Website design trends are constantly changing. Every year we see some old design trends phase out while new web design trends emerge.
Keeping up with the latest website design trends is crucial for your brand image—and your design choices can even impact leads and conversions.
In fact, website designs influence 94% of first impressions on websites. This happens in just 50 milliseconds when a visitor lands on your site. Improving your design can boost conversions by up to 400%, and 75% of people say well-designed websites are more trustworthy.
Whether you’re a business owner that’s considering a website redesign or you’re a web designer looking for new inspiration, you can use this blog as a resource on the latest website design trends of 2025.
1 — Dark Themes
For years, having a white or off-white background was the standard choice in web design. But we’ve seen a radical shift in the last year—as more and more websites are implementing dark themes.
This holds true for brand-new websites and website redesigns alike.
Why dark?
Dark themes help reduce eye strain and improve readability. There’s less blue light emitted on dark themes, and it helps address accessibility concerns for users with visual impairments.
Buildfire just had a website redesign and chose a dark theme to keep pace with this new design trend.
Overall, there’s just something really bold and modern about this design style for websites.
It’s professional, trustworthy, and just aesthetically pleasing. Plus, you can browse this site any time, day or night, and won’t have to worry about straining your eyes.
2 — Mobile-First Designs
Over 62% of all website traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. So there’s a good chance that over half of you reading this blog right now are doing so from your smartphone or tablet.
This shift in user behavior has even changed the way Google looks at your website. As of October 2023, Google has officially completed its rollout of mobile-first indexing—meaning they prioritize the mobile version of websites over the desktop version.
Many web designers are still playing catch up here, and we’re seeing more mobile-first designs being implemented so far in 2025.
With a mobile-first design, everything you do is about the mobile experience, and the desktop version is secondary. Here are some screenshots from Typeform’s mobile site.
This design renders perfectly on a smartphone, and it’s more than just mobile-friendly. You can clearly see that every choice made here was specifically for mobile devices.
Now if we look at Typeform’s desktop site, we can see these visual elements translate nicely there as well.
The design is still super clean. But honestly, I like the mobile version much more.
That’s because the designer made intentional choices to prioritize how this website looks on mobile devices.
3 — Experimental Navigation
Most websites follow certain standards and best practices that users have grown to expect. Menus along the top navigation bar, logos in the top left corner, returning to home by clicking the logo from any page—things of that nature.
But we’re seeing more websites “break the rules” in 2025 using experimental navigation practices.
Here’s an example from William LaChance so you can see what I mean.
First, the navigation bar is on the left side of the screen, running vertically instead of horizontally instead of vertically.
Then the brand name, William LaChance, is towards the middle of the screen instead of what would traditionally be in a corner.
It’s subtle and not crazy, but definitely breaks from the norm.
William is an artist, so it fits well with his website. But I don’t think this type of design makes sense for banks, financial advisors, and other sites that need to maintain certain professional-level standards.
4 — Dark Mode
While similar, dark mode is actually a bit different from a dark theme.
With this website design trend, users have the ability to switch from a standard light theme to its darker counterpart. This can be done manually by toggling a button on the screen or automatically based on the time of day.
Here’s an example that shows the shift from a light design to dark mode by toggling the switch in the bottom left corner of the page.
This is a good option for those of you who want to experiment with the dark theme trend but you’re not quite ready to make the full jump.
You can keep your original design and let users decide for themselves.
Better yet, you can even run some tests to see which version gets used the most and whether your darker or lighter modes convert at a higher rate.
5 — Contrasting Colors
I’ve noticed lots of websites starting to use contrasting colors to make certain elements of the page pop and stand out—which works particularly well for CTA buttons.
Check out this example from Merchant Cost Consulting.
What stands out to you on this page?
The gradient shades of pink and purple really jump off the screen compared to the dark navy background. This design technique is used for all three CTAs on the page—Book Consultation, Get Started, and Learn More.
Whether you realize it or not, your eyes are automatically drawn to those buttons.
It’s a bit more modern and sleeker than just using a white background with a standard red or green CTA button.
6 — Hover Effects
Hover effects help keep users engaged while they’re browsing on a website. It’s also an excellent way to add additional information on a single frame without forcing users to scroll.
Monday.com does this really well.
As you can see, this portion of the home page highlights different use cases for the tool. We see icons for Marketing & Branding, Projects & Tasks, CRM & Sales, and IT Support.
But when the mouse hovers over these cards, the design changes, and we see a bullet list of additional features for each specific use case.
7 — Retro Styles
Retro designs are making a big comeback. We see it in fashion all of the time, and now those trends are making their way into web design.
These designs are warm, use muted hues, and pastel colors with earthy tones. They’re unmistakably bold and the complete opposite of modern designs.
Here’s an example from Breakfast, a music studio based in Los Angeles.
As you can see, this design doesn’t feel new at all and uses all of those old-school design elements to make this website feel like a blast from the past.
Retro website designs also tend to use much less white space and use wall-to-wall color throughout every portion of the screen.
This continues throughout the entire page.
Aside from the old tape cassette and coffee mug from the 70s, the color palettes and warm tones throughout this website design all scream retro.
This is another web design trend that’s not for everyone and is better suited for bold brands and creative companies.
8 — Text-Only Hero Sections
The hero section of websites has long been reserved for at least one eye-popping visual that takes up at least 50% of the screen.
