COVID-19 has changed how people engage with websites. Explore some web design trends that can help your website continue to thrive in this uncertain time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every area of daily life, including the ways in which users view and interact with websites. With many people spending more time at home and online, it is now more important than ever to ensure that your website looks and operates at its best.
Below, let’s take a look at four web design trends emerging in 2021, and how implementing some of these ideas could give your business website the extra boost it needs to make your company stand out online.
Trend #1: Responsive Website Design
A responsive website design means that your business website is designed not only to look good and perform well for users on a laptop or desktop, but also to people who view it on a smartphone or tablet. Responsive website design is not a new trend in 2021, but its importance continues to resonate.1 Data collected by GlobalWebIndex (GWI) now shows that nine in 10 internet users go online via their smartphones.2 And, Google now penalizes websites that don’t feature responsive design, decreasing their overall ranking in the search results it returns to users.
Having a responsive website design will not only assist with search engine optimization (SEO), but also ensure that prospective customers are able to easily find answers to their questions regardless of the device they use to access your website, keeping them on your website longer and potentially increasing your business’s overall return on investment.
Trend #2: Website Accessibility
Recently, there has been a big push by companies and organizations around the world to build an online presence that is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities.1 A knowledgeable web developer can guide you through best practices that will help ensure your business website adheres to federal accessibility standards. And, you might even be surprised to learn that many of the changes that will make your business website more accessible to all audiences — including appropriate metadata on the back-end of the website, adding alt text to website images, and properly formatting hyperlinks — can be implemented quickly and easily.
Trend #3: The User Experience
In 2021, prospective customers who visit your business website expect a seamless, personalized experience that is tailored to their unique needs.1 It can be tempting to design your website in a way that showcases what YOU want customers to know about your company, but if this design makes it difficult for them to locate the products or information they need, they will leave your website in search of a better online experience elsewhere.
Spend time reviewing your analytics, getting to know your customers, and understanding their needs so that you can serve them a website that is well-designed and easy to use.
Trend #4: A Return to Best Practices
Many times, when we talk about the latest trends in web design, there is an emphasis on the elements that you can incorporate into your website to make it stand out — like bold colors, specialty fonts, or cutting-edge animations. If you own a small business, the thought of including all of these elements (and the associated costs) can feel overwhelming.
The good news is that you can have a well-designed website that your customers enjoy visiting and interacting with simply by focusing your time and resources on some standard web design best practices,1 like:
- Implementing a streamlined design that makes it easier for customers to navigate through the site
- Incorporating small design changes such as rounded corners and image shadowing to make your website more visually appealing
- Knowing what your customers expect from your website and give it to them
Ready to Rethink Your Business Website? Contact USABAL Solutions, LLC
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal operations for many businesses. However, this unexpected downtime is the perfect time to re-evaluate your business’s online presence and make sure that it is addressing your customers’ ever-changing needs.
Schedule your free consultation with the team at USABAL Solutions, LLC, today. We’ll help you identify the strengths of your business’s current digital presence and work with you to address any challenges.
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References
1 Hicks, K. (2021, January 06). 2021 web design trends to use Now [top 25 List]. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://www.hostgator.com/blog/web-design-trends/
2 Cox, S., Currey, H., & Kemp, S. (2021, January 27). Digital 2021: The latest insights into the ‘state of digital’. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://wearesocial.com/blog/2021/01/digital-2021-the-latest-insights-into-the-state-of-digital
