Split Screen Web Design: What to Know

The split screen web design trend keeps growing non-stop, making most designers wonder if it is time for them to dive into this style too. If you still haven’t tried the split screen technique, there are a few things you should know about it before you do.

Split layouts are visually captivating and convey a modern and creative feeling. Still, despite their benefits and popularity, you don’t see many websites with split screens. Why? Because split layouts look great as an idea, they can be very difficult to attain.

To nail split screen layouts, you must first know when and how to use them. This technique can elevate and make your website stand out, but only if it is the right fit.

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In this article, I will share the split screen web design secrets I learned at my Los Angeles web design agency. Continue reading to learn when you should take this approach and 4 invaluable tips for creating high-performing split screen website designs.

When Should You Use a Split Screen Web Design?

Split screen web design is one of the growing web design trends of 2024. This approach involves splitting the screen into two vertical halves, enabling designers to showcase different products or messages or create two primary screen focuses on one screen successfully.

Due to its characteristics and benefits, this style choice is mainly used on homepage designs and landing pages. However, depending on the approach you take, there are different types of split screens that may serve different purposes.

For example, a classic split-screen home page could be perfect for a clothing brand website. You can split the hero section to display important information about the company on one side while showcasing the brand’s items on the other screen.

However, split screens are not suitable for all types of content. Split layouts look great for minimalist websites or when you want to promote two different services. But if you have a content-heavy website, then you may be better off with traditional website layouts.

4 Most Popular Split Screen Layouts You Can Try

When using split layouts, you can let your creativity run free. But if you are looking for split-screen best practices, these are the 4 most common split layout designs:

Classic Vertical Split Screen

Split screens are a relatively new trend; some may say it’s too early to call this design aesthetic a “classic.” But seeing the rate at which this layout style is growing in popularity, that doesn’t sound so inconceivable.

The classic split screen layout has two symmetrical vertical panels. This design approach enables designers to organize essential content within the blocks, making it easier for your target audience to see the most important information without the need to scroll. Classic split layouts enhance user experience by helping users find what they are looking for quickly.

This is the perfect design style for adding UI animations and effects to encourage interaction and boost conventions.

Uneven Split Layouts

Split screens can go far beyond vertical symmetrical divisions. Many web designers are experimenting with this trend and creating unique and eye-catching asymmetrical layouts.

Making one side larger than the other puts more weight on one of the sides, directing users’ attention toward that panel. The weight difference, even if subtle, is excellent for quickly grabbing visitors’ attention and leading them to your site’s key information or your main message.

Designers can use an asymmetrical web design to communicate their brand’s creative identity and create an exceptional viewing experience for users.

Layering Splits

This one is like the classic screen split design but goes a step further by allowing each panel to have its own layers and different panels’ layers to overlap with each other. This approach gives depth to a website and allows designers to be more creative regarding how they create layouts and arrange the content.

Designers can use this split screen technique to add innovative web page effects and animations, creating a modern and immersive experience for their visitors.

Despite its many benefits, this split-screen style comes with a caution note. If you don’t organize the sections and layouts correctly, the design can quickly start to look messy. However, when done right, you can create a highly engaging and fun website design.

Faux Split Screen

Creating a fully functional split screen website is a challenging task. But this trend is becoming so widespread that many designers are implementing the philosophy of “fake it till you make it.”

Faux split-screen designs look like they offer multiple getaways of content, but aside from navigation elements, the split panels actually only have one call to action. This aesthetic variation from an actual split screen may only provide one choice with the content, but it still brings all the appeal of this design technique.

You may not think it’s a good idea, but if you are working on a budget or tight deadline, a fake split screen can give you an equally stunning result and help you create a memorable user experience for your website visitors.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Split Screen Websites

Now you know when it’s a good idea to use split layouts for a website design. However, you may still be unsure if you should use this technique or not. Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of splitting your website layout so you can weigh them up and determine if this is the right move for your project.

