Website navigation: latest trends

Website Navigation has been an aspect of the web that has never been static. It has been ever evolving since the beginning of the World Wide Web. This makes it important to get to understand what is currently trending in the world of website navigation. One major question that every website designer should ask is that “What design is currently trending?” Let us take a look at some of the website designs and navigation that are currently trending this 2017.

1. Removing navigations

Of recent, there has been an increase in the number of small sites making use of frameworks that do not contain any navigation at all. The only problem with this kind of option is that it works in a single page site alone. The bottom line is that it can work and is perfect for an introductory page, preview or even launching of a coming soon.

Making use of this technique is frowned upon if your site is one that has more than a single page of content.

2. The full screen navigation

What effect would you expect when the navigation is actually the design? When this is well planned out and integrated flawlessly, it can be a technique that will be very effective and also allow the users to go through different pages and also be engaged with the content of the website.

Making use of this technique can easily give you out as it is usually obvious when it comes to its design and it includes a much more subtle approach. Are the users informed that the main content is actually the navigation itself? If they do not have to worry about this question or even think about it, then there is a high chance that you have done everything the right way using this design.

Click here to know the Web design trends for 2018.

3. Vertical stack navigations

Another trend that is currently taking over the web is the vertical option of stacking the navigation as opposed to the normal horizontal style that we have all be used to. Some of the most popular style for vertical navigation is the introduction of a hamburger icon that just opens the navigation bar once clicked and the column style layout and navigation filling completely one of the columns.

4. The card style navigations

One of the most popular sites that make use of card for everything is pintrest, and this includes his navigations so as to help the users navigate the site easily. Every single board actually contains cards. The whole boards are filled with cards and designed to keep the users clicking all day. Website users have been getting used to this style and also getting more comfortable with it. In fact, the popular Google material design documentation contains some guidelines for this design.

5. The slide out menus navigations

The slide out navigation is not a new thing in the mobile world. It has been able to solve the problem of displaying the navigations alone first on the mobile before finally displaying the content. Making use of this design will as well work for the full design with swing out navigation options or slides that works responsively on several devices. It also serves as a surprise for your desktop readers who have not been expecting this kind of style on their pc.

6. Few more mega menus

The use of mega menus some years back were very popular, but however their time was short-lived. The designers are totally rethinking the mega menu concept itself. It is still sometimes used on desktops with some options for smaller screens, but just a step further away from failure. Several retailers that have a large number of user choices usually prefer this concept.

7. Animated navigation elements

Animation can be described as one of the technologies that really gained ground in the year 2015. It is said that the best animation is the one that is plainly simple. Keep to a nifty hover action or you should try a bouncing arrow that helps to lead the design. The use of colored lines also employs the use of the simple concept, and the clickable area just slightly expands whenever you hover your mouse around it. The animation navigation is particularly useful when there is need for the user to determine their position on the screen and the particular link that will be clicked.

8. The button free navigation

Making use of clickable texts has been replacing the use of buttons. With this, there is no need for the designer to worry about the button styles or those elements that will interfere with any other part of the design. The right way to do this is to make it simple and leave enough space around the words so as to ensure that there is enough room for the text to be easily read and clicked.

9. Moving the navigation to the bottom of the screen

Almost every internet user is familiar with the use of top navigation in websites. It’s being like that since the beginning of the web and it has been working well for the readers.

However, some website designers have been considering the placement of these navigations just at the bottom of the home screen. This is particularly great for the navigation elements that are just a bit more oversized and also on a single page site. The main key about this technique is to ensure that it is somehow sticky and its users can find it easily even after scrolling away from the home screen. It will also be a good idea to make it very obvious so that you do not leave your readers confused about the next step for them to take.

10. The single page scroll

This is particularly great for those single page websites that do not contain much content. Where there is only a single action that you need the user to complete then this will work perfectly. The usual regular navigation not found on the website usually triggers the interest of the user and they are often geared to scrolling through the page to find out its content.