2023 Web Design Trends

Web design trends for 2023 are bringing futuristic technology and bold designs together. Helping web owners provide a really fun way to interact with web visitors. We've all seen those movies with sleek web designs that look like they are from another world - well, now they can become our reality! It's time to let your creative juices flow, web designers!

1. Dark mode

With the growing popularity of dark mode, more websites are expected to adopt this style in 2023. Dark mode provides a visually striking and elegant design that is easier on the eyes and helps reduce screen glare. We are huge fans of dark mode and you will see more of that from us this year.

2. 3D and AR/VR

The use of 3D and AR/VR technology in web design is on the rise. 3D models, animations and interactive elements are becoming increasingly common, while AR/VR experiences are set to become the new normal for e-commerce websites. Wondering WTF AR and VR is? Don't worry, we got you! AR is Augmented reality a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. Think the Pokemon game! For more practical applications check out this site by Showroom

VR is Virtual Reality the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

3. Micro-animations

Micro-animations, or small animations that enhance the user experience, will be big in 2023. These animations can be used to bring attention to specific elements on a page, to improve the overall feel of a website, or to make navigation more intuitive.

4. Bold typography

Bold and eye-catching typography will be a key trend in 2023. Designers will use big, bold type to make a statement and create a strong visual impact. We've already seen webpages make use of bold typefaces that jump out at us. Folks say it's a look that will never go away and I suppose we'll have to wait and see if that is true! As web designers, all we can do is hang on for the wild ride that is bold typography. We love the Futur for a great example of bold typography.

5. Gradients

Fasten your seatbelt web design enthusiasts, because gradients are back and they're here to stay! Yet these newfangled ancestors of web design past have had a major glow up since the days of Web 1.0. Nowadays, in web design 2023, its all about those way out rainbow gradients, colourful combinations that look like vintage video games, or subtle shade shifts that give out words like "sleek" and "professional." We'd say it's enough to make web designers jump for joy after such a long break from them, but we'll leave that up to the readers imaginations. We freaking love gradients, check out our home page

6. Video backgrounds

More and more businesses are beginning to incorporate video backgrounds in their websites to create lush and interactive designs. Video backgrounds make a website much more dynamic, as viewers can become instantly engaged by the moving imagery. These videos also offer many opportunities to express the company’s message in a very visual way, which for many businesses is essential for making a lasting impression on potential customers. However, if not done correctly, video backgrounds could take up too much loading time or be too distracting. For that reason it is important to find a balance between style and usability when creating those kinds of designs. One of our favourite designs with video backgrounds and micro animations is Humaan

7. Mobile-first design

This shouldn't be a trend, all sites should be mobile-first design. It is a critical aspect of web design. As more and more people access websites from their mobile devices, it is essential that websites are optimized for smaller screens and provide a seamless experience. Mobile-first web design has quickly gone from being a hot web development trend in 2021 to becoming the web design norm for 2023. And you can count on web developers everywhere scrambling to keep up with the newest trends and fads – after all, everything from single page websites to entire eCommerce sites have to look amazing no matter which device your customers are using. So if you're looking for websites that will make use of the latest web sorcery so that your business stands out from the pack, mobile-first web design is definitely the way forward. Our favourite mobile-first design is Typeform.

What our 2023 Web Design Trends means for you

2023 is an exciting year for web design. I mean every year is for us, considering it's our bread and butter! These trends will bring new and innovative design elements to the forefront, creating an even more immersive and engaging online user experience.

Now don't go running out and changing shit on your website just because there's a new list. Trends are just that, a trend. The best way to make your site look on-trend is to make sure you have all the basics covered first. Then if your feeling fancy, contact your local web designer for help, or contact us of course!

5 rules to follow when uploading images to your website

Images are on most websites these days. With so many uses, it's not hard to fill a page with big, beautiful imagery. BUT there are some hard and fast rules to follow when uploading

The good news is you can DIY the lot!

Our guide will help your SEO and website speed

1. Image name

Don't upload an image that came straight from your camera or iPhone. The main reason is your device will name your image for you AND the file will be the wrong size. Normally way too big!

