Poor web design trends 2016

| Web design

Poor web design trends 2016

Web design trends and gimmicks come and go so what was popular just a year ago can be considered a certain no-no today. This is because there is a great deal of design and user interface challenges designers have to face as well as major advancements in technology the web design industry has to keep up with.

This year will be no different, it is a designer’s job to focus on the predictions and insights about what will be considered good or bad web design practices this year to know what to avoid at all costs.

Here are a few trends that were popular in 2015 but are considered bad design (in terms of poor for usability) or simply disliked by users today:

1. Long scrolling

Very long scrolling especially for mobile websites was very popular in 2015, but nowadays excessive scrolling is considered just too exhausting for users. Users prefer a website that has limited scrolling as it helps them to stay engaged.

2. Hamburger buttons

The Hamburger button is the symbol consisting of three horizontal lines (displayed like this ≡) which are commonly used to hide the navigation on mobile-friendly websites. These buttons are appreciated by mobile users as it saves space but there is no use for a hamburger on a traditional website and is likely harm the user experience.

Your website needs to be simple to use and complex functionality doesn’t deliver this. The hamburger button is only acceptable on a mobile device.

3. Too many widgets

Of course you want your website to be unique and deliver more than what your competition has to offer, which has led to many estate agents adding more and more applications to their website. However, too many tools especially poorly designed widgets leave the page looking cluttered, ugly and confusing. Just because there is a widget doesn’t mean you should use it unless it is vital to your website. And a Twitter widget you only update once a month isn’t considered crucial. 

Luke Stanley