Harley-Davidson is a world-renowned motorcycle brand. Go to any corner of the world, and they’re recognized. They have a loyal following.
It represents the wind in your face, the open road beneath your tires and the unmistakable rush of exhilaration. A brand like that needs a website that mirrors that energy.
That’s where Digital Silk stepped in.
We reimagined Harley-Davidson’s homepage.
Below is the before image and our reimagined version:
The result is a digital experience that embodies the Harley spirit.
1. Breathing Life Into A Motion-Driven Brand
Harley-Davidson’s current homepage is clean and functional, but it’s also very confined.
It feels overly templated and lacks emotion.
Our redesign uses perspective, landscape and animation to create a sense of exhilaration, not just navigation.
We believe successful websites must be:
- Fun
- Engaging
- Informative
Harley-Davidson nails the informative part, but misses the fun and engaging part entirely.
The Challenge
The homepage feels static.
Everything appears boxed in, gridded and predictable.
You could swap motorcycles for suitcases and the layout would still work, which is exactly the problem.
This layout might work for a product catalog, but it doesn’t resonate with the lifestyle brand that Harley-Davidson embodies. Riders expect a sense of energy and movement.
Hero images are high-quality but scrolling feels flat. Transitions are static. There’s no emotional spark and definitely no feeling of being out on the road with the wind in your hair.
Our Solution
We brought the ride to the screen:
- Bikes glide forward as users scroll
- Mountains rise in the background
- Nature and rolling landscapes animate, adding depth and energy
- Out-of-the-box visuals break free from rigid layouts
- Parallax effects powered by CSS transforms ensure smooth performance across devices
We used perspective, motion and natural elements to inject emotion and dynamics into the user journey. In our version, it’s all about the thrill of the motorcycle, the outdoors and enjoying the wind.
Best Practice
Motion should look good but also reflect what your product is about.
For Harley-Davidson, that means using motion to simulate acceleration, flow and freedom.
If your website is about selling an experience, ask yourself: does it truly mirror your brand and your products and services? Does it make people feel something real? Because it should.
2. A Hero Section That Truly Captivates
A hero section on your homepage should set the tone for the entire website.
Visuals play a vital role in shaping a brand’s online presence and should communicate not just the products, but also the lifestyle that comes with them.
For a brand like Harley-Davidson, that moment should scream power, freedom and the beginning of a great ride. But their current homepage plays it safe, missing a chance to hook users emotionally from the start.
The Challenge
Harley-Davidson’s hero section lacks the engagement and emotion expected of a world-renowned brand.
The visuals simply don’t evoke the thrill of the ride.
They’re big, but low impact. In fact, the hero section feels more like a simple gallery than an invitation to adventure.
Our Solution
We created a cinematic hero section that tells a story:
- Tires break frame boundaries, simulating forward momentum
- Reflections, angles and blur add visual cues of motion
- A click-to-play video showcases what’s new with Harley-Davidson
- Bold call-to-actions and overlays increase urgency and focus
- The hero section offers a thrilling experience, rather than being just a static block
Best Practice
The hero section should be just that: the star of your page.
Your visuals should tell a story and resonate with the lifestyle of your audience.
Make it cinematic, emotional and immersive to captivate visitors from the get-go, sparking their interest in your brand.
3. Cleaner, More Intuitive Navigation
Navigation should never be an afterthought. Since Harley-Davidson embodies freedom and exploration, a well-designed navigation bar is crucial.
It should offer control and ease, just like handling a motorcycle.
In our reimagined experience, we created breathing room, fluid movement and simplified options that empower users to explore with ease, evoking the same sense of control and exhilaration that comes with navigating the open road.
The Challenge
The existing navigation on Harley’s site is functional, but cluttered with too many menu items.
Dropdowns feel heavy and outdated, and the overwhelming number of stacked menus can be off-putting.
Our Solution
We simplified the navigation and trimmed it down from eight primary menu items to six key categories.
Our team prioritized simplicity and flow in navigation by incorporating:
- Better spacing
- Cleaner logic
- Fluid movement
- A mobile-first experience that works in the garage or on the go
The layout is now more intuitive and easier to explore, with the same confidence you feel riding a Harley.
Best Practice
Prioritize simplicity and flow in navigation.
This is especially important for mobile, since clean navigation bars increase engagement and reduce bounce rates.
Our mobile-first approach ensures navigation works perfectly regardless of the device and screen size.
4. Typography That Matches The Ride
Typography is one of the most overlooked yet powerful elements of any website.
It plays a central role in establishing tone and guiding the user’s eye.
For Harley-Davidson, typography must do more than deliver content. It needs to reflect their spirit and identity.
It’s bold, yes, but it doesn’t quite reflect Harley’s grit, power, precision and movement. There’s no sense of speed or tension anywhere on the site.
Our Solution
We modernized the typeface, while keeping its boldness:
- Four font weights establish visual hierarchy
- Sleek letterforms mirror Harley’s design DNA — durable, engineered, iconic
- Type guides the eye and reinforces Harley’s identity and emotion
Here, typography feels like part of the ride instead of simply existing alongside it.
