While web design trends can be fun and exciting, some of them can become annoying or frustrating for users. Here are some examples of annoying web design trends:
Pop-ups.
Pop-ups are windows that appear suddenly on top of the main content of a website. They can be used to promote products or services, ask for email subscriptions, or to show cookie consent notices. However, when they appear too frequently or block the main content, they can be frustrating for users and impact the user experience.
Auto-playing videos and audio.
When videos or audio files start playing automatically as soon as a website loads, it can be jarring and disruptive for users. It can also slow down the loading speed of a website, which can cause frustration and lead to high bounce rates.
Slow loading speeds.
Slow loading speeds can be caused by large image files, too many plugins, or poorly optimized code. Users expect websites to load quickly, and if they don’t, they are likely to leave the site and look for alternatives.
Overuse of animation and effects.
While animation and effects can add interest and depth to a website, overusing them can make a site feel cluttered and chaotic. This can be distracting for users and make it difficult to navigate the site.
Poor mobile optimization.
With more and more people accessing websites on their mobile devices, it’s essential for websites to be optimized for mobile screens. Sites that aren’t mobile-friendly can be difficult to navigate, with text and images that are too small to read or buttons that are too small to tap.
Flat Designs
For quite some time now flat design has been trending. It’s pervasive. You’ve seen it: simple flat color designs with crispy vector images. It usually uses color-blocking layouts. When will people get bored of this? When will retro designs be in vogue again? When will we see more textured websites?
I like the minimalist nature of flat designs. But it’s everywhere now. Plus it is easy for template designers to create. So there’s a glut of these designs going around. Every site I open, I kind of expect to see flat designs. Will that make gradient or texture designs more eye-catching now?
Parallax Designs
Parallax designs are great for their original, unadulterated purpose: To make the user’s scrolling experience exciting by bringing him or her through a storytelling mode, or to showcase a product. The main problem however is that many CMS themes ship versions of parallax effects that hardly serve the original purpose anymore. Parallax sites tend to lag due to heavier loading screens. Plus you usually have to disable it for mobile devices. It can be amazing when done right, but usually, it is just a gimmick on most sites.
That 3-Thingy Panel
I’ve no other way to describe this phenomenon. I just call it the 3-Thingy Panel. You know what I’m talking about right? You’ve seen it. 3 icons with 3 headings. It’s everywhere. Why? Because template designers have to come up with something and this is the probably easiest and most straightforward thing to do. Are you a fan of this trend?
Scrolling Transitions
Proper use of scrolling transitions requires finesse. It’s only annoying when done poorly. Scrolling transitions should run only once while you scroll the page and can make a site feel less static. Or you can skip this and opt for a minimalist approach. Why not? Helps eases up on plugin overheads and your page will probably load faster.
Overall, annoying web design trends can negatively impact the user experience, leading to frustration and high bounce rates. It’s important for web designers to focus on creating designs that are user-friendly, accessible, and optimized for both desktop and mobile devices.