For those of you who manage a small business, you’re likely experiencing many challenges as well as rewards. You get to provide a service or product that meets the needs for your local community and you can even help larger companies. You also may have limited resources and a tight budget to work with, which can affect your productivity.
The good news is just about any small business can afford to design a website that leaves a powerful first impression on viewers. Following the right trends is key since the attention span of your audience is short and there are many other sites competing as well. According to a study from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a person’s eyes takes about 2.6 seconds to focus on a specific element of a webpage when it loads. Having fast page speeds are important to keeping your audience on your site and making sure your web design is easy to scan and read is imperative.
Web design is constantly evolving, so it is important to stay on top of the latest trends. Here are the three of the top trends to look out for:
Motion user interface (UI) is on the rise
More and more sites today are starting to have a life of their own through motion and animation features, which are only expected to increase at a rapid pace in the future. Your site will best benefit by having a fluid motion across all of your web pages. Video is also essential because it engages the user better than just text and images.
More sites are relying less on custom code
Professional web designers can now set up a new website for you faster than ever before, thanks to templates and innovative tools. These capabilities will allow you to have a beautiful site in a fraction of the time that it used to take when web designers relied heavily on code.
Internet of Things is becoming more of a reality
Web development these days is taking an innovative turn as the Internet of Things (IoT) is allowing websites to be even more interactive with audiences wherever they go. According to Technavio, IoT is expected to grow by 31.72 percent by 2019. This is due to the explosion in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices and research shows they will pass 17 billion in the next five years. In addition, at least half of IoT development will come from startups only in business for less than three years.
If you stay on top of these latest trends in web design, you will have more opportunities to reach your customers online. If you are not implementing these trends, start doing so as soon as possible or you will risk being behind the competition.
