It is always expected that education websites dealing with educational products must offer great UX. This is a feat for the UI/UX designers! They put in a lot of effort in offering the best designs possible. Important functionalities on the website, with reference to education, are usually aimed to facilitate online communication between the four major stakeholders, which are students, parents, administrators and educators; and of course, to communicate news about the launch of new effective products and on-going research.  Keeping up with the latest trends is thus imperative in design; not only because it is cutting edge and upbeat, but also recognising the enhancements that truly add value to such websites. Let’s go through few of the latest designs in use which enhance the effectiveness of educational product websites.

Design themes for Education websites

Flat Design

Flat design is currently trending and we know why. Preferred over the regular skeuomorphism, which is the design concept of making items resemble their real-world counterparts, flat design is a minimalist user interface design genre which provides users with a streamlined and highly optimal user experience.

Armed with the knowledge that educational websites must cater to different kinds of audience, varying in levels of skill sets, it only makes sense to focus on keeping things simple. While flat design does justice to this approach, validation of this trend reflects in websites which aim to simplify by using scalable images, vivid primary colours, and manufacturing interfaces which are easily navigable and sophisticated.

Negative Space

Because the audience looks for relevant information on these websites, the way one places information across the given space becomes essential. A well-organized structure guides the viewer’s eyes to the most important information.

This structure is achievable by using the concept of “negative space”. Improving the ratio between negative space and texts, written or visual, in a composition is a colossal process and helps enhance the design. Often overlooked, the decluttering of the viewer’s perceptibility often gives the eyes a resting place, increasing the appeal and effectiveness of the intended composition through subtly.

Minimalism

Minimalist designs, especially in an educational website, ensure a better response from users. This is underlined in a scholastic research conducted by Cedric VanEenoo, who states in his study,

“The aim… is to create an interactive system that is so non-complex that it becomes unrecognizable as a system, but instead simply fades into the background while quietly enhancing the abilities of the user to get the best out of it.”

By combining flat and minimalist design trends, designers can take websites to another level, where the company with the innovative educational products can deliver great user experiences and also take advantage of visitors’ valuable attention and provide the solution that they’re looking for.

The attention span of every visitor is different; therefore, the solutions being offered on the website have to be highlighted. However, the biggest challenge involves the risk of audiences being bombarded with excessive content, making them push-off or look else-where for answers. Clean, minimalistic websites have a higher success rate compared to clunky counterparts. This is because the pages load quicker, inform pragmatically and perform well due to Search Engine Optimisation. Minimalist styles don’t take away from the effectiveness of a website. In fact, there can be hefty components like lots of low-resolution images, wordy descriptions along with innumerable chat pop-ups which can actually be more off-putting. Like the obvious cliche, “less is more” minimalism in today’s scenario is directly associated with usability. The aesthetics lies in the process of decluttering, focusing on what is important for the company’s target audience by using apt colours, well-tailored text and crisp edges. It’s definitely a refreshing change from distracting and slow websites. The new era of websites belongs to captivating, eye-catching and engaging ones.

Video Backgrounds

Video backgrounds are becoming incredibly popular, and those who wish to showcase their presence on the global platform, use this generously. Despite speed issues being a concern, video backgrounds have been shown to increase exchanges between the innovators and the audiences.

Due to obvious reasons, videos are definitely more gripping than texts or images. This trend is currently very popular on the social media platforms like Facebook. Video backgrounds have been path-breaking in educational and product websites as well.  When a visitor visits a website and if a video plays in the background, they’re immediately absorbed; the visitor is enticed to stay on and understand the company’s vision and the progress they intend to make. The more they stay, the more likely they are to convert into customers. Videos convey complex messages quickly and effectively. Video backgrounds hardly gets in the way as the video is short, muted, and adds value to the branding.