Advantages of Split-Screen Designs

Visually Appealing: Split screen layouts can create a powerful and appealing visual contrast between two elements, elevating the web design aesthetic and leaving a long-lasting impression on visitors.
Grab Users’ Attention: The human eye quickly picks up any changes, no matter how subtle. By introducing change through a screen division, you have more control over users’ attention. That means your content is more likely to be seen, making your images, copy, and call-to-actions more effective.
Enhanced User Experience: As mentioned, split screens are the perfect place to add UI animations. When used right, website animations serve as visual cues for users, creating more intuitive and enjoyable navigation.
Display Two Key Elements: Split screens enable designers to showcase two products, services, or messages simultaneously.
Modern and Stylish: Last but not least, split layouts give website designs a modern aesthetic that can make your brand look fresh and innovative. This trend is ideal for businesses aiming for a modern UI design style that appeals to their target audience and attracts new clients.

Disadvantages of Split-screen Designs

It Doesn’t Work for All Types of Content: Split screens are a great way to level up hero sections and landing pages. However, this technique limits the amount of content you can display on the screen, making it unsuitable for pages with extensive content, such as blog posts or vast body text.
Challenging Information Hierarchy: Information hierarchy is paramount for good web design and optimal user experience. A split screen can make it challenging to achieve visual hierarchy, especially when both sides are meant to carry essential information.
Risk of Uneven Content Distribution: If the content from one of the panels is significantly larger or more important than the other, it can create an uneven composition leading to a less harmonious user experience.

4 Best Practices To Create High-Performing Split Screen Layouts

Best practices for creating split screen website

Ready to design an innovative and effective split-screen website? Follow these design tips and best practices to create a unique viewing experience for your users:

Minimalistic Design With High Contrasting Colors

The best practice for creating visually appealing and effective split screens is embracing a minimalist graphic design and using contrasting colors to separate the two screens or panels. This ensures the design immediately grabs users’ attention and directs it to the most essential information.

You can create a subtle color contrast by using two different shades of the same color or opt for a bolder contrast with a more drastic color change.

Furthermore, you can create contrast through your content by using images or visual content on one side and text on the other. The goal is to create visual interest and draw attention to your main message.

Create a Visual Flow Between The Two Panels

While both parts of your split screen must be distinct, you should also create a connection between them. You can easily achieve that by duplicating a distinctive color on both panels to create a sense of flow and continuity. This works great when you use the brand’s colors or hues that contrast with the background.

Another way to create a connection is by layering a single element across the two sections, such as an image or text copy.

Feature a Clear Call-To-Action Button

Split-screen websites are much more than an aesthetic design trend; they are the perfect opportunity to guide your website visitors through your content. That being said, split layouts are the perfect space to add an enticing call-to-action button, which is what makes this design technique so useful for landing pages.

By adopting minimalism and using appropriate colors, you can smoothly draw users’ attention to your CTA buttons.

Don’t Neglect Mobile Responsiveness

Split screen designs usually aren’t mobile-friendly. Making split layouts responsive and adapting them to small screen sizes can be challenging.

For responsive designs, split-screen layouts are typically stacked to show one section after the other as the user scrolls down the page. If you want to keep your split site structure even on small screens, you will likely have to make several changes and scale back something for your split design to fit mobile device screens.

Final Thoughts

Now, you have all the insight into this growing design trend. Split screen layouts come with their own cons and pros; it’s up to you to analyze them and determine if this approach is a fit for your next website design project.

With a bit of creativity and dedication, you can use this technique to create an innovative split screen web design that appeals to your visitors and boosts your website conversion rates. Remember that this trend is not just about aesthetics; split screens are visually attractive, but they also encourage engagement, drive interactions, and allow you to convey a clear message, all of which enhance your website design performance.

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Split Screen Web Design: What Designers Should Know About This Trend

Brian Dordevic

Founder of Alpha Efficiency

Table of Contents:

When Should You Use a Split Screen Web Design?