8 mobile web design trends to expect in 2017

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Web design is a fast growing industry with strong competition. Keeping your website designs updated with the latest trends will help you get more traffic. So look into the future and take steps as early as possible to stay ahead of the competition.

In this post, I’ll focus on trends that will shape the digital design industry in 2017.

Mobile-first

As the name implies, a mobile-first approach is the process of designing for the mobile first and then for bigger screens later. This concept isn’t new for 2016, however, it is anticipated that more people will take this approach in developing their websites rather than applying it as a tacked-off afterthought.

Wider use of responsive designs

Nothing new, right?

Although the concept of responsive design has been around for a few years, it is predicted to have a bigger uptake in 2017. It’s an essential approach in building a site using CSS media queries and flexible grids/layouts. This process allows designers to create a single, dynamic site which adjusts and re-jigs its content to best display on devices of every size and resolution.

Moreover, Google’s latest update now boosts the rankings of such sites. So if your website is not optimized for mobile, you’ll see a major shake up in your website ranking.

Micro mini interactions

The concept of micro-interactions was the talk of the town in 2015. This term was used to refer to product interactions based on singular tasks such as setting an alarm, pressing a button, or clicking like. Using Facebook or LinkedIn allows users to engage with dozens of micro-interactions, most of which are invisible or too small to be noticeable.

Apps and services are slowly becoming more granular and specific. Micro mini interactions will change the way we use our mobile phones in the coming year.

Wide use of rapid prototyping tools

Rapid prototyping tools are definitely a must-have for any web, UI, and UX designer. These tools have been the most useful breakthroughs to hit the web design world this year.

Rapid prototyping tools like Mockplus allow web designers to quickly create low and high fidelity prototypes of sites and services to gauge their usability and aesthetic. This is done without writing a single line of code. These tools also allow you to design on the browser and actually launch from there.

There are a number of tools available today, and many businesses have already adopted them. I anticipate that even more brands and designers will be jumping on the bandwagon to increase their efficiency.

Haptic feedback

Technology has become more sophisticated over the years. One such technology is haptic feedback, which uses touch on a user interface. For example, in virtual keyboards, individual keys can be pressed to send feedback to the computer.

Using haptic feedback, people have new ways to interact with apps through haptic cues. These may lead users to a button on a page or to a unique area on the page being viewed.

Advanced animations

UI patterns and framework

Switch from material to textile design

Conclusion