‘Retro’ is short for ‘retrospective’, which means “looking back” – to a period from the 1900s to the 1980s, with all their different images bringing back the nostalgia of the past.

Retro is in…and web design reflects this, combining retro elements with modern minimalistic styles, responsive design, classic or infographic style layouts, Photoshop effects and more, to create websites that function smoothly with the newest web technologies, yet retain the charm of the past.

Stunning retro and vintage web design templates stunning retro and vintage web design templates

Retro web design draws inspiration from vintage ads and characters, mascots, cinema posters, billboards, record covers, newspapers and magazines, illustrations, scrapbooks, comic books, invitation cards.  Design influences include vintage cars, radios and stereos with analog interfaces, clothes, music, even the shop fronts, drive-ins, delis and icecream  parlors of years gone by.

Vintage design has a lasting appeal that cuts across ages and boundaries, and involves the viewer by evoking positive memories and nostalgia for the past.

Elements of retro design

Colors

Retro colors can be muted and faded or vibrant and colorful, depending on the era the design draws inspiration from. The World Wars had a dampening effect on the use of color in fashion and clothing in the 1920’s and 1940’s because of the shortage of dyes and material, while psychedelic, neon style or playful colors emerged from the flower power, hippie culture of the 1960’s.  Photographs are in sepia tones and have a faded effect, or are bold and bright.

Template 31588 – Vintage Photo Flash Website Template

Template 31588 - Vintage Photo Flash Website Template

Modern Dance Flash Website Template

Modern Dance Flash Website Template

Template 36859 – Restaurant Cafe Joomla Template

Template 36859 - Restaurant Cafe Joomla Template

Typography

The typography of vintage eras when the printing press was born, featured letterpress and Roman fonts for the presses of old; headlines in bold fonts of different kinds with text tightly packed together; script fonts and handwriting;  lightbulb fonts to provide a “name in lights” effect, Cowboy and Western fonts like the “Wanted” posters; graffiti fonts and handwritten fonts.

Retro web design makes a design statement using this distinctive typography.

Template 36823 – Hotel Website Template With Image Slideshow and Drop Down Menus

Template 36823 - Hotel Website Template With Image Slideshow and Drop Down Menus

Retro Cars Flash Website Template

Retro Cars Flash Website Template

Shapes and badges

Circles, badges and geometric shapes serve to draw attention to specific points and are popular in retro web design.

Template 39012 – Wedding Planner Vintage Joomla Website Template Design

Template 39012 - Wedding Planner Vintage Joomla Website Template Design

Template 38439 – Europe Cafe Website Template

Template 38439 - Europe Cafe Website Template

Borders and ribbons

Zigzag borders, ribbons with forks, irregular lines and frames (from the grunge influence) separate or highlight elements in the design.

Template 39781 – Interior Design Responsive Website Template – Retro Design

Template 39781 - Interior Design Responsive Website Template - Retro Design

Template 40338 – Coffee & Cakes Drupal Theme

Template 40338 - Coffee & Cakes Drupal Theme

Curlicues and embellishments

Decorative elements like curlicues and embellishments, especially in the header design, give the webpage the feel of an invitation to an elegant party for a privileged few.  Used effectively in web designs for restaurants or foods.

Coffee House Website Template

Coffee House Website Template

Royal Cuisine Flash Website Template

Royal Cuisine Flash Website Template

Textures and Noise

Background textures give retro design its character. Grunge-style backgrounds for photos and navigation menus give a more realistic, genuine look, using old, yellowish, torn, dog-eared or stained notepaper, and dark and dirty colors, often depicting real objects elements from everyday life (like a coffee table or a wall).

Template 37376 – Coffee House Website Template With Homepage Slider Animation & Ribbon Design Navigation Bar

Template 37376 - Coffee House Website Template With Homepage Slider Animation & Ribbon Design Navigation Bar

Gravity Dance Flash Website Template

Gravity Dance Flash Website Template

Old-style signs

Metal, pressed tin and porcelain enamel signboards of yesteryear are unique and distinctive with their illustration, typography and embossing and can be used effectively in retro web design.  You will find many of the elements used in retro web design right here in these signs  –  like ribbons, badges and crests, illustration and fonts, borders, sunburst backgrounds and bold  contrasting colors.

Template 37041 – French Restaurant Website Template

Template 37041 - French Restaurant Website Template

Template 38705 – Toredo Restaurant Flash CMS Template

Template 38705 - Toredo Restaurant Flash CMS Template

Old-world technology and devices
Vintage radios, TVs and cars with their analog interfaces and consoles are used in web design instead of the common menu buttons and icons.

Today, the modern Volkswagen Bug with its characteristic shape is a retro design because it is true to its original highly successful old-world design.

Web Goommy Website Template

Web Goommy Website Template

Retro Website Templates
We invite you to a range of beautiful retro web templates using the retro design elements mentioned above.  Our templates include the latest jQuery, JS Animated, CSS3 and HTML5, PRO, Joomla, WordPress, Flash, XML Flash and Flash CMS,  Responsive, Single Page, website designs.

Template 37050 – Deluxe Contractor Website Template

Template 37050 - Deluxe Contractor Website Template

Template 40356 – Elegant WordPress Restaurant Website Template With Homepage Slider

Template 40356 - Elegant WordPress Restaurant Website Template With Homepage Slider

Template 40065 – Wedding Flash CMS Template With Beautiful Heart Image Animation Effects

Template 40065 - Wedding Flash CMS Template With Beautiful Heart Image Animation Effects

Template 40169 – Hotel HTML5 Website Design With Homepage Photo Gallery – Vintage Design

Template 40169 - Hotel HTML5 Website Design With Homepage Photo Gallery - Vintage Design

Roberto Restaurant Website Template

Roberto Restaurant Website Template

Ann Smith WordPress Theme

Ann Smith WordPress Theme

Augustin Hair Website Template

Augustin Hair Website Template

Pekinhotel Hotel Website Template

Pekinhotel Hotel Website Template

Cinema Films WordPress Theme

Cinema Films WordPress Theme

Cinema Films Website Template

Cinema Films Website Template

Dance Studio Flash CMS Template

Dance Studio Flash CMS Template

Anthony Green Website Template

Anthony Green Website Template

Defrozo Photo Joomla Template

Defrozo Photo Joomla Template

Game Portal Website Template

Game Portal Website Template

Gerry Flow Website Template

Gerry Flow Website Template

Urge Dance Flash Website Template

Urge Dance Flash Website Template

Flexio Design Flash Website Template

Flexio Design Flash Website Template

Shock Models Flash Website Template

Shock Models Flash Website Template

Retro Design Flash Website Template

Retro Design Flash Website Template

Dance Studio Flash Website Template – flash 8

Dance Studio Flash Website Template

Colorful Circles Design Flash CMS Website Template With Photo Portfolio

Colorful Circles Design Flash CMS Website Template With Photo Portfolio

Retro Active Flash Website Template

Retro Active Flash Website Template

Born 2 Dance Flash Website Template

Born 2 Dance Flash Website Template

Template 40810 – Retro Restaurant Joomla Website Template Design

Template 40810 - Retro Restaurant Joomla Website Template Design

Template 37433 – Wedding Cards VirtueMart Template With Homepage Slider Animation

Template 37433 - Wedding Cards VirtueMart Template With Homepage Slider Animation

Template 38590 – Princess Wedding ZenCart Template

Template 38590 - Princess Wedding ZenCart Template

Retro is fun, classy and trendy!  We hope you enjoyed our collection of muted and colourful retro website templates. Look out for many more amazing website template designs from Entheos. Do Share and Like this post if you found it useful!



Pinterest