In business, first impressions matter, and I’m not talking about yourelevator pitch.
It only takes a person 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) to form anopinion about your website. For some, this first impression of your website isthe only impression they’ll ever form about your business. So, how do you make a good first impression — and make it last? Understand and, more importantly, employ the web design trends that are shown to impress potential customers andmake your business stand out.
“But do web visitors even care about web design?” Yes, they do. In fact,75% of the people who visit your website will rate your credibility based onweb design. Staying on top of web design company Houston trends is important — albeit it’seasier said than done, especially when you’re running a business.
That’s why I’ve narrowed the web design trends of 2018, as projected byWebflow’s team of design experts, to the four that will make visitors fall inlove with your business … at first site. Because first impressions matter, andwe’re all too busy.
1. The < Video > Element
It’s no secret that the internet is becoming — or perhaps has alreadybecome — a videographic medium. In fact, video will make up 82% of all internettraffic in 2021. This trend is not to be taken lightly. After all, video has been demonstrating this incredible potential since 1979 (when it killed the radio star).
First, the bad news: Videoproduction requires more time, money and resources. Glad we got thatover with. Now, the good news: Video does a tremendous job of capturing yourbusiness values in a way that neither copy nor static images have the power to do alone.
If you’re selling a conceptual product or service, video is especiallyimportant. Take Stripe Sigma’s feature page, for example, which seamlesslyincorporates video into its design to portray a complicated concept in a digestible and engaging way.
There’s more good news for the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) buffs out there. According to VideoExplainers (via MarTech), adding a video to your website can increase thechance of a front-page Google result by 53 times. That is, if it’s good.
2. Immersive “Multimedia” Long Form
Another means of bringing your products and services to life is immersive,long-form multimedia. A multimedia format is richer than any infographic orblog post, allowing your customers to visualize the experience of doing business with you and, hopefully, get hooked.
To compel your audience, bring yourproducts and services to life, and demonstrate your expertise in the ecosystemyou play in, you must create an experience.
Start with a custom layout and enrich it with video, sound, charts, graphs,maps and more to tell a long yet riveting story. Media outlets such as CNN,ESPN and National Geographic are embracing this innovative way of storytelling, and now, businesses are following suit.
Dropbox, for example, transformed its brand redesign into a compelling andengaging story in Dropbox design. What story does your brand have to tell?
Also read: Tips to hire a professional web design team
3. Content Hubs (Or Web Books?) Get Cool
The demand for information is evergreen, making valuable content one of thebest ways to generate leads and build brand recognition. Do you know what kindof information your ideal customer is looking for? Is this information you, or someone on your team, can provide them with?
If the answer is yes, you’ve just stumbled upon a stellar and subtlecontent marketing strategy: web books. Web books are the ebooks of the futurebuilt for the web. If you’re really an experton something, and your customers (or potential customers) stand to benefit from your knowledge, create a web book and tell the world about it.
Intercom Books, for example, offers readers valuable information andinsights without gated PDFs or aggressive sales pitches. I told you, web booksare cool.
4. Principles-First Design
Not everyone is a Ray Dalio (author of Principles: Life and Work), but allbusinesses can, and should, think in terms of principles first. What does thishave to do with web design? These same principles that guide your product or service should guide your website design process.
Let’s say someone stumbles across your website with no prior knowledge ofyour business. For this user, your website becomes your brand. Now that yourmarketing team has generated this lead, it’s your job to ensure that your website correctly represents the values your business lives by. To do so, ensure that your web development knows, understands and represents thesevalues in your website’s design.
This is a conversation that should happen early in the design process and continue to inform the stages in that process until your website is complete.
This may seem like just another variable to complicate the alreadyfragmented design process. However, at Webflow, we’ve found that our brandprinciples help our team make faster, cleaner and more determined design decisions.
