Website Design Archives - Page 5 of 8

March 19, 2022 by David Henderson

Every business owner understands the importance of web design and SEO, even if they do not understand the intricacies of each. Website design services are vital to business operations because they employ IT professionals who understand the principles of design and engagement.

Engagement is the keyword when talking about web design. While personal preferences for layout might get you so far, you are not doing your business any favours if the pages of your site are not optimized for the modern consumer. There are at least five things you need to do to embrace modern and actionable web design.

1. Embrace Semi-Flat Design

Too many business owners believe that a website needs to be filled with dynamic images and video. While every website should have some dynamic and perceived three-dimensional objects, these elements should be used sparingly, primarily for the hero images.

Most of the website or a good portion of it should be flat — images without fancy drop shadows to represent depth. The flat design translates easily and loads quickly.

Readability is the name of the game. If your customer cannot read the page or understand what you want them to do, you lose a sale. Sometimes, simple design is the best strategy.

2. Include Quality Product Images

The reason for a website is to engage with customers and increase sales. The best way to increase sales is to show the customers what you have to offer.

Many small business owners fall into the trap of having a text-heavy website. The internet is built for visual people. Take the time and invest the money in taking high-quality photos of your products. For example, instead of having a restaurant website with a text menu, fill the pages with gorgeous pictures of your food.

A quality image is worth 1,000 words. People’s eyes are automatically drawn to high-quality and colourful photos. Once you have their attention, give them the details.

3. Think Multi-Platform

People access the internet through several devices: desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. You are doing yourself a disservice if your website is only optimized for one or two devices.

If you are going to go to the trouble of creating a website, the least you want to do is ensure that it is compatible with mobile devices. Most people will look for businesses, restaurants, and services with their phones, so a mobile-friendly design is crucial to website success.

4. Consider White Space

Another element of excellent web design is white space. Many people underestimate the value of a clean screen, but it helps bring attention to the areas that really matter.

Many people fear empty space or believe it is a sign of weak design. However, when done well, white space can accentuate purchase buttons and navigation items for a more streamlined and effective user experience.

Still, while white space is valuable, it should be used strategically. A web design service can help you make the most of your white space strategy.

5. Focus on Speed

Some of the best online tutorials explain the importance of dynamic images, videos, and other interactive content on websites. These elements allow for more engagement when on a page, but you need to consider your site’s download or processing speed.

Too many fancy elements will slow down the load time of the page. If a customer is met with an infinite spinning wheel, they will likely click the back button and find another service. Make sure your website loads quickly across multiple platforms.

Web design is a complex task that sounds simple. If you want to make the most of your current or future website, you should think about hiring a design service. Contact Unwired Web Solutions for a fast, dynamic, and user-friendly design.

February 23, 2022 by David Henderson

No matter your industry, custom web development has a significant impact on your business. In today’s tech-focused world, you’re at a massive disadvantage if you don’t have a functioning website.

Of course, creating a site that brings in new customers while contributing to your business goals is easier said than done. Fortunately, with enough knowledge and the right help, you can leverage your web pages to grow your enterprise.

What Does Web Development Include?

Custom web app development creates a digital framework for your website, but it’s more complex than writing a few pages. You need to design, launch and maintain backend and frontend elements, tasks that require specialized knowledge and ongoing education.

To simply things, let’s break down what “backend” and “frontend” mean. Backend development includes the programs that run your website. This side of the project requires programming skills in several languages:

Python
Java
PHP
HTML

Visitors never see the work that goes into backend development, but it’s responsible for all the things they do see, which we call “frontend.” This aspect includes webpage content, sitemaps, links and anything else visitors directly interact with. Graphic design plays a major role here, like layouts, colour choices and images contribute to successful frontend development.

Why Is Web Develop Essential for Growing Your Business?

Excellent web development has two significant benefits: Your website looks good and functions well. Both are essential to creating a phenomenal customer experience.

From a visual standpoint, your website should look professional and align with your branding. Sites with out-of-date visuals can set off alarm bells, so you need to stay modern, which means regular updates. Additionally, design impacts how well users can navigate your site. For example, visitors may find your content hard to read if the text and background colours are too outlandish. Even if your content offers exactly what they’re looking for, they won’t know because it’s difficult to access.

As far as functionality goes, visitors should be able to navigate your website with ease. That means minimal loading times and no broken links. You should also regularly update security, especially if you accept sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

While this may seem like a lot of effort, providing the best experience to potential customers is well worth it. The majority of internet users give a website about 15 seconds to impress them. If it doesn’t measure up, users move on.

What Are the Benefits of Custom Web Development?

Even if you’re a small business, you can enjoy the benefits of a dedicated web development team. It’s easier than ever to outsource website building, and you’ll find it’s better for your business. For one, you can dedicate your energy today daily operations knowing that your website is in good hands. For another, you don’t have to keep tabs on yet another industry, one that updates irregularly and without warning.

