Four ideas to effortlessly create sticky websites
It’s often thought that web design refreshes should be synchronised shortly prior to, or following, a new year - especially when there are four more months before the calendar turns. So, there’s no use planning for a website refresh just yet – is there? Well, any savvy web site designing professional would advise clients to do just that – and to start planning for their next website refresh NOW.
The clock ticks
As we enter into the final quarter of 2018, most businesses and website owners realize – sometimes too late. – that unlike many of their competitors, they have not embarked on any meaningful website design refresh in a while. And with not much time left to play catchup, they often force their design teams to expedite their own redesigning projects. With the clock ticking, the result is often predictable: Chaotic and less than professional.
So, before your time is up, you need to think about your own web designing priorities for your next refresh. And if you haven’t given your website a face lift in eighteen to twenty months, you’re already way behind your competition. That’s all the more reason to get in touch with your web designing agency ASAP, and start discussing a major overhaul to your corporate website.
So, what are some of the re-design tips and tricks for the next website refresh that you should discuss with your website designer? Well, let’s take a look at four web site design trends that you should consider.
What’s hot and what’s not
When you meet with your web designer to discuss your upcoming website refresh project, the one thing that she/he will tell you is that “traditional” static websites are definitely OUT. And the other thing that seasoned web designing services tell their clients is that, even though they had a lot of cache a while back, graphics-intensive designs are so NOT cool today.
So, without further ado, lets talk about the four ideas that you should discuss with your web designing team:
1) Go Interactive
As we alluded to earlier, the days of static web pages has long since passed. So, when you start planning your next website facelift, talk to your website designer about including interactivity into the design. What’s the purpose of interactivity, I hear you ask? Well, for one, it helps you engage with your visitors and prospective clients.
One of the greatest challenges that web design services face today is to capture a visitor’s attention, and get them to establish a dialogue with the site. Savvy web designers then use that interaction to help move the sales cycle further down the line, and to finally close the deal. You just can’t do that with a static website.
2) Don’t shy away from pictures and graphics
Hang-on…didn’t we just say “graphics-intensive websites are OUT.”? That’s right…we did say that. As any experienced web designer will tell you, the over-emphasis of high intensity graphics can not only overwhelm (and distract.) visitors, but it could also result in slower download times. Website visitors using mobile devices absolutely hate that.
However, a purely text-based website won’t attract traffic either. Seasoned website designing professionals will encourage you to never shy away from using appropriate pictures and graphics throughout the website. The trick, however, is to balance the use of graphics with website performance – and that’s something only an experienced web design agency can help you with.
3) Embrace animation
As appealing as pictures and graphics might be, there’s nothing like great animation to catch a website visitors’ attention, and to make him/her stick around for a while. The art of web site designing is to draw in a visitor to a site, and then make them stay at the site long enough to be exposed to your content. The longer they browse and peruse through what you have to offer, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to convert them into paying customers.
Integrating animation into website design is now considered “standard practice” by most seasoned designers. What’s more, when done professionally, animation can go way beyond the boundaries of traditional videography, and it can cost a fraction of conventional video production.
4) Get personal with your audience
Finally, the future of web designing is about practicing empathy with your audience.
Website visitors love it when the “boss” of the company reaches out personally, and communicates directly with them. They feel a “connection” with your brand. That’s why, more and more Fortune 500 companies are turning their CEOs into chief spokespeople for the brand. So, why not get your web design service to take a page from that book?
Use short (no more than 3 minutes) video messages throughout the website to speak directly to your audience, and impress upon them why your company/brand is different. With professional-grade video production available with just a smartphone, your web designer can easily (and cost-effectively.) integrate personal video messages into the overall website design.
