The next phase of the internet has arrived in the 2023 web design trends. As ever, these digital trends are a reflection of emergent technology and its impact on society, and the past year gave designers plenty of material to work with.
There have been major advancements in AI—to the point that it can make its own art—and the Metaverse has pushed VR further into the mainstream. Web design trends that showcase immersion, simulation and cinematic techniques have followed. At the same time, a global recession has inspired both a retreat from opulence and push towards joyful, escapist experiences. And all of this has occurred under the backdrop of the Big Flat Now, where the internet and mobile phones have reached a zenith in worldwide availability. The result is web design trends that are less constrained to the immediate and the local, as aesthetic innovation becomes a fast-paced, global effort.
With all of these factors at play, the following web design trends for 2023 are poised to rattle the very foundations of the World Wide Web.
1. Animated product reveals
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Hover animations have always been useful for subtle micro-interactions, keeping the visitor passively engaged. But in 2023, web designers are going even bigger with hover animations, transforming ordinary page elements into dazzling product reveals.
This trend accomplishes several goals at once. It supports speed browsing, as the visitor can quickly review a product without clicking into another page. It animates the product, providing a teaser of how it might be used. It bolsters a minimal interface, showing photos one at a time and keeping the page free of image clutter. It can introduce a new foreground dimension to the site, animating product photos on top of the existing page.
And finally, like most surprise interactions, these hover animations create a feeling of discovery, making the visitor want to keep exploring to find even more reveals.
2. Immersive 3D worlds
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Last year, many websites favored immersive scrolling experiences that pulled viewers into the page. Partially thanks to a continued interest in VR tech, this trend has now evolved into completely immersive websites—fully rendered 3D worlds.
Immersion gimmicks are nothing new, but rarely do they go so far as to take the user on a journey through digital space with the smooth tracking of a crane camera. And while audio techniques used to be considered a tacky relic of the early internet, subtle music is making a comeback in order to add a cinematic touch. Because audio does still come with accessibility challenges, most websites will ask for permission to play music before loading the page.
This trend takes a great deal of effort to pull off—sometimes necessitating 3D modeling and sound mixing—so it is most useful for one-off campaigns, as seen in the Coach x Tom Wesselman product line. While these website worlds tend to be more stylistic than realistic, that is exactly what makes them appealing—they are imaginative, escapist spaces that users will want to lose themselves in. At their best, they challenge the many stale layouts that orient the page around a CTA button. These websites trust the visual experience to leave a lasting mark on visitors instead.
3. Overstimulation
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“Less is more” has been digital law for decades now, mandating that websites should be intuitive to the point that users don’t have to think. In the recent past, many designers have rebelled against these constraints through anti-design and the reinvention to the gaudy interfaces of Web 1.0. But for 2023, rebellion against UX minimalism is digital maximalism—designs aiming for complete overstimulation.
This trend declares all-out war on white space, customizing nearly every page element. A single web page may have animated backgrounds, animated foregrounds, oversized typography, hover and click effects, flashing images and splashes of color all at once. The effect is to create websites that are not only rebellious but expressive, novel and unashamedly weird. It takes engagement and entertainment to impressive new heights, prioritizing experience over intuitive navigation to incentivize exploration.