Your dedicated web development team can also help you take advantage of new technology in a way that makes sense for your customer base. They also know what add-ons are all flash and have no substance, saving you money on unnecessary upgrades.

This customization lets you create a website that supports your overall marketing and branding efforts. You never have to make do with awkward templates or cobbled-together solutions. If anything does go wrong, you have experts ready to help you identify and resolve the problem.

Whether you’re creating a website from scratch or need to revamp your current web pages, Unwired Web Solutions is here to help. Our experts have worked with a wide variety of companies, and we’re excited to create a site customized to your needs. For more information, call us or contact us online.

January 24, 2022 by David Henderson

We now live in a world of instant gratification where consumers want a convenient and easy way to ask questions when shopping online. One way to help consumers instantly connect with your business is through live chat (also known as “instant messaging”). Live chat can help in the consumers’ decision-making process as studies show that those who use the service are either considering making a purchase or are in the process of making a purchase.

At Unwired Web Solutions, we understand how important it is for your customer to connect with you throughout their buying experience. We offer a variety of services, including custom web development and custom web app development with an option of live chat.

Communication is Vital

Research has shown that roughly 44% of online customers say that having questions answered by a live person while making a purchase is one of the most essential features of a website. This means the simple act of answering a customer’s question can mean the difference between making a sale or having them walk away.

No matter how much content you have created, visitors will still have questions, making a chat option very useful. Live chat can help customers feel satisfied when they get their questions answered quickly and easily. This means they will often leave the interaction with a positive view of the site and may even leave a positive review for your business on Google.

Live chat boxes can be used in several ways to help lead to conversions. You don’t want your live chat to make customers feel as though they’re being “sold to.” However, you also don’t want a warm lead to disappear without getting any contact information, so it’s necessary to steer customers in the direction that will help them and also get their contact details. This approach kills two birds with one stone. It helps get the customer the information they want and can also give you permission to get their details and contact them.

Marketing Possibilities

People love communicating in real-time and live chat gives them what they want. But customers are not the only ones who can benefit from live chat. Marketers are also seeing a way to increase leads and sales.

Consumers also want to get a deal, and a live chat box can also offer this. Chat boxes don’t only need to be about answering a customer’s question. It can also serve as an ad or pop up. Think about using a chat box as a way to capture an email in exchange for a coupon towards your shop. By seeing the chat box itself as a way to reach out to customers, you can start the conversion process early on.

Many people believe that live chats may be the future marketing and sales teams, especially in the age of COVID when people are not meeting in person. If you can start with it now, you may have a competitive advantage in the future.

Chat Support Team

Your chat support team is the lifeblood of your live chat system. It is vital to train them specifically for your live chat, but it is one aspect that many businesses don’t think about. If you have a small business, you may be able to handle all of the live chats yourself during business hours. However, if you have a larger company, you may want to look into a live chat provider service.

When looking for a live chat service, you will want to keep in mind the language in which most of your customers will communicate. You will want to make sure that your live chat representatives use a semi-formal voice and can be flexible enough to identify and speak like your customers.

Creating a seamless chat protocol that can be followed and modified easily is important. You will want to start by creating friendly greetings that are automatic chat box pop-ups. These chat boxes can be triggered for specific interactions. For example, they can detect if someone is a first time visitor, so you can queue the chat box to pop up with a particular greeting. It can also be triggered to pop up after a certain amount of time.

Increased Conversion Rate

Many clients shy away from live chat because they feel it is just too complicated. However, when they see that research shows an increased conversion rate by almost half, they’re much more open to the idea. Live chat may not be suitable for every business, but it can be helpful for most types of online businesses that require some level of customer interaction. If you are unsure if live chat would be a right fit for your business, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

Do you sell products or services online?
Does your customer service team regularly interact with customers via email, social media, or other online platforms?
Does your business require a customer support team?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, your business is most likely a good candidate for live chat. If you want to build a personal connection and increase your conversions, then live chat may be the right option for you. Contact Unwired Web Solutions today to learn more about our services, including custom web development with an option for live chat.

December 15, 2021 by David Henderson

The new year is right around the corner, and it is time to consider how your business will stand out in 2022. With increased eCommerce and online presence over the past couple of years, there is more competition than ever. This is why it is so important to keep your online shops and websites as up-to-date as possible. Unwired Web Solutions offers custom web development and custom web app development to help your business thrive in the upcoming year ahead.

One of the biggest trends for the upcoming year is an increased sense of playfulness in web design. Many designers have started creating sites that simply exist for play and delight. Web design is moving into the future by using advanced interactions and animations built with no-code tools, enabling designers to create them faster and easier than ever before.

