by Francois Muscat | May 6, 2019 | Website Design
Nowadays, your web design needs to focus on giving online visitors the best possible experience. This means eye-catching graphics, easy navigation, faster loading times and content of a high quality. Unfortunately, not all of the current website design trends support this vision. Below, we take a look at three of them that you will definitely be much better off without:
Flash-Based Navigation
There are lots of different flash-based navigation menu templates to choose from when it comes to building a website, so it can be tempting to make use of them. However, flash-based navigation is exceptionally difficult to maintain (you will not be able to change it by simply editing a text file) and it is also bad for your SEO. Search engines simply cannot crawl flash files and this is bound to lead to a knock in rankings. Instead, build animated navigation menus with JavaScript for better results.
Image Sliders
Image sliders have become more and more popular over the years. Unfortunately, research has shown that they are actually responsible for a reduction in online conversions. This is mainly because they divide your visitor’s attention. People will only have a few seconds to think about a certain product because their attention will quickly be drawn to another one. This makes it less likely for them to make a positive buying decision. Also, eye tracking studies have shown that the human eye does not respond well to movement.
Fancy Page Dividers
This is a web design trend straight out of the 90s, but the reality is that there are still some websites out there that feature them. Think colourful horizontal bars used to break up text on a particularly content-heavy page. So not a good look. If you feel the need to break up your content, it may be a sign that you might need to add another web page instead.
Looking for a company specialising in web design and website development? WSI OMS is a digital marketing company with a difference. We also specialise in social media marketing, SEO and content marketing; we can help take your online game to new heights. Contact us today to find out more.
by Marelise da Silva | Feb 27, 2019 | Website Design, Website Development
The websites that were popular years ago are no longer popular today. Here are some ideas to make sure your new website design is trendy:
Over the past few years, people have increasingly been opting for minimalistic design. Not only does this help with mobile optimisation (which is crucial to your SEO success), but people prefer clean, crisp website layouts. The main benefit of a minimalistic design is the time it will take to load the page on a mobile screen or desktop screen. You only have three seconds to make an impression on your website visitors and quick-loading websites hold high SEO value, which is why flat designs will continue to be trendy this year.
In 2015, mobile searches overtook desktop searches, which led Google to prioritise websites that have been optimised for mobile. Most designers over 30-years-old undoubtedly started their careers designing desktop sites, but the designers who will continue to be successful in the future will take a mobile-first approach to their designs. This is a fundamental shift because designers start by creating a version that will work well on a mobile screen before they start to design the desktop version.
You can still have a minimalistic website if you opt for an irregular shape. We have noticed that broken grid and/or asymmetrical layouts have become increasingly popular. The broken layout can give your site a fresh, intriguing look, while ensuring fast loading times and ease of use for website visitors.
Geometric shapes such as hexagons, circles and triangles are all the rage at the moment. Whether you are into interior design or fashion and art, you will see that geometric shapes are topping the trends lists, and the web design industry is no different. Simple geometric shapes can enable you to present depth, repeat patterns and create a unique look and feel for the site. It will also help you balance the visuals of the site.
Need help with your web design? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Marianna Muscat | Feb 26, 2019 | Website Design, Website Development
Are you a website developer (or are you thinking of having a new website designed?) Then consider these interesting web development trends:
Push notifications started as a way to prompt people to take action, but they have evolved to become much more. You will notice the push notification permission box on many websites that you visit. If you have clicked on a box that has asked you whether the site can send you notifications, then you have approved push notifications. If your site has been designed in WordPress, then you can use One Signal to add push notifications to your site. Alternatively, you can also consider a dedicated push notification platform such as the PushCrew.
In 2017, 50,3% of website traffic came from mobile searches instead of computers and tablets. This means that the most successful developers will focus their efforts on responsible web designs and mobile-first web design. In December last year, Google announced that it is getting ready to launch its mobile-first indexing. Mobile-first indexing means that Google will use the mobile version of the content or indexing and ranking to better help their (primarily mobile) users find what they are looking for.
Animations are used to make websites more interactive. These animations can range from micro-interactions and scrolling effects to motion graphics and background videos. Impress your clients by incorporating these types of animations into your next designs!
