More than 6 months into 2016, we’re talking about challenging the next phase of web design. What exactly is the “next phase” of web design all about? It’s about transcending the “convenience” of the mother when it comes to the user experience on the web. If all this time we were talking about the need for dynamic websites, today we have gone one step further to focus on a “unique” web experience. If yesterday it was all about creating designs, suitable for viewing on desktop, mobile and tablet, today is the time to offer your digital audience a richer and more engaging experience through visual storytelling.

All about storytelling on websites

Yes, visual storytelling is rapidly emerging in the web design landscape. Although it’s not a completely new phenomenon (you can find articles focusing on improved storytelling techniques on the web that were written 4-5 years ago), it definitely didn’t enjoy the kind of attention it does today. Visual storytelling is well positioned to lead the pack of web design trends in 2017.

Now, implementing visual storytelling into web design can be a daunting prospect, but getting familiar with a few tricks can always do wonders for you. Here are some things web designers can try while telling a story through their work.

Storytelling doesn’t have to be about complex images

Designers don’t necessarily have to fill their designs with heavy images. If you can tell your story in one or two images, then you don’t have to use ten or fifteen. However, if you need more than ten images to weave a story together, don’t try to reduce it to 7 or 8 images.

Make your audience part of your story

There are several ways to do it. One much discussed way is to “gamify” your site. It means that you are rewarding your user for accomplishing a task. They are sites that even reward users for filling out registration forms. The Swarm app, for example, rewards you for becoming “mayor” of a place (where you’ve checked in multiple times).

Another way to make your users feel like characters in your story is to include a guided user quiz where they can tell you about themselves and offer them a personalized experience based on the insights gained.

Know which sites are best suited to accommodate storytelling techniques

Visual storytelling is a means of reinforcing interactive storytelling on the web. There are some sites that just don’t benefit from interactive stories. If you’re running a website that’s accessed primarily for fast, continuous information, you really wouldn’t want to incorporate interactive content, which would slow down the user experience. For example, an interactive image will definitely not work as well for a news site as it will for a gaming or e-commerce site.

So the next Web Design Company You’re hiring should be very aware of the importance of storytelling when it comes to the interactive user experience. Don’t hire them before you ask them about the techniques they would adopt to make your website a visually appealing unit.