Download a free workbook to help you design your site with confidence.
The email you entered is invalid.
Thank you for subscribing.
By entering your email, you indicate that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy and agree to receive marketing from Squarespace.
The beginning of the year is a time for fresh starts and new ideas. That extends to your website and brand, making the turn of year a perfect time to update or launch your website design. Whether you're refreshing your brand or building from scratch, using design trends to your advantage can bring personality and clarity to your site.
This year, Squarespace partnered with longtime Squarespace pro and Circle partner, Puno of ilovecreatives, to identify growing web design trends for the coming year. The biggest trends of 2026 bring a tactile element to the digital sphere, embracing texture, movement, and a human touch.
Read on to learn about and see examples of each trend and see how you can apply them with Squarespace’s accessible design features.
1. Archival Index
The Archival Index trend marries clean design with a moodboard-like feel to bring a magazine editorial look to the minimalist trend. It’s an ideal style for creators or consultants who want to convey thoughtfulness and depth. This aesthetic pairs especially well with case studies, longform content, or product libraries where hierarchy and clarity matter. The Revel template is a perfect example of this design style, with its gridded structure, clean typography, and gallery-style layout.
To apply it to your website, think about instilling order without sacrificing personality. Lean into this design with sharp angles, grid-style layouts, and clear type hierarchies that put the most important copy front and center. Consider pinning blocks to hold key headings in place while visitors scroll or using mobile editing to preserve your grids across screen sizes.
Read the full breakdown of the Archival Index trend
2. Glassmorphism
Glassmorphism is all about applying a glass panel effect and strategic negative space to give websites a futuristic look without losing approachability and warmth. If you’re looking to add design elements that communicate a future-looking tone, try experimenting with these soft layers and animations.
The Amal template applies this effect with a subtle animation. As you view the site, a soft blur of color flows across the screen, drawing attention without being overly distracting. To apply more elements of Glassmorphism to your own site, try using animations to create a floating effect or layer translucent blocks over areas to apply a fogged-glass effect.
Read the full breakdown of the Glassmorphism trend
3. Creative Process
Like 2025’s Sketchbook trend, Creative Process focuses on tangible, scrapbook-like elements to add personality. This can show up as hand-drawn graphic elements, layered type and images, and textured visuals.
The Oranssi template is a great example of how you can subtly apply this design trend. While its layout is carefully gridded, it incorporates custom icons to interpret the services they offer, adding a personal touch that subtly connects with visitors.
You can keep it subtle on your own website, or go bolder with the trend by stacking image and text blocks and angling or offsetting them to mimic a scrapbook page design.
Read the full breakdown of the Creative Process trend
4. Motion Narrative
As the name implies, the Motion Narrative trend uses animation, video, and bold design to tell a story. Use animated moments to draw attention to key details or show your personality with energetic typography. If you tackle this trend, it’s important to be strategic about how you apply motion or other eye-catching details. Think about the message you want to send or where you want to draw attention, and keep motion focused in ways that support your story rather than distract visitors.
The Jotterpress template offers a great example, using a looped animation to tease the interior design of one of its publications and draw attention to the product. It balances motion with legibility, keeping the experience smooth and dynamic.
To try it out on your website, start with simple animations that scale, fade, or rotate text or images as visitors scroll.
Read the full breakdown of the Motion Narrative trend
5. Card Play
Card Play takes the standard grid layout and adds a touch of playfulness and friendliness, trading hard edges for rounded corners that keep your layouts organized without feeling too buttoned-up.
The Adri template’s design includes modular, responsive blocks that give you the flexibility to showcase services, packages, or content in digestible pieces, with subtle animated transitions that feel organic.
Create rounded cards on your website by applying image masks and adjusting card borders or adding simple animations that transition with visitors as they scroll.
Read the full breakdown of the Card Play trend
These templates reflect 2026 design trends, but they also translate them into practical starting points or inspirations for your site. Whether you're mapping out a complex new business, telling a personal story, or launching something entirely new, these designs give you the structure and flexibility to communicate clearly, stand out in a crowded market, and connect with visitors in a way that feels intentional and personalized.