There’s no question that modern web design is both easier and more complex than ever. Companies of all sizes are dealing with massive amounts of data that they need to manage and deliver efficiently. In recent years, more and more companies are managing a great deal of their business to customer transactions online. This means several things, but one of the most important aspects of modern web design involves customer-centric design.
The website exists to attract and engage customers in a meaningful way. Small businesses need to be able to redesign and manage the user experience in a more effective way through quality web hosting.
Optimizing Websites for Visitors
Today’s small businesses need to also be online service providers. The small business cloud computing market is now worth $18.9 billion. By 2015 the entire market is expected to expand by roughly 19%. This is a direct reflection of how customers are engaging with small businesses online, and how SMBs need to refocus how web design strategies.
For starters, most SMBs need to simplify their web design strategy. However, there’s a delicate balance to all of this. Oversimplification can read like you’re talking down to your client base. On the flip side, if your site is too flashy or complex customers will click away from your site as fast as possible until they find a site that they can easily navigate through.
The big idea here is to find that happy medium between simplicity and complexity. Attractive site design draws users into your content. Simple, and easy to digest site design keeps site visitors on the site. Good site design is geared towards providing a better customer user experience. Anything that drives your customers through the sales funnel more quickly and efficiently is good for business.
Engaging Customers
Another big change in the modern website user experience is that they are no longer sitting in a static position at their laptop or desktop. Thanks to the rise of smartphone and tablet PC technology your site’s users are more mobile than they have ever been. Staying relevant in this modern business climate means building websites that scale and are highly usable across multiple devices. If your site isn’t easily accessible and navigated on a mobile device, you may be losing out on a massive – or vast majority, depending on what studies you believe – of the market. Mobile technology isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is quickly gaining traction as the de facto mode of web surfing.
Conclusion
It’s important for small businesses of all stripes to pay attention to major trends in site-user interactions. Really, sites were always meant to be visitor-focused. If you’re running a website that sells a product, you’ll need to rely on a web design strategy that meets the need of your visitors. This doesn’t stop at the site launch. Through research, analytics and detailed reporting you’ll notice that the nature of your interactions with customers will shift. Staying competitive means finding out what customers want, and building a site to meet those needs.