Say your image is called DSC5689.jpg and you upload that straight to your website. When someone does a search for your product or service, your image isn't going to show up. If you sell turtle food to turtles and the image is of turtle food. Call it what it is! Premium turtle food.jpg Now when someone searches for turtle food, your image has a better chance on being found. Because Google knows what the image is! You should be describing the contents of the image in 3-8 words.

PRO TIP: Separate the words of your file name with a hyphen (dash). for example, Premium turtle food.jpg should be Premium-turtle-food.jpg Wanna know more? Check this out:

2. Image size

The average size your full-width image needs to be is 1920pxs These are your hero shot found at the top of your website or CTA banners and sliders. Depending on your target demographic, you might want to use a wider image to sustain the use of wider screens. This could apply to designers, video editors etc. But seeing as over 80% of those accessing websites use mobile devices, 1280px is plenty big enough.

Also for consistency on your site, choose a series of image sizes and convert any new images to that size.

Want a guide of the most common image sizes used? Well, we have one handy! Yes you need to sign up to get it, but you can unsubscribe at any time. We don't spam, aint nobody got time for that!

3. File size

Keep that image as small as possible without losing clarity. Nothing over 1MB is a good rule to follow.

Google wants your site to load fast! Google uses load times to decide your website ranking. With this in mind, you should make sure that you aren't overloading your website with huge images. A website visitor will wait no more than 3 seconds for your website to load before giving up and looking for another, faster, website.

Try to keep your images below 100kb when you can. This can be increased to a maximum of 1mb for particularly large images but avoid it as much as possible. To reduce an image's file size you can reduce the width and height of the image and reduce the resolution to 72. This change is easy to achieve on software such as Photoshop or Canva. You can also add a plug in to your wordpress website that compresses your images further. We use Smush – Lazy Load Images, Optimize & Compress Images By WPMU DEV

4. Alt image text

Alt-text refers to images alternate text. This text is linked to an image on the back end of a website. This alt-text should be a short and basic description of the image. It is not a caption so it will not be displayed on the webpage but instead be visible in the Meta information. Not many website visitors will look at your websites Meta information but the reason you need to add this alt-text is that it will both increase your SEO and make your website accessible

Google loves websites that are more accessible to everyone! It helps your SEO as Google will penalize a website that fails to add alt-text.

PRO TIP: This also allows vision-impaired peeps to read your site and know what the image is of. It's making your site more inclusive and we think that's how all sites should be!

5. Metadata

Adding metadata to images embeds important details into the digital image itself, including copyright notices, author information, date(s), location(s), and descriptions. Embedding these details into archival images is a best practice employed by professional registrars, collection managers, and other industry experts.

This isn't a must-have but if you make it best practice then it will help you in the future! It is more techy than the rest and you will need a program like Photoshop to do it.

Image metadata can help protect digital images of your original artwork from being misused or misrepresented. Metadata also enables images to be more easily searched for across the web and successfully located than images without metadata.

Well there it is

Our advice on images for your website. We hope you have a better understanding and insight for best practices. For more help with your site make sure to contact us

5 ways to improve your website

Do you have a website for your business or brand?

When was the last time you ran a report or even looked at it? Or are you wondering if your site is any good at all? Would you like to find ways to improve it?

Fu*k yes you would!

For the month of February we are offering free website audits. Normally valued at $150 + GST for freeeeee! Because we love you and want to see your website live its best life. It is an overview, not a deep dive into every page, product or profile. We are looking at the basics and foundations.

We customize our reports just for you, no generic sh*t here. We actually take the time to look at all the bits and pieces that go into making your site kick ass and take names.

How's your SEO

I have no doubt you have touched on SEO at some point. Even the non-tech savvy person (probably my dad) would have at least heard of it.

No matter if you understand it or not, we create a PDF report on your website. We go through and explain it to you so you can understand what needs to be done to improve your SEO foundations.

Maybe you know a lot about SEO and want a second opinion. This is for you too.

What is your User Experience (UX) like?

It's all good and well to have an amazing looking site, but can your clients or potential customers navigate it? Sometimes the best-looking design is not functional.

We know how frustrating it can be. You will lose traffic as your customers get frustrated with your site. We look at a heap of different aspects of your site.

Creating a custom video helps us explain to you what to do to improve your site.

Is your site responsive?

