5 WordPress Web Design Trends for July 2023

Stuck with a case of the summertime design blues? Fear not! We’ve got five amazing design trends that will help you feel inspired to go work on something new. (If nothing else, it is a good excuse to stay inside and out of the heat!)

Here are five great trends to consider this month:

1. Over-the-Top Fonts

Typefaces that are larger than life, contain interesting animation, or use experimental fonts are all popular design choices. But with this website design trend, you can combine two or three elements for a truly over-the-top type treatment that screams for attention.

In the example above, Zajno uses one of the biggest headline treatments with the brand name that you have probably ever encountered. The letters move with your mouse on hover, and although the typeface has a simple aesthetic, it borders on experimental.

Why it works: This trend works because it makes you look and interact with the design. If you start mousing over these letters, it can be hard to stop.

How to use it: This is an only-works-with-a-few-words technique. No long sentences or headlines here. You really need to keep it to less than eight characters so that can be large and readable.

2. Scroll Action

There’s something special about a website design that gets your attention and then has a delightful scroll action. This simple element can keep users coming back to the design repeatedly and always help generate extra engagement.

In the example above from Monster Jam, there’s already a lot of action in the imagery, but with a scroll, the monster trucks seem to come to life and drive across the screen from the sides. This action continues throughout the entire scroll. The Lottie Block from Kadence Blocks is an amazing way to add beautiful animations to your posts and pages. You can add a Lottie Block anywhere that you can use blocks.

Why it works: Users like little extras that make the design feel special without them having to do any real extra work.

How to use it: Scroll action can help further emphasize elements of motion or active imagery. Use it to take your design to the next level.

3. “Boxed” Navigation

While navigation elements fully integrated into the design have been a dominant visual for a while, more boxed navigation styles are popping up. In this trend, you’ll see that navigation elements, including the logo, menu items, and potentially a button, are contained within a boxed element. Just check out the example above from Rosy Monde.

This helps ensure that navigation remains readable no matter what’s in the background and can be a nice way to contain a sticky header. Most boxed navigation elements are white or black to create a lot of contrast with the elements therein, even if they somewhat blend with the background itself.

Why it works: This ensures that navigation elements are always easy to read.

How to use it: Set a depth for the boxed navigation and stick to it. Consider a color theme that matches the background, such as the example above, with the major contrast happening inside the box for optimal readability.

4. Old School Feel

There’s just something about an old-school design that makes you feel something. What you feel about it totally depends on your point of view and perspective.

In the example above from Back to the Future, the design has a cold-war style that is sure to evoke a variety of emotions. It’s also paired with a nostalgic headline that might make you think of a movie from your youth. These can be contrasting emotional connections.

Why it works: Anything that creates an immediate emotional tie will resonate with users, generating engagement and interaction.

How to use it: Try to create an emotional pull that will create positive emotional connections for your target audience.

5. No Photos + Bold Text

One of the things we are seeing a lot of this summer is designs without a lot of photos or video imagery. This means that text elements are carrying designs (and that’s not always easy!).

In this design trend, bold typography is what does the heavy lifting. Just check out the example above from the Zorka Agency.

Bold typography often has two key characteristics:

It is big or oversized
The type is interesting with special characters or styling

Then you just carry those elements throughout the design – often with some animation, color, or special effects to create something that feels complete. The Advanced Text Block from Kadence Blocks makes it simple to add bold, powerful text that will capture the attention of your site visitors.

Why it works: Big type is just hard to ignore – when you have the right words. Think carefully about copy and messaging if this style is something you plan to try.

How to use it: Remember that if you use big, bold text, your entire typographic scale has to work in concert with it. This likely means that the entire website design will include larger text styles to help ensure the biggest text elements don’t seem out of place in the design.

Putting it All Together

WordPress web design trends are a fun element but don’t feel like you have to try every new trend that comes along. If bold and big isn’t your style, it’s ok to wait and see what else comes along. Using the right trend at the right time is part of your brand and style.

A Kadence Full Bundle gives you everything you need to keep up with all the design trends and take your website to the next level. From the Lottie Block in Kadence Blocks to the ability to create fully customizable designs and pages, the Kadence Full Bundle gives you everything you need to make beautiful, effective, and engaging websites.

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