Is Web Design really dying? What prospects await a professional engaged in the planning and design of Internet sites? And, above all, what sense does it make for a company or an entrepreneur to rely on a ‘specialist’, more or less expensive professional UX/UI design agencies, rather than turning to a semi-automated service that is free or really inexpensive? Continue reading to find out.
Web Design: 2020 Prospective
Indeed, there are many factors that make you ask yourself: what is the point of web designers today? Here are just some of them that make the future of professional design agencies seem very pessimistic:
- Automated ‘do-it-yourself’ web design services are increasingly popular;
- Many small companies establish and maintain their presence on the web through social networks, such as Facebook or YouTube or through the giants of marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy and the like;
- The ever increasing diffusion of sophisticated CMS frameworks and platforms and within the reach of non-technical users, such as WordPress and Joomla, together with the availability of thousands of economic or free graphic themes, offer small companies an easy, low-cost solution;
- The increasing spread of mobile devices among web users and the preference often given to less versatile tools than a website but simpler to use, such as apps, seems to give reason to those who claim that ‘mobile is killing the web’.
Excellent arguments, of course, but not at all sufficient to decree the end of web design with a stroke of the pen. Rather, each of these elements will help transform your profession in radically new ways, pushing us to enriched and renewed methodologies, techniques and tools, such as to allow us to support our customers in a far more complex and complex scenario than in the past.
Over the years – and in particular since the emergence of the so-called Web 2.0, at the dawn of 2005 – we have learned to think about web design not so much in terms of pure aesthetics and calligraphy, but rather in those of a hybrid activity, complex, consisting of different skills such as Information Architecture, Strategy and Content Development, Marketing Strategy, Web Development. Top web design agencies like the ones in this guide understand that many different components and disciplines must work in synergy for an optimal user experience.
Of course, it is difficult to think that any web designer must necessarily possess all these skills. Any client wishing to find such a professional would inevitably be disappointed, ending up resigned to the idea of turning to a team. However, for anyone who professionally deals with website design, there is no alternative: to become aware of the change and adapt to new scenarios or disappear.
Web Design Ideas to Implement in 2020
So here are some tips that will make your web design transform in front of the face of new technologies while always remaining up to date.
Not Just Graphics and Aesthetics
If you still think of web design as a pure question of aesthetics, of simple graphics, then you are only contemplating the top of the iceberg or, more likely, the seals lying on its surface. Purely graphical considerations are just as useful as those on planning and strategy, efficiency, speed, accessibility, and back-end code.
Data-Driven Approach
With all the data at our disposal – both quantitative and qualitative – today it is no longer acceptable to set the design of a website on the basis of intuition or graphic sense (ours or the customers’). Google Analytics has rightfully entered the “tools of the trade” of every self-respecting web designer. But don’t dismiss the idea of investing something in software or a marketing automation service a priori for a more detailed analysis.
Conversion Tracking and Optimization
We have witnessed the evolution of Internet sites from simple e-brochures to interactive tools, enriched with user modules and downloadable content along with catalogs of products and services. It is a rapid and continuous process capable of making a website a tireless “sales agent” operating 24 hours a day. But if we have no idea of who our audience is, of the conversion rate, how will we know if our website is really effective? And how will we improve it? Don’t neglect setting goals and tracking conversions with Google Analytics!
Designing for SEO
The business and activities of search engine marketing and search engine optimization have changed perhaps more than web design itself since 2005. Tad Miller’s consideration would be enough, according to which in 2005 the emphasis of the algorithms was substantially 100% of the volume of external connections, while in 2015 it rests on over 200 different elements.
This means that it is now completely unthinkable to design an Internet site and then work on its indexing, basically collecting incoming links. It is a system that no longer works. It must be ensured that the right SEO considerations are implemented right from the design phase, as an inseparable element from design, and therefore become an integral part of the entire development and implementation process, especially on the decisive side of the quantity and quality of the content.
Content is King
With all due respect to those who thought that the web marked the end of the written word, decreeing the definitive primacy of the image, text is increasingly becoming the determining factor for the success of a good Internet site.
Mobile-First Strategy
The audience of visitors from mobile devices currently constitutes a good 25% (growing) of our web traffic, so we should always create a user experience for all visitors on any platform. Especially for mobile devices.
Final Thoughts
The Internet is increasingly becoming an essential element of every company’s strategy, an instrument capable of creating exceptional value, as long as it shows the quality needed by an increasingly aware public. Your goal, as a designer, is to create efficient websites and implement the latest trends into your work. You are responsible for designing and working better, with greater care and study and, above all, with greater openness, going beyond pure aesthetics.
