6 Website Trends Your Small Business Needs

In previous articles, we discussed the benefits of a small business having a website and subsequently, tips for making said business website effective. Now we’re going to look at a few current trends in website development that small businesses should consider.

After all, a website should never be stagnant and instead must continuously evolve with fresh content, updated design, and functionalities, etc. So with that said, here are six current website trends to consider for your company website.

1. More Bright & Vibrant Colours – For a long time, particularly as it relates to business websites, the trend has been toward the sleek and minimalist look, which included overuse of white and black backgrounds and sparse colours. However, there has been a slight shift away from this trend in recent times, with more and more businesses and brands embracing a bolder and more vibrant look on their websites with the use of warmer tones and brighter colours.

• Video Continues to Rule – This should
  certainly not be a surprise. Research suggests that by 2022, online videos will
  make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. Videos are not going
  away and so it is essential that businesses effectively incorporate them into
  their business websites. A key challenge is finding the right balance of videos
  and written content. Because as effective and popular as videos are, a website
  overrun with them is not a good idea.

• Use of Micro-Animation – Micro-animation
  on websites has, in the last few years, become a very commonly used tool. Most
  micro-animations are utilized as fun and interactive ways to help guide users through
  a website. It’s the difference between an interactive animation showing items
  dropping into a shopping bag versus a static image of a shopping cart or the
  difference between animation guiding users through the purchase process versus
  plain text instructions. It is important to note that micro-animations should
  be kept simple and the use minimal. Too many animations can have the opposite
  effect of confusing and distracting the user.

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• Use of Virtual Assistants – The term virtual assistants has been used to describe individuals who work remotely, handling a variety of customer service tasks for a business. However, as our world has become more and technologically advanced, virtual assistants have become more and more, well virtual. The reality is most businesses, particularly small businesses, are not available to assist customers 24/7. However, customer needs can occur at any time. Therefore, a growing trend for the past few years and expected to continue is the inclusion of virtual assistant software into websites. These come in the form of chat boxes, which are designed to respond to Frequently Asked Questions and voice-activated tools, like Siri and Alexa.

• Use of Visual Search – Research shows that humans tend to be more visual beings. We’ve already seen the stratospheric rise of video and the trend has now shifted to visual search. More and more businesses, particularly e-commerce and retail companies, are moving towards the trend of creating websites that allow for visual searches by the user. This includes for example, simply copy and paste in an image versus typing out your query. (picklelicious.com) Visual searches are particularly helpful when a potential customer may not know the exact name of whatever it is they are searching for but know what the product looks like.

• Continuous Trends – Along with the above, there are a few continuous trends that will always be relevant and important to the success of any business website. This includes:
  • Fast Loading Speed – The quickest way to lose a potential customer, after they’ve found your website, is to have it be slow and take a long time to load. Slow loading speed is one of the most common reasons for a high website bounce rate. Therefore, ensuring the speed quality of your website is an absolute must.
• • Mobile First – Having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option to the point that now, businesses should think about mobile-first, when designing their website. Because the reality is, more and more individuals use their mobile devices first for most searches. Especially searches for those micro-moments, when they need information and a solution immediately. Research shows that in fact, mobile searches actually overtook desktop searches as far back as 2015. And so, keeping mobile at the forefront of your business website should be a must.

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