Do you look at the pictures of your ancestors from the previous century and yell “what the heck they’re wearing?” most of us do that. We know fashion trends are rapidly changing and now when we look at the trends of the 1960s or 70s, it’s found to be ridiculous, or funny!
Well, this is no different in case of your web designs too. As time passes by, newer trends are replacing the outdated styles to present things freshly. With these new trends and styles roll in, we have to part with the outdated design trends, and in web design, these changes happen ten times faster than clothing fashion.
This post is discussing those outdated trends, which creative designers are parting with to keep their designs appealing to the users.
Outdated UI/UX design trends to avoid
#1 Image Carousels
Carousels, even though still existing on many major websites, are not in line with the changing trends in web design. Why people tend to hate carousels now is due to the reason that no one likes to click on them and these also make it difficult for the users to find the actual content they look for.
Those carousels featuring CTAs are slightly better than those without it, but still, they are a waste of space according to the new design guidelines. Carousals are found to be so distracting, confusing, and for marketers, these also don’t tend to convert much. For all these obvious reasons, carousels may be a bad design decision for modern websites.
#2 Parallax scrolling as a default standard
Parallax scrolling was one of the greatest trends in UI design over the last couple of years, which is still great in the hands of skilled professionals, but unfortunately doesn’t sever purpose in the hands of others. This needed to be tastefully used to enhance the depth and beautify the design, and it is also now set as the default standard on many of the WordPress design themes. However, it is mostly abused now than being used effectively.
A study had shown that users found parallax design to be more fun to use, which further signifies that it is good on lighter websites. On the other hand, may participants also have complained about the usability issues of parallax scrolling evolving from motion sickness. So, we need not think that parallax will completely go away, but it shouldn’t be your only default standard.
#3 Stock photos
There are certain times where the designers need to go for a stock photo. There is no such assumption that all stock photos out there are bad. But you should know a few things which may prove out to be awkward in modern-day web design.
A classic example found on website rfp is described as ‘what you feel on finding the same photo of a charming woman with a headset on almost all the ‘help’ page of the websites?’ We can very much assume that it is an old trend by now. Do you think the visitors get impressed with that same woman working with thousands of different companies?
As per the latest design trends, it is beneficial if you use original photos. However, sometime there may not be any other options than using stock photos at places. If so, ensure that you use only:
- High-quality images.
- Unique and right to the purpose, and
- Using it is the only option left.
#4 Aggressive pop-ups
Even though Google is clamping down the annoying pop-ups on mobile display, it is still unfortunate to see that it is visible on many websites, especially if you browse through the marketing space. Ever wondered why this trend persists so adamantly? A fine part of this trend goes to the inopportune focus on business conversion optimization.
Webmasters of the online marketplaces still think that throwing a random pop-up in between the decision-making process of the consumers will help to get more results or at least a favorable lead. Even though this may be true to a smaller extent. As a result, one may be losing many other as pop-ups now give a very irritating and horrible user experience.
So, if you are working on a next generation website of trying to upgrade your existing site, focus on creating something people will always like to use. Don’t kick them with any aggressive pop-ups which will kill the fun, but look for more innovative ways to build your e-mail list and to sell products.
#5 Hamburger icons for desktop sites
Hamburger icons were trendy, which still make a lot of sense on mobile sites. There is only limited space on the digital portal gadgets, and you need a flexible model to show up the menu to the users. But, when you are designing for desktop, adopting hamburger icons for the menu may not be so ideal. On the desktop, hiding the navigation menus won’t make much sense or will make your web page user-friendly.
Forcing the users to click on the icon to get the menu bar will make some unnecessary friction at the site. For this reason, it is better to consider this wisely while planning your website navigation display.
#6 Minimalism for the sake of it
Minimalist web design is largely acceptable; however, the end goal of this approach is not just to create a minimalist site just for the sake of having one of that kind. So, instead of being adamant on minimalist web design, it is better to focus on simplicity. In web design, a simple method is the one which streamlines the design to reduce any friction. However, being simple may not always be inherently minimalist.
To be compliant with the minimalist design concept, some designers even tend to eliminate elements like labels. Even though this contributes to a slick and minimalist design, it further creates many issues for the visitors and makes your web page less user-friendly. So, even when the purpose of being minimalist to comply with the design best practices is met, on a larger picture, you don’t get any advantage of it if the users find it troublesome.
This article may not make sense for a long time as these old design trends may fall out of place and eradicated from the public consciousness over time. However, until then, it may be an ideal reference to the next generation designers to prepare a checklist on what not do to.
