2016 was a big year in the world of web development. We’ve seen major shifts in design standards, user-interactions, and cross-platform capabilities, all of which are intended to make the overall user experience more impressive. We could go on for hours about trends that we love, but here are a few that we’re especially thankful for.

The shift away from one-page designs

Back in September, we wrote about the single- vs. multi-page website debate. Long story short, we almost always favor the multi-page layout because it’s typically a more intuitive user experience. We’re glad that the rest of the digital world seems to agree.

Microinteractions

A microinteraction is a one-click action that, for lack of a better phrase, does something. ‘Liking’ something on Facebook or Instagram, pinning something on Pinterest, or checking off a task in your to-do app of choice are all examples of microinteractions. In the past year, companies have extended the functionality of microinteractions to include more functionality such as one-click ordering, payments, and sharing. This makes navigating and using apps and websites a more seamless and intuitive experience. If you’re looking to include microinteractions in your site or app, Dan Saffer, author of O’Reilly’s Microinteractions: Designing with Details, put together this great cheat sheet:

Goodbye, hamburger menu

No, we’re not talking about Shake Shack’s list of treats. The hamburger menu is this guy: , which we’ve all seen in various mobile apps. Somehow, it weaseled its way into desktop sites, and companies started rolling out left-hand nav menus in early 2013. Great idea on mobile; terrible idea on desktop - so we’re glad that sites started abandoning them for more traditional top-nav menus this year.

Duotones

Duotone images sport one- or multi-color overlays and text on top of high-resolution images. The trend emerged in 2015, but it really caught on this year and is a great way to create minimalistic web designs that still look stunning. Spotify did a particularly good job with this one:

Full-screen input and signup forms

On the surface, a full-screen newsletter signup or “create your account” form sounds intrusive; however, in practice, it actually makes the user experience a lot simpler. Using a full-screen popup means no more text, images, or ads to distract the user. If someone clicked on a call-to-action, they’re ready to do something, so decluttering the page for that next action is a good idea.

Itching for more? Hit us up and we’ll share all of our favorite trends with you.