WordPress Theme Trends To Keep An Eye On For 2014

Prospecting theme designers should take note of the nine WordPress design trends outlined by Rachel Adnyana of WPKube.com. Many of the trends on her list are carry overs from last year. Responsive is definitely not a trend but an expectation. Websites that are not responsive are at a serious disadvantage considering at least 17.4% of web traffic comes through mobile according to a study by Statista in 2013.

Fullscreen Background Images

One particular trend that I don’t understand is full-screen background images and videos. Where are people finding gigantic videos and images to use with these themes? Granted, if designed properly with the right images, these types of sites look great. Wall Street by Graph Paper Press is a great example of a design that looks good using fullscreen images. I’m just unsure of their practicality.

Wall Street By Graph Paper Press

One Page Websites

The other trend I’ve taken note of is one page sites. Instead of the typical site layout with links to informative pages, all of the pages are combined into one page. As you scroll, different pages of information are shown. Thanks to the simplified display of content, navigation can be determined with clever graphical elements instead of an entire column of links. I’m not a fan of this design but I realize not every website has to convey information in the same manner.

Amongst the trends listed on WPKube.com, which stand out to you? What new trends will we see in 2014? I’m predicting more WordPress themes in 2014 will take advantage of icon fonts.