Looking back at many of our own works from almost a decade ago, we often find ourselves surprised — was this really interesting to anyone? Design styles evolve at a rapid pace, and this acceleration inevitably sweeps us along. Who hasn’t deleted layers in Photoshop after feeling dissatisfied with the result? Similarly, we often want to revisit old projects and swap elements to modernize and refresh what’s already there.
Still, some trends evolve more slowly than others. And some have been so “hyped up” by the public that it’s easy to forget to ask: does usability get lost behind beauty and innovation? Today, we’ll take a kind of walk through the past and revisit some trends that were once extremely popular. While not obsolete, they’re no longer seen as "cutting-edge" and can even annoy users today.
What Our Web Design Analysis Is About
For designers, hearing that something in their project is outdated or bloated with trends can sometimes feel like a personal insult. The only way to avoid that feeling is to try using not only the newest and latest but… within reason. It’s worth asking, “Do we really need this? How can we make it better for users?” Though, of course, some of these reflections may be upsetting.
The key to our analysis is also the understanding that no trend is inherently good or bad. They represent a way of observing the tastes of millions over the years and the evolution of brands.
In this way, trends offer a fascinating history lesson in how web design styles have changed. We often analyze fashion, the movie industry — web design is no different. The practical benefit of this analysis is avoiding unnecessary or misguided choices. Would you wear a tie with a t-shirt on a first date? How long do you spend picking out a tie to go with a shirt? Everyone’s approach is different, but the standards don’t really change.
The Carousel
Traditionally, a carousel is a rotating platform, powered either automatically or by users. In web design, carousels can also rotate automatically or allow users to click side arrows to navigate between slides. They are typically placed on the homepage, where there is more space and attention. But this creates the need to decorate and enrich the slides so that they’re actually engaging.
So, what’s happening with carousels? Carousels are still popular, and the fact remains: automatic slide switching has its perks. But often, the user hasn’t finished reading a slide before it changes — or the opposite, they’ve already lost interest. For frequently visited sites, seeing the same few slides daily becomes monotonous. Sadly, it’s impossible to set one timing for all users. Everyone reads and processes information differently.
The carousel itself is not outdated — but its use requires certain considerations to avoid frustrating users.
Carousel Alternatives
With mobile systems and responsive sites on the rise, the "click-scroll-interact" model is becoming less reliable. As a result, carousels are increasingly replaced by traditional navigation or content grids. Grids are more convenient, allowing users to view multiple images and text snippets at once — a layout our brains have grown accustomed to through social media platforms.
A great example of a content grid is the Mashable website, and also JDsports and HM, where carousels are still used but not as the sole method of presenting information.
Web 2.0
The volume and gloss that characterized the Web 2.0 style have almost disappeared from modern design. You might still find a project with a small, glossy button tucked in a corner, but the extremes — glowing gradients and over-textured plastic effects — are long gone. Today’s trends lean toward flat, minimal, calm styles. So if you absolutely must include a Web 2.0-style element, do so with extreme care. Otherwise, the design will instantly feel outdated.
Simplicity as an Alternative
The good news is that a “visually appealing” button can easily be created using tools of the modern design era. You just need a subtle gradient or a soft shadow — the effect won’t be overwhelming. Take a look at the “Get started” button on Shopify — it’s modern, sleek, and still engaging without Web 2.0 excess.
The design of Kinex Media is quite striking. Company icons dynamically transform before your eyes and feature depth created via gradients — an overall stunning presentation.
Also worth checking out are The Whiterun, Van der Waal, Ignite Online, The Right Crowd. Each one is unique and distinctive. Even though some design elements might seem outdated at first glance, they appear refined and far from obsolete — everything is done with precision.
Scrolljacking
Scroll-based animations can be fun, but they’re also one of the few things that can irritate users if done poorly. The challenge lies in triggering animations at the right time and planning an engaging storyline. Let’s clarify : this isn’t an outdated feature, but a very difficult one to implement — just like carousels, mouse wheel scroll speed doesn’t always match content transition timing.
The animation on the Apple Mac Pro site is rich and visually interesting, but it’s too slow. You might scroll five times before anything changes. The same applies to Hannah Purmort, Tombow, and Engzell — the custom scrollbars and animations can confuse users, even with visible loading indicators. Similarly, Three Cents uses a beautiful yet difficult-to-follow scrolling animation.
That said, scrolljacking is impressively executed on Tbilisi Gardens, Omega Watches, and Carv. The latter also integrates mini carousels and clever slide loading indicators.
The Alternative: Simpler Scroll
If building smooth animated transitions is too complex, just keep regular scrolling with informative visuals. With various scrolling effects, designers often achieve much more clarity and user comfort.
3D Immersion
Immersive design plays on user emotions and perception. It aims to impress visitors through surreal presentation. Users interact with familiar elements in new ways, accompanied by atmosphere, music, animation, or nostalgia.
This style is common when presenting luxury items (cars, fashion), cinematic experiences, or entertainment content.
So what’s the issue? The Batman Arkham Knight project with its Batmobile section offers deep immersion. However, the carousel is locked by default and hard to notice — users might scroll past it unknowingly. This means missing a huge chunk of content. Add to that small text, unclear buttons, and no mouse-wheel support — navigation is clumsy.
Overall, the site is beautiful in terms of branding and video effects, but lacks in user experience.
Similarly, Dreamliner also frustrates users — each airplane section requires multiple clicks just to load.
3D immersion is beautiful, but implementing high-quality effects without thorough testing can backfire. Many users feel that if a site doesn't look “familiar,” it's confusing — and competitors win. Designers are then forced to combine elements in wild ways.
Alternative: Hybrid Navigation
A good middle ground is letting users activate content with clicks plus enhanced navigation. See Omega Watches again, or Havaianas — modest in appearance but atmospherically rich, simulating immersion.
Italic Text
An ongoing trend: whole blocks of text written in italic, sometimes even calligraphic fonts. But for many, such text is hard to read — we rarely use italics in everyday life, and our eyes aren't used to it.
Plus, calligraphy changes over time — flourishes and letterforms evolve. Think of how you were taught cursive in school versus your grandparents — very different styles. Many designers still use fonts from the 90s. A simple example: Clinica Dentalsosa.
Alternative: Modern Fonts
Instead of overloading your site with tricky fonts, use calligraphy only for accents. There are dozens of modern, well-designed typefaces by independent creators. These are legible and look stunning — like Brayden Family, Bodega Script, Dope Script.
The Three Cents website shows how to combine italic and regular fonts beautifully — for headings, not full paragraphs.
Other good examples: Alpina Web, Olivier Bernstein, Lyntonweb, Nextinymarketing, Fonds-maisonbernard — all use cursive for blocks, but in a readable way.
Conclusion
Just because we can code and construct nearly anything we can imagine doesn’t mean we should. Though trying things out is essential — without experimentation, styles don’t evolve and trends don’t emerge. The important part is to create mindfully, test thoroughly, and align what you deliver with what was intended.
All of the examples above illustrate that trends haven’t truly aged — but if misused, they can ruin the entire project impression.
Until the goals and implementation paths are clearly defined, just trying to add interactivity might lead to failure. Seasoned advice: be patient, and don’t overuse flashy tricks — especially for innovation-focused projects. It’s better to create something small, elegant, and atmospheric than something bulky and overdesigned.