As technology advances and styles change, this is invariably reflected in website design trends. Web page designs and configurations are continually influenced by current, fashion, news items, product releases, cultural events and consumer demand.
Today’s website design trends are still reflective of the massive push toward the use of mobile devices of recent years. Since 2015, technology users have been favouring smartphones and tablets over traditional computers, and the number of mobile users has grown significantly. There are now an estimated 3.8 billion smartphone users worldwide. By 2025, 72% of all internet users will solely use smartphones to access the web.
Responsive design has continued to evolve and become even more intuitive to help meet consumer demand for mobile functionality. However, it’s also sparked some interesting and somewhat unexpected design developments.
The following are eight of the top trends in business website designs.
1. Minimalism and Simplification
The mobile era means smaller screens and a shorter viewer attention span than ever before. This has sparked the trend towards minimalist content and elements. While the full message of the site or web page remains robust designs have become far more streamlined, elegant and efficient. Designers are saying more with less, and users are rewarded with a more fluid browsing experience.
Below is an example of the entire homepage of mining company, Oz Minerals, who have effectively employed this technique. This approach is enhanced by bold accents and vivid colour contrasts, adding visual interest without compromising simplicity.
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Key strategies for effective minimalist design include:
- Use white space intentionally to guide users' eyes to the most critical information. This means carefully selecting what appears "above the fold" and ensuring each element serves a clear purpose. Eliminate unnecessary decorative elements that don't contribute to user understanding or action.
- While minimalism embraces simplicity, it doesn't mean bland. In 2025, designers are using bold, strategic color accents to create visual interest and guide user interactions. Choose a limited color palette that reflects your brand identity and uses contrast to highlight calls-to-action and key messages.
- Minimalist design isn't just about looks—it's about speed and functionality. Reduce image sizes, minimise complex scripts, and ensure that every design element contributes to faster page load times. Remember, mobile users are increasingly impatient, with studies showing that 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load.
2. Custom Illustrations and Graphics
The use of bespoke illustrations continues to grow, with a shift towards animated and interactive elements that enhance engagement and convey complex ideas more effectively.
This is a key enterprise web design strategy for larger organisations with a lot of content across their websites.
Advanced illustration strategies include:
- Move beyond generic stock imagery. Develop a consistent illustration style that reflects your company's personality, values, and unique selling propositions. This could mean creating a custom illustration library that represents your brand's journey, team, or product ecosystem.
- Leverage animations that provide context or guide user interactions. For instance, create step-by-step animated illustrations that explain complex processes, showcase product features, or walk users through your service offerings.
- Ensure your custom graphics are inclusive. This means using color palettes that are color-blind friendly, providing alt text for screen readers, and designing illustrations that communicate effectively regardless of a user's visual abilities.
3. Dark Mode
Dark mode remains popular, offering aesthetic appeal and reduced eye strain. The trend has evolved to include dynamic switching between light and dark themes based on user preferences or system settings, providing a more personalised experience.
Strategic dark mode implementation:
- Implement true dark mode that goes beyond simply inverting colors. This means carefully designing color schemes that reduce eye strain, improve readability, and maintain brand consistency across light and dark themes.
- For mobile users, dark mode can contribute to battery conservation, especially on OLED and AMOLED screens. Design your dark mode to be genuinely dark (using true black) to maximise these benefits.
- Create seamless transitions between light and dark modes. Allow users to:
- Manually switch themes
- Sync with device settings
- Set scheduled theme changes (e.g., automatic dark mode at night)
4. Video Backgrounds
Complementing the flat design trend is a move toward videos and animations used as web page backgrounds. The net result of this trend is causing the web browsing experience to feel more interactive, dynamic and immersive. The faster Internet and easier loading times are helping to make this possible, and it’s pushing the envelope in terms of what’s possible in web design.
There are 2 key considerations when implementing this strategy.
Performance-Driven Design
While video backgrounds are visually compelling, they must be implemented with precision:
- Optimise video file sizes using modern compression techniques
- Use lightweight video formats like WebM
- Implement lazy loading to ensure videos don't compromise page load speeds
- Provide fallback images for users with slower internet connections
Purposeful Storytelling
Move beyond decorative videos to create meaningful narratives:
- Use videos that directly illustrate your brand's value proposition
- Showcase behind-the-scenes content that humanises your organisation
- Create short, looping clips that demonstrate product functionality
- Ensure videos are muted by default with optional sound activation
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School, for example, uses the video background header to visually communicate that St Margaret's students grow up to achieve great accomplishments in their adult life.
