It pays to keep pace with website trends
You know how you feel when you buy a beautiful new smartphone and one month later the same company releases an even better version of the phone you just purchased? Doh! If only you’d scoped out upcoming release plans before shelling out your hard-earned cash…
You can avoid the “wish I’d known that” feeling when creating and updating your small business website, too.
Businesses – big and small – are continually brainstorming new-and-improved ways to make their websites more user-friendly, eye-catching, advanced and overall superior to their competitors’ sites.
Although keeping up with website trends isn’t a priority for most small businesses, it pays to take the steps necessary to make sure you’re offering the best online experience for your visitors. And that means updating your website or adding features that users have come to expect — nobody wants to be that business that’s stuck in archaic times compared to the competition.
You don’t have to be a website trendsetter. But you do need to be aware of those trends.
Site design trends
Check out a few trends that are getting a lot of praise and attention online:
Web page content that tells a story
Simple design with little clutter
Few, if any, drop-down menu options
To help your company stay hip, fresh and cool online, here are a few tips for keeping pace with online trends:
Create Google alerts
You can set up Google® Alerts to notify you whenever a keyword or phrase you want to keep tabs on is trending. For instance, you can get email alerts every time the keywords “website design,” “Web trends” or “Web design trends” appear in news stories. This is a good tool to use for catching up on industry news, as well!
Visit your top-ranking sites
Visit your favorite websites regularly and take note of new things they’re doing. Pay close attention to layouts, design features/options and colors. Some websites that do a phenomenal job staying ahead of trends and are website design trailblazers are Apple®, Kickstarter®, Netflix® and Spotify®.
Check back here
We’ll do our very best to help you keep up with online trends and the tools you need to build a strong and lasting digital identity—so check back often. And if you’ve got ideas to share, do it!