Who doesn’t love a good trends episode? Today, I’m excited to bring on Hannah Davis to talk all about 2025 website trends and how we can update our websites without making them look overly trendy. I also loved how she tied in website UX into everything she does!
Hannah is a Showit designer who helps creative entrepreneurs build bold, professional websites that drive results—so they don’t have to rely solely on social media to reach their clients. (Can I just say, I completely agree with that!) When she’s not designing websites or sending out her GIF-filled email newsletters, you’ll find her in the Pacific Northwest, either reading a book or watching a Disney movie.
We chatted all about the balance between copy and design, how to use templates effectively, and common website mistakes to avoid. This was such a valuable and insightful conversation, so let’s dive in!
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Table of Contents
The Biggest 2025 Wedding Trends
1. Boring Beige is Out
That luxe, upscale look—think Prada-esque, beige, black, and white—was really popular for a while. And sure, if that works for your brand, you should stick with it. But it’s not going to work for everyone. Bold and colorful designs are definitely in right now. Even if you’re sticking with the luxe beige, tan, and black aesthetic, adding a pop of color somewhere can make a huge difference.
One trend I’m seeing completely go out is the clinical, all-white design—especially among photographers. You know, the ones with white backgrounds everywhere, photos on top, and maybe just one accent color. That look is starting to feel really dated. While you can modernize the luxe beige and black style, incorporating bold colors is definitely what’s on trend right now.
2. Adding More Animations
Adding animations to a website can be great—it makes the experience more dynamic and engaging. I don’t have the exact stats off the top of my head, but websites with animations and videos are significantly more engaging, with some metrics showing over 300% higher engagement rates. This is especially true if your audience skews younger, like in the wedding industry. But the flip side is that many people are going overboard with animations.
You’ll see websites where text flies across the screen, elements are loading in one after another, objects are floating everywhere, and there’s parallax scrolling. It gets overstimulating and defeats the purpose of making your website dynamic—it just makes it confusing.
A good rule of thumb is to first think about what you want to highlight in each section of your website. Do you want someone to focus on a piece of text? Maybe animate that to draw their attention. Do you want them to notice a photo? Consider a carousel that rotates through a few key images. The key is to prioritize what’s most important in that section and draw attention to it—sometimes that doesn’t even require animation.
However, if every single paragraph and headline on your website fades in, it’s too much. I’ve seen big-name designers do this, and while it might look cool, most people skim websites. They won’t wait for all that text to load, and it ends up ruining the user experience. Instead of engaging your visitors, you’re making it harder for them to access information—all for the sake of aesthetics.
3. Rebranding
Everyone seems to be rebranding lately. I’m calling 2024 the “Year of the Rebrand,” and I think it’s going to carry over into 2025. If you haven’t rebranded yet, now might be a good time to consider it—especially since we’re recording this around an election cycle, which can serve as a natural point to reassess.
You don’t need to overhaul your brand or website every six months unless you’re undergoing a major niche or industry change, or your offers are constantly shifting. But if you’ve had the same branding for a while, or if you’re no longer happy with it, it might be time to reevaluate. A good rule of thumb is to assess your brand every four years to ensure it still aligns with your goals and resonates with your audience.
If you’re getting traffic to your website but no sales, that’s a big red flag. It’s likely time to revisit your branding, website design, and copy. These three elements are deeply interconnected, so it can be tricky to pinpoint exactly where the issue lies without an audit or professional evaluation. However, more often than not, the copy is a major factor.
Your copy should guide the design and layout of your website. If the copy isn’t doing its job, and you go through the effort of rewriting it, chances are you’ll need to redesign your site to reflect those changes as well. Ultimately, your website needs to work together as a cohesive tool to effectively convert visitors into clients.
Note from Kara: Around here? We believe that if your website is bringing in more compliments than sales, it’s probably your copy that’s failing. Learn more about booking us for a VIP day to get new website copy here!
Should we be updating our websites to follow trends? I’m thinking of gradients as an example, but there are so many others that pop up.
It really depends on your branding. For example, if your brand has that beige, minimalist aesthetic, suddenly adding gradients might feel out of place and disrupt the overall flow. But if your brand is already colorful, incorporating gradients could work well. There isn’t a definitive answer about whether you should jump on certain trends—it’s about context.
One key indicator that a trend might not be the right fit is if everyone in your industry is already using it. In that case, you need to ask yourself: does adopting this trend help me stay modern and relevant, or does it just make me blend in? If you’re the first in your industry to try it, and you’re drawing inspiration from a completely different field, it might set you apart. But if the trend is already saturated in your niche, it could make you look like a copycat.
Do you have advice for shopping for Showit website templates?
