Making websites work in 2021

The world of web design is ever-changing.

What was trending 5 years ago has now been replaced with new cutting-edge technologies and design-led websites that are created to enhance user experience and how those users engage.

If you want website users to stay on your site for as long as possible then it fundamental that you have an inspiring design that not just ticks your box – but there’s.

With record-breaking levels of online traffic and users spending more time online than ever before, never has there been a greater time to invest in your digital marketing strategies.

So, what DOES make a website work in 2021 you ask?

Let’s go over just a few stand-out areas you need to consider for your web design.

User Experience

At the forefront of any design is how users engage with your website.  We have to think about how many clicks it takes to complete a transaction on an e-commerce website to capturing consumer data in line with GDPR.

At Internet Creation, how do we ensure we are creating optimised user experiences?  Well, we think like the users plain and simple. If we were a customer on a client’s site, how would we engage with it?

We look at various touchpoints of the user’s journey and ensure all call-to-actions are carefully captured to increase opportunities for them to engage. We identify quick links and work with clients to identify what their ‘shop window’ would look like if they had a physical premise.   This is fundamental to capture at an early stage and we pride ourselves on getting the tough stuff done right, way back at the beginning of the project.

Speed

We are time-sensitive.

As we do find ourselves spending more time online, we don’t have the patience to wait for pages to load like we used to. We expect things faster and with fibre WIFI and other technologies paving the way for speed, we expect websites to operate in the same manner.  Speed and page-load time is a standard metric that we measure at Internet Creation and one we take diligence to ensure we get right.

Security

Well, if we are going to talk about the first ‘S’ of web design it is only right we talk about the other ‘S’

Security.

It is absolutely key in 2021 that your website is secure and by using SSL across all our new web projects, we are working with clients to protect and safeguard their digital assets as best we can.

Designing for all devices is key

Mobile-first is something we hear all the time these days.  Yet so it should be talked about. Web traffic via mobile viewing is still on the rise and tablets are popular too for e-commerce users as an example. The key is to design and test all call-to-actions and touchpoints across all devices for an optimised user experience. Test, test and then test again is our motto.

Bold and brave colours

There will always be trending colours across web design.  So far for our design agency, 2021 is about the greens and grey colour charts but also some bold contrasting colours that stand out loud. Check out Tree of Knowledge that we launched recently who have evolved with modern colour trends that catapult their brand further online.

Your website needs vibrancy and colours that compliment so choose a primary colour and then some accent colours or better still ….let our agency experts choose them for you!

Mixed media

Imagine landing on a website in 2021 and seeing text, text and more text that you have to scroll through.  Would you hang around and read it all?

Chances are quite slim we imagine.

Our knowledge and experience would suggest that users view websites for as little as 8 seconds before they decide if they want to continue to peruse further. This is a critical time in web design so you have to capture every second of a user’s time creatively.

Mixed media is using video’s, image-led strategies, animations and infographics.  3D elements are also becoming increasingly popular and this trend is one to watch out for as emerging digital techniques. Don’t be afraid to tell your story visually with inspiring design. Support this with eye-catching headers and a content tone and delivery that is fitting to your organisation.

Search Engine Optimisation

If you think of your website as shell of your home then the next logical steps are how are you going to furnish this surely?

Search engine optimisation or SEO for short isn’t new but certainly won’t be going away anytime soon. It is here to stay and is one of the most in-demand marketing strategies of 2021. Be sure to consider the impact this might have on your website.

It is a strategy for digital marketing that works to improve your site to increase its visibility for relevant searches. In an ideal world, we would all like to be on page 1 of Google but the reality is that doesn’t often happen for most of us initially and we have to initiate SEO strategies to make that work as best we can.

To increase both the quantity and quality of traffic to your site in 2021, then we suggest you consider what SEO strategies will help you grow that organic traffic.

Maintaining website accessibility

Your website is perhaps updated and maintained by someone who doesn’t know that WCAG standards even exist. By staying on top of the WCAG guidelines to the best of your ability, will make it a better experience for users all around. What do we mean by WCAG exactly? It stands for Website Content Accessibility Guidelines and is developed through WC3 processes that ensure content is accessible for all audiences. You can read more here.

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Internet Creation are a creative digital marketing agency with a team of designers, developers and marketing consultants providing expert advice and support in website design and development.  Get in touch with us here to find out more.