Top 5 Social and Website Design Trends SMBs Should Adopt in 2025
A new survey found three out of four Gen Z and millennial consumers feel a lack of recent updates on a business's social media or blog impacts their trustworthiness.
As a small business owner, you should be posting to your social accounts and updating your website at least monthly or risk losing customers' trust. Ideally, you leverage design trends to create content that’s interesting and engages your target audience.
But it’s not always clear where to start.
To help, the in-house design experts behind all GoDaddy Studio graphics put together the top five digital design trends they predict will help you capture the most attention and engagement in 2025.
1. Bold Minimalism
Nothing subtle here, Bold minimalism strips away the clutter and directs your focus by marrying striking typography with a refined visual narrative. This trend emphasizes clarity and intention through limited color palettes, bold type, and sparse imagery, and ultimately serves as the antidote to maximalism.
Industries this trend is best for: Fashion, Beauty, Music, Fitness and Wellness, Home Decor, Art and Design
Key elements:
- Striking Typography: Use large, statement-making fonts to command attention.
- Simple, Refined Design: Focus on limited color palettes, clean lines, and minimal imagery.
- Geometric Shapes: Integrate basic shapes and clean lines to complement the bold typography.
2. Editorial Scrapbook
Editorial scrapbook bridges the gap between sleek glossies and nostalgic DIY magazines. Characterized by doodles, collage elements, unconventional layouts, and layered textures, this trend harkens back to handmade compositions and the moody late '90s — a homage to simpler times.
Industries this trend is best for: Arts and Design, Fashion, Photography, Hospitality, Beauty, Hobby
Key elements:
- Editorial Style Images: Monochrome or black-and-white images with copious white space allude to editorial photography.
- Handwritten Handmade Feel: Doodles, handwriting fonts, and scribbled markings bring a human touch.
- Script Collage Elements: Feature ripped edges, paper textures, cutouts, and messy brush strokes.
3. Interface Friendly
User interface trends are making waves beyond the digital landscape, infusing branding with a fresh and creative flair. With rounded corners and playful elements like buttons and swipe features, this fun trend makes everything feel sleek and user-friendly and creates an engaging experience across various mediums.
Industries this trend is best for: Tech, Retail, Professional Services, Pet Education
Key elements:
- Rounded Corners: Soft, approachable edges add a friendly touch.
- UI Elements: Incorporation of buttons, swipes and pop-ups creates an interactive feel.
- Sleek and Modern: Emphasizes simplicity and contemporary aesthetics in design.
4. Natural Forms
Natural forms seeks to create harmony between what's digital and what's real. This into-the-wild trend features fluid-like shapes that mimic natural forms and incorporates grounded color palettes often found in nature. A tranquil escape from the digital grind, natural forms is a rebel with a cause — rejecting robotic, one-size-fits-all designs.
Industries this trend is best for: Fashion, Beauty, Fitness and Wellness, Home Decor, Art and Design
Key elements:
- Fluid Shapes: Organic, flowing shapes reflect the movement found in nature.
- Deep and Light Tones: Deep shades are balanced with soft tints to create depth and contrast.
- Organic Textures: Designs incorporate textures reminiscent of wood, stone, metals and organic matter.
5. The Flat Studio
Say hello to mid-century modern’s trendy counterpart: The Flat Studio. A throwback to the warm, vibrant graphics of the '60s and '70s, it artfully meshes sans serif fonts, line illustrations, and retro color combinations. A contrast to the repetitive feel of artificial intelligence-generated graphics others are using.
Industries this trend is best for: Arts and Design, Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction, Financial, Marketing
Key elements:
- Simple Illustrations: Flat, simplified vector illustrations, often oversized
- Graphic Outlines: Thin graphic outlines complement clean and simple fonts.
- Retro Color Palettes: Color-blocked graphics use retro color combinations.
Whether you use one of the trends above or something different, pick a design aesthetic that most resonates with your business, stay consistent, and don’t be afraid to have fun with it!
Amy Jennette is senior director of marketing at GoDaddy, a company that helps millions of entrepreneurs globally start and scale their businesses.
Amy Jennette, Senior Director, Brand Marketing, GoDaddy
Amy Jennette, senior director of marketing at GoDaddy, has worked tirelessly over the years to empower small businesses to reach their goals. She currently oversees GoDaddy’s U.S. integrated marketing strategy, with a focus on brand reputation, product marketing and customer engagement.
