When we started in web design years ago, we thought it was just going to be a matter of creating a website and then moving on to the next project. As the internet and social media have evolved. and we have built deeper relationships with our clients, it’s evident that we are going to be wearing many more hats than just that of the designer.
Clients are reaching out and asking for help with content creation, SEO, and social media. They seem to prefer a one-stop-shop. They want a company that will help them with all of their online marketing.
2021 is here with us, now. On top of thinking of start refreshing your website in order to meet the new demands of web design, you might need to think about specific topics that are highly related to web design and how this has changed over the last years.
Content
The biggest obstacle when helping a company with website development is content. Most people don’t realize how much work it is to gather the information for their website. It requires a lot of input and/or writing on the client’s part during the development process. In the past, our role was often to use customer-developed information and make sure it looked nice. These days, we need to deeply understand our clients and their businesses, so that we can provide guidance on what information will make the most sense online. Copyrighting and content suggestion is part of the new services a web designer would and should provide. As you can see, web design has changed for us in a way that copyrighting is part of our services.
The Design
It is becoming easier for a business owner to create a generic website for their company. As much as it might hurt to admit, you can create a decent (not great) looking website on a do-it-yourself platform like Weebly, Wix, or WordPress.com. Yet, after years of building websites, we have the knowledge and experience to know how people navigate sites. We call this ‘user experience’ or UX. Part of our job is organizing the website so that it makes the most sense for the user’s experience. We can also help ensure your information comes up in a search. Which brings us to another part of our job, Search Engine Optimization.
Google puts slightly more emphasis on terms that show up early in your title tag. And they put less emphasis on keywords that show up later on.
SEO
In every conversation we have when creating a website for a company, we hear the same question: “Will we be on the first page or #1 in a Google search?” As much as we wish we could just say yes, the answer is, it will take a lot of time and a lot of work. Many company owners or managers don’t realize how much work goes into that first-page ranking. After helping Google to find your website, it needs to have fresh/new content added regularly, research keywords, check that local listings are accurate, build backlinks and on and on. Having a website rank well is a consistent, ongoing process. If people cannot see nor find a website when doing some search online it will not matter how great it looks. Our job as SEO providers is just as important as our job as web designers. Having a SEO strategy is definitely good for your business.
Social Media
Social Media is not the hardest part of our job, but it is one of the most interesting. It’s all about learning what people want to see and respond to for each target audience. As companies realize that social media should play a huge part in their marketing, they are asking for help. People respond to authenticity on social media, so we have to make sure that we are representing our client’s business in the most authentic way possible. You need a solid understanding of a company to be able to effectively represent them on social media. A deep level of understanding of a company’s culture is just as important as the technical aspects of knowing how to post or run an online ad, whether it is on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn or any other relevant social network.
By the way, we made a social media guide a while ago, we’re sure it can help with your marketing strategy and optimization.
Communication
In our business, communication can’t be a lost art! In social media management, website design and all marketing efforts, you need to possess excellent communication skills. It is essential so that you are able to listen to your client, truly understand them, and then apply your technical skills to create their vision. Bringing our communication skills together with our technical skills is the way we truly help our clients with everything they need to make their vision a reality. As you can read, web design has positively changed for clients too.
Bonus: Voice Search Optimization
Voice search has already had a significant impact on web design, making it one of the successful trends in 2019, so we simply cannot ignore it. As per a report by Gartner, more than 50% of searches will happen without typing anything on the screen by 2021, due to the rise of smart speakers every year.
Even in 2019, there were devices that come with the Google Assistant button, making it easier for users to turn on voice recognition on their device. So, it’s not too far when voice search will be at its peak in web development. Now in 2020, we can assume that voice commerce sales can grow up to $5 billion in the UK, and $40 billion in the US.
Considering multiple research reports and the actual situation of the market, we can say that voice search optimization is one of the growing web development trends we need to pay attention to. Chances are, it will become a part of your SEO or tech strategies as soon as possible.
To implement voice search optimization to your site, you can use Web Search API that has two components: speech recognition and speech synthesis. Speech recognition allows your website to recognize the voice of users and then respond to their queries, whereas, speech synthesis enables scripts to read text content.
The Future and how web design has changed our business model
In the past, we never imagined that we would be doing so much more than designing websites. We could not have predicted that writing, analyzing, consulting, and interacting on social platforms would also be a part of our daily life. The good thing is, we like what we do. We like to help other businesses launching the online presence, it is our vision and mission to provide great service no matter what it takes.
If you want us to help you, just book a 30-min free consultation with us.
