures to digital interfaces. Neumorphism gives the impression that components such as buttons are hidden behind the background and only visible because they protrude from within.
It will appear risen until you click a button; once you do, it will appear sunken. Shadows and gradients are applied to generate a three-dimensional look, resulting in a simple and futuristic interface design. Neumorphism conveys depth through low contrast, monochromatic color schemes, and delicate shadows.
Flat design
Bright colors and simplistic two-dimensional shapes are distinct features of what we call a flat design. There are various reasons why flat website design has taken over the industry. This option is the favored alternative for many designers and clients due to its simple user interface, bold colors, vivid graphics, plain navigation, distinctive typefaces, and easy-to-read text.
A smooth gradient is another feature of a flat website design. The gradient is an appealing and captivating trick. It’s a great way to use both contrast and similar colors. It’s also incredibly adaptable. It can be the focal point or the background of the design. Gradients can be used to generate fresh color combinations that feel modern and distinct, giving designs a unique feel.
Advanced micro-interactions
A micro-interaction occurs when a website or application user clicks a button or swipes. Every software application contains micro-interaction options. The “Like,” “Save,” or “Share” buttons are excellent instances of micro-interaction. The goal of this design trend is to aid in creating a sense of accomplishment by providing meaningful feedback and physical joy. Mind that people expect a response as soon as they click, swipe, or scroll.
Bold typography and experiments with fonts
Bold typography is one of the simplest ways to capture users’ attention. The bold typeface stands out from other text. However, it must be an essential (and integrated) aspect of the overall aesthetic.
With its direct and aggressive look, bold typography is here to stay and will keep developing in 2023. When designing a user interface, consider the following best practices:
- Make a statement with bold typography.
- Use bold lettering to add contrast.
- Avoid using faux-bold typefaces.
- For emphasis, use bold typography rather than italics.
- Use bold and italics separately.
Experiments with fonts and typography is a general trend. Designers create new fonts and come up with new approaches to existing ones. The main focus now is on readability and stylization. Fonts should be easy to perceive, and the text should be divided into small paragraphs that are easy to read. Unusual, interesting fonts help to make the interface and the brand memorable. You can also attract the user’s attention by violating the basic layout rules.
Voice User Interface
A Voice User Interface (VUI) is a part of a more global trend of integrating AI into websites. VUI permits interaction with a device or an application via voice orders. Screen fatigue has become a prevalent issue with the increased usage of digital gadgets. And this has propelled the development of VUIs. This user interface design style provides complete hands-free control without the need to glance at the screen. Voice interfaces have grown increasingly popular as UI design ideas along with the development of more advanced voice assistants.
Empty and error page illustrations
Nobody enjoys coming to a dead end. How often do you want to surf the page after seeing a broken link? Such flaws give the impression that the website is poorly managed. Customers may have a negative experience, resulting in a high bounce rate.
A simple but flawed method is to leave a generic error page. But the bespoke design reduces customer misunderstanding, allows you to express yourself, and boosts conversion rates. What else can you do by investing in a strong error page? You may also interlink the page with other website material to improve SEO. Error pages that are well-designed provide users with valuable links that they might not have seen otherwise.
What is the future of UI/UX design trends?
The future of user interface design is definitely very promising based on what we have seen so far. But nothing in the world of technology is certain. Since the UI/UX design world is constantly changing, the present trends will likely be replaced by something completely new. But the ones described above will certainly be around for a while. You may remain updated by keeping track of the most recent trends in UI/UX design. The best strategy is to read blogs and pay attention to the different websites and apps, especially the most successful ones.
Art Malkovich is a co-founding partner and CEO at Onilab. The company develops eCommerce websites and progressive web apps on a turnkey basis and offers store migration and UX/UI design services. Art has profound expertise in web development, project management, and data analysis. He strives to keep the team one step ahead with a current focus on headless commerce.
