With the new year around the corner, there's no better time to start thinking about how to optimize your website for 2022. Interestingly, astute designers can already observe some important web design trends for 2022. Remember, your website is only as good as the user experience it offers. Thus, if there's any feature or trend that can guarantee a better user experience, you shouldn't hesitate to jump on it. Here, we highlight some of the top web design trends you should consider for the new year.

Cinema-Style Home Page

The Home Page is one of the most crucial parts of any website. So, it's no surprise that business owners and web designers continue to find ways to make it more appealing to visitors. The latest of such trends is making the page appear like a full-screen video story that hopes to grab users' attention and let them in on what to expect from the website. Since video marketing is the best performing digital content form, cinema-style home pages have been an instant hit, and they can only get more prominent in 2022.

There's a caveat, though. Your cinema-style home page is best reserved for desktop users. Mobile visitors may not like the idea of having to watch your welcome message before navigating to other parts of your website. Moreover, exiting the full screen is much easier for desktop visitors than mobile visitors. You may want to use GIFs and animations for this category of visitors.

Dark Mode Toggle

Many web design companies in Toronto will agree that the dark mode has been one of the most requested features over the past few years. And it doesn't appear the trend will be halted anytime soon. The dark mode feature significantly enhances the user experience by reducing eye strain and potentially saving battery life. Giving users the ability to toggle between light and dark mode could give you an edge over your competitors, especially if most of your traffic comes from mobile visitors.

When implementing a dark mode for your website, it's vital to ensure that users can toggle freely between the light and dark modes. Thus, you'll have to test your design in both modes and ensure you have the right color palette for the dark mode. Furthermore, you need to note that some content areas become more emphasized as the design fades in the dark mode. So, you'll need to put your best foot forward in this aspect.

Chatbots

Admittedly, Chatbots have been around for more than a few years. However, with more recent groundbreaking discoveries in AI, businesses can leverage human-like chatbots to improve their customers' experience. Modern chatbots can interact with your customers just like human agents. Over time, they'll be trained to understand customer intent, and their responses will get better and better.

AI Chatbots can be very helpful for attracting leads and easing their journey down your sales funnel. With the right programming and training, you can get your chatbot to do the work of several humans. Your payroll will be more than grateful for the cut costs.

Minimalism

'Simplicity is key' is set to be more than a designers' cliché in 2022. Users are already picking minimalist websites with straightforward navigation and actionable content over their complicated counterparts with fancy graphics. Moreover, since more of your visitors will be using mobile devices, minimalist designs facilitate a faster loading time, which is crucial to user experience.

It's crucial to note that incorporating a minimalist design isn't just about having a few web elements and loads of white space. An expert web design company can help you pull up a colorful and appealing minimalist design. The important thing is to have a theme that makes your visitors feel at home and cleverly use colors that grab their attention. Also, website navigation should be smooth, and there should be clear CTAs on every page.

crucial implementations

Accessibility

Another web design trend in 2022 that both business owners and web design companies in Canada need to pay more attention to is accessibility. This trend also continues from 2021, when the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act (AODA) mandated some categories of businesses to make their websites fully accessible to people with disabilities. Even if your business doesn't belong or was not affected, it's always better to build accessibility into your website from scratch.

For one, the AODA plans to make all websites fully accessible to people with disabilities by 2025, and other states are likely to follow suit. Moreover, having an accessible website ensures everyone who visits your website enjoys a smooth user experience. That way, you can capture your market share out of the over 6 million Canadian adults 6 million Canadian adults that live with disabilities.

Responsiveness and mobile-friendliness

It's no news that the percentage of internet traffic from mobile browsing has increased steadily over the past few years. With desktops and laptops gradually becoming work tools, it's more important than ever to make your website responsive and mobile-friendly. Even Google now ranks websites using mobile-first indexing. In essence, the mobile version of your website will determine its ranking on Google search result pages.

Like most other SEO elements, it's better to build responsiveness and mobile-friendliness into your website from scratch. Thus, if you're hiring a web design company, it'd be best if you discussed this important trend with them before commencing the project. Perhaps you have your website already, and it doesn't guarantee the best experience for mobile browsers. You can always consult the expert web designers at Tap Marketing to discuss upgrading the existing website.

Prepare your website for the future

Do you wish to attract more visitors and offer them the best possible user experience by keying into these web design trends for 2022? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us at Tap Marketing. As one of the leading web design companies in the Greater Toronto Area, we have expert designers that can help your business website stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're looking to build from scratch or upgrade an existing one, our team can guarantee a befitting website that will serve as a lead magnet for your business. Contact us today, and we'll be glad to discuss how we can help.