Scavenger Hunts

Creating a scavenger hunt can work incredibly well when trying to make a website more fun and engaging. This new trend creates website structures that lend themselves to puzzles and scavenger hunts. Pages are daisy-chained and password-protected, making visitors provide answers or find clues to unlock the next page in the series.

Web designers are coming up with many creative ways to reveal prompts, clues, and answers. Some common ideas for clues include drawing a shape, finding a hidden clickable element on the page, and finding a word hidden in your main site.

Just remember to give your audience a workaround if you want everyone to be able to make it to the end. The scavenger hunt can be very useful for revealing a product launch, releasing a new video, or giving customers a hidden piece of information.

Art Deco Design Motifs

Art deco motifs have been trending over the past few years. Associations with the art deco style are often ornate Speakeasy sites or Gatsby-themed pages, all of which can make for beautifully minimalist designs.

For 2022, the trend takes inspiration from the curved, clean lines and repetitive graphic shapes of art deco illustration. These elements can inspire fonts, logos, spacer motifs, and illustrations in web design.

Oversized, Interactive Typography

A fresh new bold design trend for this year includes typography of unusual size. Beyond a specific size, text becomes more of a graphic element than simply part of the content. This unique technique can be used in minimalist or maximalist designs just as effectively and can suit many different styles.

Typography can be used as an overlay on a moving film or image, and the text can partially block the image making the viewer curious to see more. Or it can simply be used to create a sophisticated ultra-minimalist design on a neutral background.

But designers aren’t stopping there. Many are taking text even further and finding creative ways to make it move and play with the user’s mouse. In 2022 we will see more oversized typography that becomes animated when the cursor hovers over the text. This design element on a website has been shown to make the site feel more immersive.

Design In The New Year

While these are just a few examples of the web design trends for 2022, you can get an idea about the way designs are moving in the new year. At Unwired Web Solutions, we offer custom web development to incorporate some new trends for the new year. Staying up to date with your web design shows your customers that you care about your brand and always bring it into the future. For more information on our services, contact us today!

November 18, 2021 by David Henderson

“Digital transformation” has become a bit of a buzzword recently among the business community. It is the process of using digital technologies to improve or enhance your business. What this looks like can mean many different things depending on the industry. It can mean any sort of changes needed to meet market requirements, including customer experiences, website design, business processes, and more.

A digital transformation doesn’t just mean traditional roles such as marketing, sales, and customer service. Instead, digital transformation is about how a company thinks about and engages with customers. As a company moves from paper to smartphone applications, they can change how customers are engaged with technology on their side.

For small businesses just starting out, it is much easier to set up a business process that is future-proof. Thinking about building digitally can set them up to be flexible and ready to grow.

From Analog to Digital

It wasn’t long ago that businesses kept records on paper. But since computers have gone mainstream, most companies have started converting all of those ink paper records to digital computer files. This is called digitalization: the process of converting information from analog to digital. This process has helped to show that sharing information is much easier once it has been digitized.

In terms of customer service, digitalization has forever changed service by making customer records easily and quickly retrievable. This process just goes to show that with new technologies, new things and new ways of doing them are suddenly possible.

Creating a New Class of Business

Digital transformation is creating entirely new classes of business. Companies of all sorts are coming up with practical, clever, and new ways of leveraging technology. It all begins with understanding the potential of technology and how it can work to your favour in your business. The question is how you can adapt your business and process to make the most out of technology investments.

Technology in Customer Service

Digital transformations have reshaped how businesses approach customer service. The old models were to wait for customers to find you, but with the rise of social media advertising, marketing, sales and customer service have changed. Most companies now embrace social media and use it as a chance to extend their service or products by meeting customers on the platforms of their choice. As you can see, adapting your offerings on social media is another excellent example of digital transformation.

But don’t stop there. As mentioned earlier, digital transformation encourages companies to reconsider everything, and this can even mean knocking down walls between your internal departments. Your digital presence can encompass service and marketing, tied together with a digital platform that can capture customer information, send customer questions to your service agents, and create personalized journeys for your customers.

Does Your Business Need a Digital Transformation?

Signs may start appearing across different parts of your organization when your business is in need of a digital transformation. Signs to watch out for include not getting the referrals you used to, repeat business isn’t repeating as it did before, your promotions are no longer generating leads or a lack of collaboration and information sharing among your team members.

Companies should start with an internal assessment to identify any problems or gaps where they may be experiencing difficulties. This should help make the path to digital transformation clear while remembering that you’re building for the future. Depending on the business, that could mean more employees, more revenue, or both.

Working with experienced partners can help companies in situations where they need a digital transformation. At Unwired Web Solutions, our team can help with various services such as website design, content marketing, and more. By partnering with our experts, you can ensure that experience and industry expertise across many different fields will be provided along with best practices. Contact us to get started today!