But somewhere over time, those images became less and less impactful. Lots of websites were just using stock images or pictures of a smiling person just for the sake of having something that fits in that portion of the template.
Now, we’re seeing an overcorrection in the opposite direction—text-only hero sections.
Beehiiv nails this.
When you land on their website, you don’t see a stock image of a person wearing a suit, people shaking hands, or a mountain range in the background. None of that has anything to do with their business, and it delivers zero value for the visitor.
Beehiiv uses big, bold text to tell visitors exactly what they do.
Should they include an image of a computer or an email being opened on a smartphone? It’s not necessary to get the message across, and it keeps the design super clean.
9 — Storytelling
Modern brands have mastered the art of weaving storytelling into their designs.
Rather than just saying, this is what we are and this is what we do, this trend is all about helping people understand the why behind your brand.
Look at how Curious approaches this.
In addition to having a text-only hero section, this homepage jumps straight into telling a story.
Instead of having a hero that says, “We buy software companies and hold them for the long term,” (which is what they do), Curious starts by addressing the problem with modern venture capital—lighting cash on fire just for the sake of growing.
This is a much more compelling introduction to the brand and how they do things differently.
To add storytelling elements to your website design, you need to think about how visitors will scroll and navigate through each page. Then tell your story cohesively throughout that user journey, rather than looking at each screen as its own siloed design.
10 — Parallax Scrolling
Parallax scrolling adds motion effects to websites and gives the illusion of depth on flat surfaces.
The background elements of the page move slower than the foreground elements when users scroll, making the experience more engaging and dynamic.
Here’s an example.
First, the “We Love Partnership” hero text moves faster than the background image of the person pulling on their hair.
The second part of the page also uses parallax scrolling but in a way that’s even more unique.
In this case, the background elements are the text, which moves faster than the spinning logo in the center of the screen. It’s a cool effect that immediately makes the site feel modern and high-tech.
11 — 3D Designs
Another way to add depth to your web design is by giving the illusion that the page is three-dimensional.
Modern web designers use techniques like shadows, highlights, motion, and contrasting colors to play tricks on our eyes and make page elements pop in 3D.
Chirpley does this better than anyone.
Notice how the birds at the bottom of the screen are much darker than those at the top. They also use shadows and highlights in all of the right places to make it seem like there’s a light source coming from somewhere.
The slight motions and one brightly-colored bird in the center of the page tie everything together and provide the full 3D effect.
12 — Negative Space
You don’t need to cram every inch of your web pages with graphics and text.
Leveraging negative space can be more impactful, as it makes your other visual elements pop off the screen.
Apple has been a pioneer in web design trends for years, and they’ve always used negative space really well to highlight products.
There’s actually quite a bit of information on this page. We have three iPhones, prices, CTA buttons, and quick value props.
The spacing between everything is perfect.
This modern design choice makes it easy for users to quickly scan options without feeling overwhelmed. Plus, it conveys that modern, sleek, and sophisticated feel that Apple wants their customers to feel.
13 — Scannable Designs
Your web design choices have a significant impact on how visitors consume information.
Studies show that only 16% of people read word-for-word on web pages. But 79% of people just scan new pages they visit.
With this in mind, the 80/20 rule says you should prioritize those who scan.
Look at how Convox approaches this.
This web design is perfect for scanners.
They use large headers to quickly highlight benefits, repeating this pattern throughout the entire homepage. So when users scroll, they can easily consume the content without having to read every word in each paragraph.
Staggering the text blocks also makes it easier to read as people scroll. If these blocks were side by side, the right text block would likely be missed during a natural scrolling pace.
14 — Bold Font and Typefaces
Many of the newest web design trends are text-based. So if you’re going to use lots of text in your design, making them big and bold makes a lot of sense.
Large, bold fonts are easier to read. Plus, they can emphasize the most important words within paragraphs or blocks of text.
Here’s how Nextiva incorporates this strategy into their newest web design.
There’s a lot of text on this page, including a header, four different paragraphs, and a text bubble. But the bold text highlights the most important information—double shareholder value, increase profits, twice the revenue, etc.
This technique also makes the page easier to scan for visitors who don’t want to read every word.
Here’s another example from Basecamp:
Again, tons of text here.
The bold text is a strategic design choice. Without it, the page would look dull and boring. But this approach doesn’t make you question the lack of visuals or colors on the screen.
15 — Eco-Friendly Designs
Servers used to power websites can use a tremendous amount of energy, which contributes to carbon emissions that can negatively impact the planet.
Some brands are starting to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint by making eco-friendly design choices.
Root Web Design is a good example of this. Not only do they help build carbon-neutral websites for businesses, but their own website is also eco-friendly.
There are lots of different ways to create an eco-friendly web design. Keeping your file sizes small is the first step. Eliminating images, videos, and large graphics from the design is also helpful.
You can also consider using an eco-friendly web host that uses renewable energy to power your servers.
But keeping the design fairly simple can significantly improve your site’s carbon score.
Final Thoughts
If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your web design, you should consider a refresh to keep pace with these trends.
Just don’t force new trends for the sake of doing so. Always keep your new design aligned with your brand’s image and goals.
Prioritize the user experience and make your design choices focused on people navigating through your pages, consuming information, and ultimately converting.
