Every year, there’s a new list of trends with WordPress sites and 2016 is no exception.

Instead of going into the same tired list of responsive design and add more images, it’s time to list some hot trends that are still relatively new. While some sites are using them, your WordPress can stand out from the crowd by adopting a few.

Refreshing your site, even in small ways, makes a huge difference with your visitors. Go ahead and show them you know exactly what’s trending with a WordPress makeover.

1. Cards Layout

On the surface, the cards layout isn’t anything new. After all, it’s the core of Pinterest and many Tumblr blogs. Yet, how many major websites do you see using this layout? It’s one of the hottest new trends with WordPress and you’ll find quite a few themes are focused on a card style layout. With visitors wanting a quick overview of the content on your site, individual cards provide both an image and quick headline to grab their attention.

You can either have a theme designed or implement a plugin, such as Masonry Grid, to get the Pinterest style look on your own WordPress site.

2. Material Design

The past few years have focused on flat design, but that’s changing. The almost flat design is a major trend, but something a little more cutting edge is Material Design. It’s similar to flat design, but has a bolder flair. Google put this trend in the spotlight and it’s actually a collection of typography, colors, menus, tabs and much more. Some WordPress themes are focused on the new design or you can have a custom theme created.  Materializer is one of the first major plugins to have many of the Material Design shortcodes in a single plugin.

3. Creating Motion

You probably already know that video is a growing web design trend, but if you don’t want to fill your site with videos, another option is simply creating motion. One of the hottest trends with WordPress right now is animation. From subtle transitions from one page to the next or animated typography, this trend is highly engaging and eye catching. Image how much more effective a call to action would be with a little animation behind it.

While individual elements can be coded manually, the easiest way to incorporate this trend is via a plugin, such as Animate It.

4. Hamburger Menus

If you use a mobile device often, you’ve already encountered hamburger menus. Like their incredibly tasty counterparts, hamburger menus are stacked much like the parts of a hamburger. They’re used on mobile devices to hide the main menu and make the most of the limited screen space. Some sites are doing the same thing for desktop sites.

It creates a minimalist look and gives mobile users a more familiar environment as they transition back and forth. It’s still highly debated as to whether it’s an ideal design choice for desktop sites. If most of your audience consists of mobile users, it’s worth trying. Responsive Menu is currently the most popular free WordPress plugin to help you implement hamburger menus.

5. Animated Backgrounds

Don’t confuse this trend with animated or moving elements. A popular trend in past years (and still popular) is a single, full page background image. It’s aesthetically pleasing and a wonderful introduction to your site. Step that trend up a notch with the more engaging animated or video background. Newrow.com is the perfect example of using not only a video style background, but a vertical split design too (which is also trending).

There are a number of themes and plugins that support this WordPress trend. Just make sure to use small file sizes so your page loading speed isn’t affected.

Start Trending With Your Site

While these are far from the only trends with WordPress right now, they are some the hottest. If your site needs a boost, give one or two a try. Adding in some eye catching elements may be just what your site needs to keep more visitors on your site and get more conversions.

Want to incorporate any of these trends on your WordPress website? Contact Darren today to learn how to get started. 

Image: chichacha