on March 10th, 2023
App Inspired Website Design
When consulting with a client on the design phase of a website project I like to propose multiple styles. One style that has been trending in popularity and is always on my list of ideas for clients is App Inspired Design.
Everyone is already used to using and interacting with apps on mobile phones, web apps, and computer applications. It’s become a natural user experience. I place user experience a top priority in my web designs and consider how users are expecting a website to behave. I want to create a familiar and consistent experience to reduce confusion and increase conversions.
You can achieve an app inspired experience by integrating a few design tweaks into the website design.
Smooth transitions
Off Screen/Sliding Navigations
Shadows and 3D effects
Card/Box Layouts with icons
UI changing toggles
Smooth Transitions
Apps don’t just load after clicking an element, they transition. Incorporate a graphical Pre-loader, or a page slide in transition when clicking a link to another page.
Navigation/Menus
You can use mobile style navigation on the desktop version of your website. This is an easy and immediate change that will help your website look and feel more app like. Pair this with off screen, slide in menus that push your page content to the side for a maximum effect.
Shadows and 3D effects
Place sharp contrasting shadows on image elements, header/footer borders and buttons. This creates a nice 3D effect and visually draws attention to the elements.
Card/Box Layouts
Place content into card style layouts and boxes to give the feeling of application widgets. Add icons to the boxes to designate function with easily identifiable visual cues. Color the background of the most important card to make it stand out and differentiate it from the others.
U/I changing toggles
Mostly seen as a light/dark mode toggle, create different designs and allow users to toggle between them for an interactive and personal experience.
There are a lot of ways to update your website to be visually unique and stand out from the competition that won’t detract or distract your audience. If you want some ideas or are looking for a website redesign to freshen and sharpen your image let me know here.