What is Parallax Web Design and How Can You Incorporate it in Your Website?

Over the past decade, a lot has been changing in the web design sphere even as more and more webmasters and business owners continue to look for creative ways to enhance user experience and engagement. During that time, various designs have emerged with some fading away as quickly as they came. However, one that has continued to stand the test of time since being introduced in 2014 is parallax design.

In this post, we explain what parallax designs are all about as well as showing you how you can implement them in your online business. It is our hope that this guide will come in handy if you’re just starting out and plan on building a site yourself.

What is parallax design?

Parallax is a type of web design technique whereby components of a web page automatically scroll up or down at different speeds to create what looks like a self-running website. In most cases, the parallax effect is implemented on images and videos found in the background. As a result, web users get to enjoy the more engaging experience caused by the contrasting speeds between objects in the background and those in the foreground.

Over the past decade, a lot has been changing in the web design sphere here even as more and more design companies, webmasters and business owners continue to look for creative ways to enhance user experience and engagement. During that time, various designs have emerged with some fading away as quickly as they came. However, one that has continued to stand the test of time since being introduced in 2014 is parallax design.

Why is the design so effective in boosting user experience?

For starters, parallax design is still not yet a standard web design technique, and this means a lot of web users are wowed by it given that it’s probably their first time seeing it in action. For such audiences, chances are high that they will stick around longer once they land on your pages – usually to satisfy their curiosity.

This design also combines very well with a lot of other design elements. For example, if you use the long-scrolling technique on your web pages, parallax can help to create an illusion of depth that your users desire.

Tips for implementing parallax design on a website

Creating a visually interactive site using techniques like parallax can sometimes be overwhelming especially if you’re just starting out with this type of design work. But it doesn’t have to always be this way as long as you know the basic tips and rules to observe. The following are simple tips that will help you build a parallax scrolling website fast and effectively.

Think about mobile users

The majority of parallax designs do not play well on small-screened devices including smartphones and tablets. Actually, this technique was originally meant for use on desktop computers and laptops although a lot has changed over the years that it’s been in existence. For example, you can now use tactics like CSS3 transforms to create a parallax-like effect on mobile. Alternatively, you can choose to create a separate non-parallax design of your site for mobile usage.

Loading speed matters

Like most image-heavy web resources, parallax websites often require a lot of bandwidth to render and load more seamlessly. To ensure that this design does not interfere with your site’s user experience, try to look for ways to improve load time.

To begin with, be sure to compress your images and videos so that they’re not very heavy especially for users with poor internet connectivity. Most importantly, get a fast and reliable hosting provider that allocates enough resources for your already heavy site. Finally, try to limit the number of your plugins and business tools so you’re using only the most important ones like Mailgun and Sendgrid.

Keep design simple

One mistake that we see many web designers commit when using the parallax technique is to overcomplicate their designs. This means using excessive elements in an attempt to come up with sophisticated websites that appeal to the eyes of the users. This is a good thing and something every designer fancies. However, if that comes at the expense of user experience, then it’s probably not the wisest of ideas.

When designing a site, whether using parallax or any other related design, it’s important that you keep both essential and non-essential elements to a minimum. While at it, try to do everything that highlights the most important aspects of your business including using bold and large fonts and bright images. Additionally, consider using any negative space in your site effectively so that it leads your visitors to crucial sections that you’d like them to see and click. This is probably the most effective way you can use parallax to tell your story, sell your brand, and turn more visitors into buying customers.

Are you considering using the parallax technique to revamp your site? What are some of your reasons for choosing it over other designs? We’d love to hear your feedback.