Best Practice
Typography should do more than inform. It needs to speak your brand’s essence.
Use it to guide users, reinforce tone and energize static layouts while also ensuring accessibility for all riders.
5. A Visual Flow That Reflects The Ride
The Harley-Davidson brand evokes movement, enjoying the outdoors and unpredictability, but its current website layout doesn’t reflect that. Instead, it feels like a road trip through a parking lot.
Our redesign breaks out of that box by using rolling visuals, layered imagery and natural flow that mirrors the experience of winding through mountain roads.
The Challenge
Product blocks on the current site are gridded and repetitive. There’s little visual momentum.
None of these grid layouts evolve as you scroll.
Our Solution
We introduced movement and energy into the layout using:
- Asymmetrical grids and layered images for visual rhythm
- Scroll-triggered animations to keep users engaged
- Rolling visuals and motion-inspired structure that mimic the unpredictability of a ride
- Visuals with landscapes, rolling hills and natural textures
- A progressive flow from discovery to consideration to purchase
Every section feels like a new curve in the road.
The new flow keeps visitors engaged and creates a natural progression from discovery to consideration to purchase, guiding motorcycle enthusiasts through their decision-making process.
Best Practice
Visual flow should mimic a journey.
Present content in a varied, engaging and dynamic way. You want to guide your users through your site effectively, so make sure that every scroll feels purposeful and not repetitive.
6. Microinteractions That Elevate The Experience
It’s often the smallest touches that create the biggest impressions.
When users scroll, click or hover, they should feel the site responding, like a bike beneath their fingertips.
Our redesign integrates these purposeful details in a way that reflects Harley’s energy and makes the site feel alive with motion and personality.
The Challenge
Harley-Davidson’s homepage lacks feedback; hovering, clicking, scrolling all feel passive.
All this creates an emotional disconnect between the user and brand.
Our Solution
We added motion where it matters, without overwhelming the experience:
- Hover effects on buttons, cards and images to enhance interactivity
- Scroll-triggered transitions that give the interface a living feel
- Subtle shadows and shifts to create depth and response
- Micro animations that reinforce Harley’s premium vibe
Best Practice
Microinteractions help you better connect with your audience. They elevate the site’s usability and give it personality.
But more importantly, they signal responsiveness and show your brand is paying attention.
Every animation should have intent, reinforcing motion, meaning or momentum.
Use microinteractions to reward curiosity, guide behavior and build trust.
7. Enhancing The Customer Journey From Discovery To Purchase
Buying a Harley isn’t about specifics; it’s about the story.
Yet Harley-Davidson’s site presents each page as a standalone experience, missing the opportunity to guide users from curiosity to connection.
We rebuilt that flow.
The Challenge
The current site treats each page as an isolated stop rather than part of a cohesive, emotional journey.
There’s no clear path from learning to loving to buying.
Our Solution
Our team created a seamless flow for the homepage that guides users from initial discovery through model comparison to dealer connection.
We reimagined the customer journey as a digital ride:
- Simplified flow from discovery to model comparison to dealer engagement
- Interactive tools to help users visualize custom bikes
- Strategically timed call-to-actions embedded along the scroll path
- A unified, emotion-driven UX that feels like a salesperson, not a product list
- Every click moves users closer to conversion, while reinforcing brand loyalty
Interactive elements help users visualize their custom bike, while strategic call-to-actions appear at optimal moments in the scroll experience.
Best Practice
Design the entire user journey, not just individual pages.
Every page, scroll and interaction should contribute to a larger narrative that builds trust and momentum from the first visit to final conversion.
The Bottom Line: Your Website Is Your Salesperson
Your website is your salesperson.
People should come to your site and experience your brand; they should feel its essence just by looking at your site.
Harley-Davidson deserves a website that captures the soul of the brand: exuberance, freedom and emotion.
With Digital Silk, Harley’s website now feels alive:
- It moves with the user
- It showcases outdoor adventure
- It turns clicks into action
Digital Silk’s motorcycle website design approach is more than just an upgrade. It’s a transformation that honors the brand’s legacy while paving the road forward.
Transform Your Automotive Brand Experience With Digital Silk
Designing a website for automotive and motorcycle brands requires capturing the thrill of the ride, driving engagement and supporting your broader brand marketing goals.
From user experience and visual storytelling to performance optimization and conversion-focused design, every detail plays a role in building brand loyalty and growing your customer base.
Digital Silk’s in-house automotive web design team specializes in creating custom, strategy-driven websites that help automotive brands turn visitors into passionate customers.
As a professional web design agency, our services include:
- Web design for automotive brands
- Custom web design
- Custom web development
- Branding services
- Digital marketing
Our experts handle every project with proactive leadership and clear communication to deliver measurable outcomes.
Work with a team that brings energy, strategy and soul to every screen.
Contact our team, call us at (800) 206-9413 or fill in the Request a Quote form below to schedule a consultation.
Disclaimer
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Harley-Davidson is not a client of Digital Silk. This project was created to demonstrate how we would reimagine the Harley-Davidson website based on publicly available content and design best practices.
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