A responsive site looks just as good across many devices. Your website's content/design/layout is going to change based on the screen size/orientation/resolution of the viewer's screen.

So it will look different on desktop, tablet and smartphone. This gets overlooked a lot in the wonderful world of web design. We see it in a lot of old sites that would have traditionally only been seen on a desktop. Did you know over 80% of visitors accessing your site are using a smartphone or tablet?

So best to make sure your site ticks all the responsiveness boxes.

How’s your site's branding?

We are a brand first agency so it makes sense we add this in. We can’t help it! It is seriously the first thing we look at.

Often business owners use different providers for websites, socials, email marketing and more. Unless you have a branding manual, the lines get blurred.

We make sure it’s consistent and provide you with tips on cleaning it up.

We check out all your digital profiles

Its true, we check your social media and other digital platforms your business is on. Why? Well, it ties into SEO and branding.

From the SEO aspect, we are making sure keyword consistency it used. Branding is the same, we are looking at brand consistency. Colours, graphics fonts.

We want your customers to know as soon as they see your digital profile, who you are and what you do.

We have saved all this info and put it into an E-book, free for you to download anytime.

Download e-book

Get your free website check

If you have made it this far you are ready for a free website check. Click the button below and it will whisk you off to our form.

Special bonus! If you want to see how your site stacks up against your competitors, add their web address and get insights to their sites.

Free website check

Why should I update my website?

You either had your website built or DIY your site when you first started your business when you realised the internet wasn’t just a fad. You were proud of it then and you might still be. How much attention have you given it lately? Why should you update your website?

Are you stuck in the 80’s with an unresponsive horror show or have you not added to your site since it was built? Have you kept up with the trends or are you standing your ground waiting for GIF’s to be cool again?

The cold hard truth is you need to update your site. Technology and user experience evolves on the daily so why shouldn’t your website? It’s a lot easier than you think.

via GIPHY

Back to the future

If you have an old site built in the 80’s, 90’s or even a few years ago, chances are you’ll need to change platforms. This is basically a complete rebuild. Yes, it will be costly but believe me, it’s worth it. Here’s why:

Responsive

Probably the most important your page will be responsive which means it will function on mobile, tablets and desktops. 90% of people looking for you online will be doing it with a device and not a desktop.

Design

Design wise your site will be modern making your business seem up with the times (even if the accounts lady still prints everything)

SEO

Your SEO should also be updated along with your images which will help with your rank on Google

Speed baby!

Speed baby! Apparently, our attention spans are dropping..who knew?

Time to refresh

So you’ve updated your logo and other branded items but your website is dated. You have no freakin idea how to freshen it up so you just stuck the new logo on the header and got the fuck outta there. Trends come and go. Remember when sliders were amazing? Now they are seen as a no-no for site speed and SEO (yeah I know!). Hero images are in. Great imagery has always been in. Current website trends are leaning towards dark coloured sites but legibility will always be king.

Is your privacy policy up to date?

A while ago you would have felt spammed by every online thing you’ve ever signed up for. All saying they are now GDPR compliant. What the fuck is GDPR? Well, it stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It aims to improve data and privacy protection for EU residents. While also simplifying regulations for global enterprises. Any company that does business in the EU or handles the personal data of EU citizens must comply. Even if the company does not have a physical office location in the EU. Seriously EVERYONE freaked out and many companies just went with it anyway. If you don’t do business with anyone in the EU then you don’t need to stress. However, you will need to make sure your website its legal obligations sorted. Online businesses should have these 3 legal notices to protect themselves and the Website Legal Package includes all of them:

Privacy Policy – To explain how you use, store and update customer and visitor personal information.
Website Disclaimer – To limit your liability from the information you publish and to protect your Copyright.
Terms & Conditions – To state the terms under which you do business, including delivery, return and refund policies. The latest Australian Consumer Law now requires this.

I use 123 legal and have an affiliation with them. Its a quick way to ensure your details are up to date. Feel free to use my link and show me some love.

Need help?

You know you need to update your website but you don’t know where to start. I’m here to help!

I have options for monthly web maintenance and management. With the option to have content changed or added to your site. Great if you need to change information on your website or had a change in services and pricing. Catering to e-commerce sites as well. It can be a total pain in the butt if you need to add, remove or alter products on your website.