Putting a light header on top of a dark video has become the norm in videos that are embedded on websites. Consider the tone and shades of your videos to choose an appropriate header when you embed the code from YouTube on your site.
Need help with your web development or design? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 5, 2019 | Website Design
Your B2B website should be a 24/7 sales person. Here are a few things you need to user test on your B2B website to make sure you are closing deals and engaging potential clients:
- Landing Pages
Mature B2B websites will undoubtedly have quite a few landing pages that people stumble upon when searching for content. Many times, a first-time website visitor will land on a page other than your home page. You need to know which pages are your most visited landing pages and consider how you can boost engagement and sales on these pages.
- Resource Selection
Educational resources are often a big part of a B2B company’s content marketing strategy. You need to analyse your website’s resources statistics to find out what your target audience is looking for. Not only can this help you when you are strategising new content for your business to create, but it can help you relook the navigation of your site so that website visitors can find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
- Your “About Us” Page
If a client is considering doing business with you, then they will undoubtedly check out your About Us page. Make sure you have information about your senior team, how long your company has been in business, testimonials and everything else you would need to convince someone to hire you. This is also the perfect time to relook your own social media presence as clients will research you on LinkedIn as well.
- Your Free Trial Requests
If you are selling a free trial or promoting some type of give-away, you need to keep track of how many requests you get in a month and where you are losing sales. This is a content strategy that needs to be carefully planned and executed so that your sales funnel works smoothly.
Need help with your digital marketing strategy, web design or SEO? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Marelise da Silva | Jan 28, 2019 | Website Design
The design and layout of your website copy have a huge impact on its readability. That’s the obvious part. The not so obvious part is how this affects your conversion rates. A website with text that’s difficult to read is unappealing. If this sounds like your website, customers will likely leave your site, causing your conversion rate to drop. Great typography ensures ease of access to your website’s content, it can highlight important information and it can help communicate your brand personality. Here are a few ways you can use typography to enhance your website design.
- Three’s Your Lucky Number
Keep things simple by using a maximum of three font families on your site: one for the headline, sub headline and body text.
In general, sans-serif fonts are easier to read on the web. Using a clean sans-serif font works well across devices as it’s more readable on smaller screens. But, keep in mind that not all fonts that work on desktop will work on mobile, so choose a font that’s optimal across a spectrum of screen sizes.
15 to 18 px is a good font-size for body and paragraph text. It’s not small enough to make you squint and it’s not too big to have your readers endlessly scrolling or swiping through your content.
Have a look at your favourite websites and blogs and make a note of the font-families they use. A tool that can help you do this is a plug-in called Fount. From the Fount website, you can drag and drop the plug-in into your bookmarks bar. It’s super easy to use.
For all your web design needs, contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Dec 20, 2018 | Website Design
It is undeniable that Christmas time is peak retail season. So, what better time to up your digital marketing efforts, review your online strategy and update your web design? These are the 4 secrets to getting more website traffic – and more conversions – over peak retail season and beyond:
Embrace E-Commerce
If you have yet to transform your website into an e-commerce site, you are missing out on thousands of rands’ worth of conversions. The good news is that changing over to an e-commerce web design isn’t as costly or as complicated as you expect it to be. If you consult with the right company, you’ll be able to get this done at an affordable price, and fast!
Get Active On Social Media
People are on holiday over the festive season, which means they are probably spending more time than ever on social media. Now’s your time to strike! Create some new festive season related pieces as per your content marketing strategy and promote them on all of the social media platforms.
Tweak Your Design
A fully functional e-commerce web design is a must – but so is a Christmas-y look and feel. A simple tweak to your website colour or logo (think a cute Santa hat or some reindeer horns) can make all the difference when it comes to encouraging people to buy… and spread the word!
Use Holiday Hashtags
This will make it easier for people to find your posts on social media. Popular holiday hashtags include #ChristmasCheer, #ChristmasCountdown, #TisTheSeason, etc.
Allow the WSI OMS team to help you maximise your web design and digital marketing efforts over the holidays. We are online marketing and SEO/search engine optimisation experts that you can count on to generate the attention that your brand deserves. Contact us now to learn more.