A lot of people buy website templates because they look good—and that’s important to some extent. But many templates are designed more like magazines: they’re visually appealing but not necessarily functional for guiding users to the right place. A website needs to be laid out strategically so visitors can quickly and easily find what they’re looking for, whether that’s a specific service or offer.
Think about it this way: flipping through a magazine or scrolling through Instagram is a passive experience. People aren’t intentionally searching for something—they’re just admiring the aesthetics. On a website, however, buyer awareness is higher, and users are actively trying to find answers. If your website is just pretty without clear calls to action or obvious paths like “I offer this; go here for that,” it might win a design award but won’t necessarily generate revenue. And let’s face it—making money is kind of the point of having a business, even if it’s not the only goal.
Note from Kara: I recently wrote about my own experience shifting from a custom website to a template (and why I loved the decision, and an honest review of the Showit website template I bought) here!
We’re talking about 2025 website trends, and I know some people are listening to this thinking about their 2025 goals. For those of us catering to two different audiences (ie. high ticket services and low ticket/passive), how can we still provide a great user experience on our website?
Yeah, that’s a really good question. It’s going to depend on what page you’re talking about.
If you’re talking about a sales page or a services page where it’s dedicated to one offer or one type of offer, you should only be talking about that offer. Don’t muddy the waters. Don’t add anything else, especially on sales pages, because they’re usually focused on one course or one digital product. The goal is to sell that thing—don’t give any exit ramps. It’s similar for services pages; while you might talk about three different packages instead of just one item, you still want to keep it as stripped down and focused as possible.
If you’re talking about a shop page, where you might have at least six products depending on your business dynamics, you can include a “Hail Mary” at the end—something like, “This is all included in my course,” or “Need help with templates? Book a call with me.” It’s a way to reassure people that you’re available to assist if they need help.
Now, where you do want to provide options is on your about page and your homepage. Those pages are your “freeways”—you want to give people exit ramps to get them off that page and onto another. For example, direct them to your DIY course, your services page, your freebie sign-up, or even your blog content so they’ll stay on your site longer. The goal is to guide visitors where they need to go.
It’s all about differentiating what page you’re working on and what its purpose is. On your homepage, for instance, you’ll probably have multiple goals—like sending people to your services, your course, your blog, or your freebie. But on a sales page, the only goal is to sell whatever you’re offering.
So, you’re saying that on the homepage, instead of trying to speak to both audiences at once, you just want to make it as clear as possible to get them to other pages faster?
Exactly, and that’s where brand messaging and copy come in. You need to think about the overarching theme that connects everything. For example, let’s say you’re a bookkeeper, and you offer a DIY course and a monthly bookkeeping service. Those are probably two different clients. So, figure out the common denominator—why do they both want their bookkeeping done? Maybe it’s about preparing for taxes or staying organized.
Then, create clear exit ramps. If someone has a smaller budget, direct them to the DIY course. If they have a bigger budget, send them to the monthly service. Or maybe it’s not about budget at all—it could be about time. Some people don’t have time and need you to handle it, while others might have a virtual assistant who can take your course and do it for them. It all depends on who your audience is and their specific needs.
How can we make sure people are having a good experience on our websites?
Yeah, load speed is definitely a big factor. People expect a website to load within five to seven seconds, so you need to make sure it’s fast.
Another important thing is font size—if the text isn’t legible, visitors aren’t going to have a good experience. Animations are important too, but don’t overdo them.
And finally, make sure there’s enough white space between elements. A lot of people cram everything together so tightly that it feels like a can of sardines. You need to give elements room to breathe so they can be read and digested.
People will scroll through a long page if it’s well-spaced and doesn’t feel overwhelming. But if everything is crammed together, visitors won’t know where to look and they’ll get overwhelmed.
A great way to get feedback is to ask a friend—or even better, several friends—preferably people who aren’t in your industry. Have them scroll through your website and give their honest opinion. The more removed they are from what you do, the better. But sometimes having someone in your industry can also help. Ask questions like:
- Is it clear what I do?
- How quickly can you book me?
- How fast can you add something to the cart and buy it?
- Do you like the colors?
That feedback can be tricky, though, because you’ll need to determine if the person is your ideal customer. Personal preferences, like someone saying, “I hate pink,” might not be helpful if pink works for your brand. That’s where you have to take certain opinions with a grain of salt. Focus more on tactical feedback, like load time or navigation clarity, rather than subjective preferences.
And if you want a designer’s opinion, I do offer website audits (shameless plug!). I’m sure there are other designers who offer similar services too.
LINKS MENTIONED
- Learn more about Hannah at Made with Boldness
- Follow Hannah on Instagram
- Learn more about working with our marketing agency here
- Follow me on Instagram
