Styles of Website Design

Often, customers are lost in the variety of website design solutions or are not at all aware of what styles there are, they simply cannot find examples or explain what kind of web design and development services they need in the end. The task of a UI designer is to tell, show with examples, or independently decide which style to work with on a particular project. For beginners, this is not easy, besides, novice designers are not very versed in a bunch of styles, not to mention some customers – the owner of the car service.

It’s not enough to understand what styles and directions of website design exist, you need to be able to determine which style is suitable for a particular business: what would be appropriate on the site of a brutal barber shop will not suit a hydraulic equipment company at all. Therefore, it is important to learn to distinguish between the main directions, as well as to understand in which niches certain solutions will be appropriate.

The main website styles in web design in 2022.

There is no clear unified classification of styles. In different sources, you can find options or selections of the TOP-10. This is due to the fact that the niche is quite young and is actively growing. In UI design, 20-30 trends appear a year, of which 15-20 just as quickly disappear, which is why any style is gradually modified until it is transformed into a separate movement.

Consider the main styles in website design from the point of view of our studio:

• Classic;
• Minimalism;
• Drawn;
• Metro (card);
• Polygonal;
• Flat;
• Brutalism;
• Festival (promo);
• Grunge;
• Retro;
• Organic & Natural.

Let’s consider some of the most popular from this list.

Classic style.

Simple, strict, concise, neat. It has a logical structure and clear navigation. All elements are located in the expected places. The classic menu on the top or side on the left, the usual column grid, a minimum of graphics or its complete absence.

Simple neutral color schemes, neat typography. The fonts are simple, common, the heading sizes are close to the standard, there are no flashy pretentious solutions with an unusual size or text placement.

The classic style in websites is used by companies that do not need to somehow stand out among competitors in a special way, they are confident in themselves, adhere to rigor, conciseness. Also, this style is popular in the niches of legal, lawyer services, and industrial areas.

Minimalism in web design.

Stylish, smart, efficient. The main distinguishing feature of minimalism is a large amount of free space, the absence of unnecessary details. Emphasis on content and photography. Due to the airiness and well-placed accents, you can control the user’s gaze, leading him in the right direction.

Drawn style.

Original, exclusive. Sites in this style look like they were just drawn. They are interesting, unusual, and memorable.

Often, newbies, when viewing a similar style of the site, have the same reaction – wow, I want to know how to do it. The whole trick lies in the use of illustrations drawn by an artist or illustrator. That is, to create a hand-drawn website, you need not only a UI designer but also an artist. Accordingly, the cost of such projects is much higher, and the terms are longer.

Drawn websites can be both simple, strict, neat, and super-bright, intricate, involving: like a labyrinth, inviting you to linger to consider every detail.

Color solutions are so important, from a black and white palette to a multi-colored design in the style of comics.

Metro-style in web design.

Orderly, simple, convenient. The metro style (card style) is based on the principle of building a site structure using sections (cards) in which all the main content is located.

This style is used for the convenience of the user when perceiving a large amount of content. Conventionally, like a neatly designed newspaper, when viewing each reader finds the card he needs, among a bunch of other cards. The easiest way to present the metro style is to remember the Windows 8 menu with square tiles of folders, applications, and news in one bottle.

Flat style.

Clear, simple, accurate. Flat style, or flat design, can be described as a simplistic design with custom solutions available. The basic principle is nothing superfluous, minimalism similar to the style.

This style is characterized by simple two-dimensional illustrations, lack of volume, textures, gradients, 3D effects, complex shadows, and other effects. Often only one accent color is used, not bright, muted and a few complimentary background ones.

Retro.

Vintage, eclectic, spectacular. The retro-style refers to the past, to the era when books, newspapers, magazines, records for players were popular. Usually serves for brand recognition or to emphasize the relevant topic.

This style is characterized by illustrations and photographs on topics from past times, people in clothes and interiors of past centuries, and old technology.

The color scheme uses muted pastel colors, worn effects, textures of old paper, wood, including patterns and monograms.

Typography is characterized by serif fonts, block fonts, as a reference to the days of the typewriter, cursive fonts, lettering.

In retro style, websites of companies with similar themes are usually designed – vintage shops and exhibitions, retro cars, as well as portfolios of photographers, designers, and artists.

Organic & Natural.

Fresh, light, aesthetic. This style is gaining more and more popularity. Everyone around is talking about the environment, striving to reduce the consumption of plastic and other harmful products, and switching to a natural composition. This is visible everywhere: in clothes, food, electricity, everyday life. Websites are no exception.

A distinctive feature of this direction is the use of natural materials and textures in the design of the design. This is a tree, plant motifs, natural colors and shades. All attention to the design. Structure and logic fade into the background.

In color schemes, natural shades are also the main ones: beige, brown, green, blue. Often these are muted pastel colors, or, conversely, bright, juicy combinations of azure, light green and the like.

The typography is neat and discreet. Classic grotesque, modest, feminine decorative typefaces. The design uses decorative elements: leaves, lines, flowers, animals, birds. The grid is simple and logically understandable. Usually column or block.

Sites in this topic are popular in niches and brands of the same name. These can be business cards, corporate websites, landing pages on a natural theme, online stores, for example, flower shops, clothes, cosmetics, any eco-business.

Variety of website design styles

In addition to the listed styles of UI design, futurism, art deco, Hi-tech and many others are walking on the Internet. Oftentimes, design styles can use similar solutions and techniques and can pair and complement each other perfectly, making the design more coherent. And from these combinations, new styles are born, from the new trends, from established trends, new combinations, and so on in a circle.

It is important to learn how to not only define site styles but also correctly combine them, as well as determine which style will reflect the tone of voice of the brand and is suitable for design development for a specific task. Therefore, if we take risks, then be prepared for an unexpected outcome. Take risks consciously.