What are you doing differently with your WordPress web design this month? One of the biggest trends for November (pretty much every year) is the addition of holiday-themed design elements. (That’s the trend that will kick off our roundup.)
Here are five great trends to consider this month:
1. Holiday-Themed Elements
With the holidays quickly approaching, one of the biggest design trends this month is adding elements to encourage holly and jolly feelings. You can do this with color, language, or other design elements that evoke the holiday spirit.
Here, Loft uses holiday language in the top banner and the hero image and cute snowflakes to feel seasonal without too much of a Christmas look. This is a great option in the early holiday season so that the aesthetic doesn’t get too “gifty” too early.
2. Bold Color Blocks
Big, bold color is a design trend that we can’t get enough of. These colors demand attention and are so engaging that you can’t help but dive into the design.
The latest iteration of this color trend focuses on color as a background element. And the brighter, the better.
MIT Museum uses multiple large color blocks to separate different content elements. This use of color is ideal for a creative space and helps highlight the art in various ways. The color blocks also are great for keeping everything contained in an organized manner and provide a highly readable background for text elements.
3. Holiday/Gifting Quizzes
This design trend combines holiday elements and content to create a cool user journey that helps you find a gift and keeps you shopping for an extended period of time. Quizzes are a great way to showcase various products or services and keep users on your website longer.
Audible has created a nifty – and short – quiz with simple animations and design elements that aren’t too complex while encouraging users to move forward. Plus, the design feels on-brand with other Audible website designs.
4. Avatar Portfolios
For a while, it seemed like every portfolio website featured a portrait. This can be an intimidating design trend for those who don’t want their image to be the focus of their website design. For that reason, it’s refreshing to see that there’s a shift from images to avatars.
Designing an avatar for a portfolio website is a fun way to show your personality and likeness without a true photo. It also gives you one more opportunity to highlight your creative side with a custom-designed element. Just take a look at the example from Simona Nikola.
5. Designed Hiring Pages
It seems like everyone is hiring these days, so it is no surprise that more websites are designing custom hiring pages that better showcase why you might want to work for a certain company.
Many of these pages feature the best aspects of work and plenty of fun images of the team.
Grill’d has those images below the scroll but leads with words that make you want to know more about jobs with them: Love Work. Those two words – especially with the fun design – make you want to know more about what to love.
This is also quite a shift from the career pages on many websites, which feature a list of positions and links to apply. This much more inviting option is likely to convert more applicants.
Putting it All Together
WordPress web design trends are a fun element but don’t feel like you have to try every new trend that comes along. Pick the ones that are right for your website and brand to keep it feeling fresh and modern.
Carrie Cousins has more than 15 years of experience in media, design, and content marketing. She works in digital marketing and is also a freelance writer and designer, specializing in creating amazing experiences online for small businesses. Her work has been featured in publications such as Design Shack, Webdesigner Depot, The Next Web, and Fast Company. She’s an avid runner, which comes in handy with Australian shepherds at home.