Whether or not you consider yourself a creative or visual person, web design shapes the world around you—and how you interact with it. Features, icons, and trends that might seem confusing or disruptive when you first encounter them become familiar and intuitive as they appear on more and more websites and digital experiences. When you’re new to creating a website, it can be easy to mimic what you’ve seen elsewhere—or to get ambitious and try to stand out with unconventional design choices that only end up confusing your site visitors. To deliver the best experience, find a balance for your site between digital design best practices and cutting-edge trends that will help you make the site your own and show off your unique aesthetic. Read on for three design trends to look for in 2020 from Squarespace’s in-house web designers.
Unexpected Typography
Type is a design element. Large, bold text can help emphasize the information or action you want your visitors to take on a webpage, but you don’t want them to feel like your site is yelling at them. When choosing a font, make sure the size and weight is clear and readable across your site when it comes to headlines, copy, and clickable buttons. Your font should be clear, but also eye-catching. After many years of simple, sans serif fonts dominating the web, 2020 may see serif fonts return to popularity, creating an elevated sense of sophistication.
Learn more about using and changing fonts in Squarespace.
Recognizable Icons
“Skeuomorphism” refers to a concept in design where digital elements resemble their real-world counterparts. For example, your mobile phone is most likely a flat, thin rectangle—but its interface probably contains “call” and “end call” buttons with icons that resemble the handset of an analog, corded phone. Web designers eschewed skeuomorphism for many years, but as our digital lives become more integrated with our experiences in the physical world, you can expect to see more 3D and lifelike web design in 2020.
Even More Touchscreen Tools
Have you ever found yourself instinctively poking at your laptop screen like it’s your phone? The slowly dissolving boundary between the physical and the digital shifts user expectations, and website navigation is being designed with tactile interfaces in mind. A mobile-first mindset is essential when building your website—especially if you want to make it easy for your customers to make purchases.
Learn how Squarespace helps your site function on mobile and touchscreen devices in our Help guide.
Need some help elevating your site design? Squarespace Experts are well versed in design details like typography, and can help elevate your website. Browse designers in the Squarespace Marketplace.