The web moves at a fast pace. Instead of 15 minutes of fame, you can have 15 seconds before the next thing catches fire. Trends in web design and development move at a similar pace and just like cargo pants and flannel shirts, what once was out can make a comeback as trends swing back and forth. There are many things that could be considered trends for 2025, here are my top 7 in no particular order.

1. AI-Powered Everything

AI is everywhere and everything seems to have an AI component. When it comes to building websites there are AI tools to generate designs, write code, add text and images and more. As technology improves so do these tools. In the hands of a professional they can increase productivity and open new possibilities for smaller teams.

2. Motion UI & Micro Interactions

An ongoing trend has been simplifying and minimizing design in order to improve performance and accessibility. While some designs may become less intricate that doesn’t mean sites have to be boring.  Advanced in browser technology and coding practices now allow for very simple integration of motion and animation to pages to emphasize and engage the content.

Micro Interactions are small animations added to things like buttons that trigger when the item is interacted with. These help bring life to designs as well as improve usability by providing feedback to elements that the user interacts with.

3. Content-Focused Design

With the ever-changing landscape of internet connected devices, it continues to be important for users to be able to find the information they are looking for as well as for them to be able to consume it how they want and where they want it. Because of this it will become even more important to focus on the content and be thoughtful as things are designed and built to make sure that content is easily available and accessible.

4. Dark Mode

A trend from previous years that keeps popping up is dark mode. Once just thought of as a fun variation, it has become almost an expected feature in many cases. As we spend more and more time looking at screens the ability to change the contrast can provide users the option to consume content in a way that is more comfortable for them. Whether it’s due to things like eye strain, or low-light conditions, dark mode can provide many benefits including reducing power consumption on device.

5. Structured Content

Structured content has always been important for properly organizing and identifying content as it relates to subject matter.  It has been and will continue to be important for SEO. With the rise of AI, it will become even more important. Structed data will help all the various bots and scrappers consume your content more easily as well as better understand it. Doing so will make your content more likely to appear in search and AI results.

6. No-Code and Low-Code Development

By now you have likely seen an ad for a tool that lets you easily build a website with no coding experience needed. While this sounds too good to be true it is…kind of. While these tools do exist, and the advances in AI have made them more capable. They can still have hefty learning curves and can frustrate users who can’t get them to produce what they want. However, in the hands of trained professionals they can be useful in a developers’ tools kit. They can allow for quicker development time, help in rapid prototyping, and make features viable that would otherwise need to be built from scratch.

7. Bold and Vibrant Colors & Typography

As the web simplifies to increase content deliverability, one side effect was that many sites began to look the same both structurally and visually. To combat that, designers have begun to lean into bold color and typography choices. This new trend is a stark contrast to the clean white layouts that have been popular in recent years. This is seen to keep the idea of content focused design while injecting creativity and style into content that may not have much else to support it visually. Look for this trend to continue as brands look to distinguish themselves from the pack.

Web Design and Development trends come and go, and sometimes, like bold colors, comeback again. As technology changes, so will emerging trends. Some things on this list will last and some will fade away. Only time will tell what next year will bring. What trends are you excited for and what seems like a flash in the pan?