There are about one billion websites on the World Wide Web. Only about 200 million of those sites are active as most sites die after a couple months. As the number of websites continue to rise, as does the number of off-the-shelf website companies that promise to create a clean, modern website for your business for next to nothing.
At Clay and Group, we understand the impact and value behind creating a website that speaks to your brand’s mission and core objectives. Having a web page that stands out from your competitors is imperative to being successful. I have explored what you should expect out of top notch web pages going forward. Let’s dive into a few of the latest trends that will keep you ahead of the pack!
Sustainable, Functional Design
How often you should redesign your web pages? Most companies already have a webpage that represents them, but those same companies don’t always consider that the Internet evolves just as much as fashion trends. Making sure that your webpage is up to the latest standard is something that will help you stay on top of your game. These standards are things like creating more vivid and vibrant color schemes, using animation, having high definition photo and video, and keeping your website accessible. Your website should be redesigned or refreshed roughly every 3 years, or when you decide to make major changes to your company. You want to make sure that any company changes that you do at your company is reflected through your webpages.
Page Load Time
One thing to keep in mind when doing changes is that you want to make sure your webpage loads quickly. The more you continue to add to your webpages the longer it could take to load. 40 percent of users leave if a webpage takes more than three seconds to load, especially if your website isn’t mobile friendly.
Layout
There are endless ways that you can choose for website layout, but the best I’ve seen are informed by a robust user experience (UX) designer. You can go with the simple modular blank space look, where everything is white and simple but creative, or you can go with the bold colors to try to stand out. Either way, user testing and key insights from your site data must inform the layout. In general, using geometry and patterns are a great way to convey what kinds of emotions you want the user to feel depending on the design. As long as your layout represents your message in a clear way and is informed by data-driven assumptions, you have nothing but creativity at your disposal!
These are just a few of the key components of a great website. To learn more about what makes a great site, our team at C+G would be happy to chat. Drop us a line today.