If you are looking to increase the traffic to your website in 2020, then you need to focus on improving your user experience.

How can you do this?

In a nutshell, you need to make your website more visually appealing.

Of course, content is also vital, plus your site needs to be easy to navigate, but the first element that users will take notice of is what your site looks like - they don’t say “first impressions are everything” for nothing, you know.

Having a boring, uninspiring, or even worse, unoriginal website is the quickest way to put off potential customers and send them hurtling into the arms of your competitors.Thankfully, there are some amazing new design trends, not to mention innovative technologies, that can help you ensure your website stands out from the crowd – for the all the right reasons!

Keep reading to find out what changes you can make to your website today, to ensure that it continues to drive traffic tomorrow.

1. 3D modelling and rendering

Yes, 3D models have been around for a few years now, but they have not always been accessible to the masses. However, in 2020 this is all set to change.

Having your product or service visible on your website in all its 3D glory can massively help to grab the attention of potential customers, as well as increase the confidence that they have in your brand.

Although not needed in all industries, 3D modelling can be highly effective at attracting a younger audience and can be very beneficial to industries such as gaming, entertainment, architectural design and publishing.

Top tip: Look out for new and more cost-effective design software tools that will be emerging in 2020 that will allow you to take advantage of this new design trend for your business.

2. Micro animations

Again, this is not a particularly new design trend but the way in which businesses and designers are using micro animations to interact and engage with users is incredibly inspiring.

Not only are micro animations playful, fun and eye catching, they can also be extremely useful, especially for the e-commerce industry.

How?

Most notably, retailers have been using micro animations to show how their products look on real people. This can be very helpful for consumers who are less inclined to make a purchase online as they are worried about how a product will fit.

Top tip: Use micro animations to bring an important action to your users’ attention; starting with a soft approach and gradually becoming more insistent. Although, only use this approach for critical actions as overuse can be distracting and off-putting.

3. Natural designs

In recent years, web design has been dominated by bold colors and dynamic gradients, however, 2020 is definitely going to have a more muted feel.

Namely, the color palettes used will be more suppressed and will often be desaturated with a more neutral color such as black or white.

However, if you think this spells boring for web design then you are wrong. To counteract the more reserved color schemes, the images themselves will be more imaginative than ever before. Think abstract and dream-like images that have the ability to bring about strong emotions in users.

Top tip: Don’t limit your creativity; remember to pay attention to not only the site itself but also your favicon design and social media icons.

4. Motion graphics and effects

With arrival of 5G technology and internet speeds being faster than ever before, web designers now have a lot more flexibility and scope when it comes to what designs and graphics they can use when creating a site.

It really is an exciting time for web design with more complex animations being used without fear of slow loading speeds.

Top tip: Use video backgrounds to tell your story and convey a particular emotion without using any words.