5. Micro-Interactions
Micro-interactions are increasingly sophisticated, utilising advanced animations and dynamic feedback to guide users and enrich the browsing experience.
There are a lot of different ways you can implement this, some of the most effective micro-interactions include:
Intentional feedback mechanisms:
- Design animations that confirm user actions (button clicks, form submissions)
- Create subtle visual cues that guide users through complex processes
- Use micro-animations to reduce cognitive load and improve navigation
- Implement loading animations that make wait times feel shorter and more engaging
Emotional design:
- Use micro-interactions to inject personality into your digital experience
- Create unexpected, delightful moments that make your interface memorable
- Align micro-interaction designs with your brand's emotional tone
- Use subtle animations that reflect your brand's energy and character
Performance and accessibility considerations:
- Ensure micro-interactions are lightweight and don't impact page performance
- Provide options to reduce motion for users with vestibular disorders
- Make interactions clear and predictable for users with different abilities
- Use consistent interaction patterns across your digital ecosystem
6. Inclusive Design
There's an increased emphasis on designing websites that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and promoting inclusivity.
The WCAG 2.1 requirements include many guidelines that help to make Internet content accessible to those with sensory disabilities related to hearing, eyesight and perception.
WCAG 2.1 builds on WCAG 2.0 guidelines, with 17 new success criteria to ensure web accessibility for a wider audience.
Some strategies include:
- Implement WCAG 2.1 AA standards as a minimum requirement
- Use semantic HTML to ensure screen reader compatibility
- Provide keyboard navigation for all interactive elements
- Design color contrasts that meet readability standards
- Support multiple languages and text direction (LTR and RTL)
7. Going 3D
3D design is also bringing geometric shapes to life. This trend is replacing a previous trend toward “skeuomorphism,” or realistic page elements such as lined notepaper or lifelike, to-scale textures. While this realism was cool, for some reason it just never felt very cutting-edge.
Key strategic considerations:
- Transform static websites into dynamic, interactive spaces
- Use 3D elements to guide user attention and enhance understanding
- Implement depth and dimensionality without compromising performance
- Create visual narratives that are both compelling and purposeful
For businesses, the real power of 3D design lies in its ability to communicate complex ideas more intuitively. Whether it's an architectural firm showcasing building designs or a tech company explaining intricate product features, three-dimensional elements can transform how information is perceived and understood.
Some implementation strategies:
- Balance visual complexity with user experience
- Use 3D elements strategically to explain or demonstrate
- Ensure fast loading times and smooth interactions
- Test across multiple devices and screen sizes
Apple, for example, have long been and continue to use 3D images to showcase their new products.
8. AI-Powered Personalisation
Artificial intelligence is being leveraged to deliver personalised content and experiences, enhancing user engagement by tailoring interactions based on individual preferences and behaviours.
The true power of AI personalisation lies in its ability to understand and anticipate user preferences at an unprecedented level.
Through understanding individual browsing behaviours, preferences, and interactions, websites can now dynamically adjust content, recommendations, and user interfaces. This goes far beyond simple product recommendations – it's about creating a holistic, contextually relevant digital experience that feels intuitive and anticipatory.
For businesses, AI personalisation represents an opportunity to deepen customer engagement and drive conversion rates.
Imagine a website that understands not just what a user might want to buy, but how they prefer to receive information, what time of day they're most likely to make a purchase, and what type of visual language resonates most with them. This level of personalisation transforms websites from static platforms to intelligent, adaptive ecosystems.
The ethical implementation of AI personalisation is crucial. Successful strategies balance personalisation with user privacy, transparency, and consent. This means providing clear options for users to understand and control how their data is used, and ensuring that personalisation enhances rather than manipulates the user experience.
Next Steps
Just as with all digital innovation, web designs are continually changing and evolving. They are influenced by elements within technology and our culture as well as user preferences and demands.
Does your company’s website reflect the current trends or is time for an upgrade to a new website CMS? Consider these eight website design trends for your business website when you’re ready to undertake a redesign, and make sure to always keep an eye on great website design examples to inspire you.
Now that you know what trends to expect for the year, it's time to start thinking about how to incorporate trends and best practices into your own website.
We have two resources that can assist.
For insights on how to successfully redesign a website, get the free Website Redesign Best Practices Playbook.
For more insights on delivering an impactful website, whether you're looking to redesign or simply optimise your site, we recommend checking out the webinar 'How to Deliver a Successful & Impactful Website'.
