We're talking about conversions, we're talking about tracking, we're talking about speed, and we're talking about security. All of these are important topics when you're running an online business. But what about design? The eye for detail, user experience, and the feeling of something beautiful and cohesive?Design and UX are also worth discussing!
Your webshop is the heart of your entire online business. Therefore, it should not only function as a functional online space, but it should also be aesthetically pleasing, provide a good user experience, thereby retaining your customers and attracting new leads. And ongoing investments in updates and adjustments to your design can be a necessity.
It's like a shop window. The more beautiful and exciting it looks, the greater the likelihood that we'll step inside and look around. And if the experience matches our expectations, we will definitely make a purchase, come back, and recommend the store to others.
And that's how it works online too.
Try to think back... When was the last time you walked down a street, looked into shop windows, and were surprised by how dull and unappealing they were? You certainly don't have to go back very far.
If the windows are filled with price tags, discount markings, and uninspiring displays, we just walk by without giving the stores the slightest hope of our interest - even though they may have goods and products we could use.
Imagine what a few flowers, some color, and a beautiful background would do to your eye. You would be captivated, your interest would be piqued, and you would step inside.
The same goes for your online webshop. You need to pique interest - and you need to maintain it.
Think again about shop windows. Do you want to keep visiting the same store with the same display in the windows, which has started to get a little dusty over time? Probably not. Not because you're lazy, but because you're not inspired. And you forget. You just walk past the same old gray window without looking in. Because it's just the way it always is. There's nothing new. And there's nothing exciting.
Therefore, your online design should be ever-changing. It should be updated according to trends and societal currents that attract. That way, you will continue to inspire, create attention, and encourage purchases.
What worked last year may not work this year.
The online user experience is built on good design
A beautiful website is crucial in today's digital business landscape. It creates an inviting first impression of your company. As we all know, that initial impression is crucial for the overall experience and perception of your business.
So, how do you want people to perceive you?
If the first impression is well-crafted, it increases the chances that visitors will stay on your site and explore your products or services. Your website signals professionalism, showing that you have invested time and resources in presenting your business in an appealing way. You have put effort into creating a user-centered design. This commitment pays off and impresses visitors. They feel welcome, and therefore, they are more likely not only to make a purchase but also to become repeat customers.
This is especially true when the entire user experience is well taken care of. If it's top-notch, your webshop becomes attractive!
A well-structured website with intuitive navigation, fast loading times, and responsive design provides a seamless and pleasant experience. But you should also focus on a clear menu structure, high-quality images that enhance your product presentation, and the use of color, shapes, and movement to influence your visitors' behavior.
Beautiful images, attractive color schemes, and a clear layout encourage visitors to make purchases.
When you want to optimize your product pages, it's about persuasion. You can achieve this through carefully selected content and layout, color psychology, and effective call-to-action buttons (CTAs). These changes can be easily made in most content management systems (CMS).
However, you can also do it through custom design tailored specifically to you, your business, and your customers. It can be specific templates that streamline your daily tasks, overlays that ensure consistency, dynamic modules on product pages as well as categories, and much more. Anything can be designed - you just have to dream it.
In systems like Shopify, Umbraco, HubSpot, Magento, and Cloud, with a skilled developer, you can design the exact website you dream of.
For you, all of this can mean increased satisfaction, repeat purchases, and overall positivity - a significant step toward building trust with your visitors.
Create a compelling online business through design
Your website is a business and a source of income, but it's so much more than that.
It's the place to build brand identity. A well-thought-out and, most importantly, unique design that reflects your brand and its values helps differentiate you from competitors and gives your customers and visitors a sense of dealing with a reliable company. It builds trust. And trust is the essence of online success.
A good amount of trust often has a direct impact on the conversion rate - and thus more sales. This is greatly aided by a streamlined and well-designed purchase flow, where the process from searching for a product to making a purchase is simple - even on mobile devices. Trust is also found in speed, performance, and security, all of which are important elements if you want to prevent a drop in your visitors. Fortunately, all of this can be supported by design and a focus on UX (User Experience).
To further optimize your conversion rate, it may also be worth delving into the analytical tools and data you have at your disposal. Here, you gain a broad knowledge of your visitors and insights into your business that can help with good design. For example, investigate the impact of segmented content and personalization on the user experience on your website. And keep an eye on when a decline is experienced - perhaps it's exactly the right time to change the look in the window and capture interest again?
In the modern business environment, a beautiful webshop is an investment in both short-term and long-term online success. In the short term, you get a beautiful window that should be changeable and follow seasons, trends, and tendencies. In the long term, you lay the foundation for a strong platform that caters to your visitors and their interests.
Your online business, through design and UX, helps attract customers, build brand identity, enhance the user experience, and increase the conversion rate, which ultimately leads to growth for your company. It is also an expression of your commitment.
And when you experience success and your efforts bear fruit, remember to incorporate it into your design. User reviews and feedback are convincing, and these are elements that help your visitors verify your business. Collect your customers' experiences and make them an integral part of your design, so they are displayed in the places where they can create the most value.
Your marketing and good design go hand in hand
Offering an optimal experience across devices and platforms is crucial when you want to capture a broad audience. Your design should permeate the entire online experience. This means it should include an extra layer - the layer that makes it easy to share and disseminate, including through your marketing channels such as SEO (search engine optimization) and social media.
When your online design and your SEO efforts work together, they ensure a strong online presence that attracts targeted traffic.
But what does it mean to design an SEO-friendly website? It involves optimizing the page's structure, internal link structure, and images - all of which enhance the quality and relevance of your website. These are elements that make it easier for search engines to index and understand the content on your site. And of course, the old favorite - responsive design, as Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results. Therefore, a well-functioning design can have a positive impact on your ranking in search results.
What about social media? They are indispensable components when you want to promote a beautiful design and improve the visibility of your website. These platforms allow you to share visual content from your website. If the thread is consistent, you are guaranteed a high level of brand awareness.
Webdesign trends to watch in 2024
Times are changing - quickly and constantly. Therefore, there are always many elements to keep an eye on when you want to ensure the most updated and contemporary design. However, we can already make some predictions about what 2024 has in store for web design trends.
But first, let's take a look at some of the things that 2023 brought us.
It has been the year of a focus on minimalistic design. Anything unnecessary has been removed, and instead, elegant and clean designs have been created.
On the other hand, something that has been allowed to stay and will continue to be prevalent in 2024 is visual 3D effects. 3D effects immediately capture attention and bring an extra dimension to an otherwise dynamic site. It's an ideal method to create a unique expression.
We've also encountered the term 'scrollitelling' (which we began to see emerging in 2022). The word is a combination of 'storytelling' and 'scrolling' - and for a good reason. Scrollitelling combines elements from both worlds to bring content to life. Imagine a website with an illustration, a piece of text, or another element that comes to life as you scroll. Visually, you stay in the same place on the site while scrolling on the screen. Elements change gradually as you move through a dynamic module. This means that visitors don't need to worry about clicking, making choices, or being interrupted by pop-ups.
Video has also gained prominence in 2023 - and it's here to stay. Therefore, we have seen entire video-based websites and webshops in 2023, showcasing everything from mood, services, knowledge, or products in use. And for good reason. According to an analysis by HubSpot, 92% of marketers surveyed say that video has the ability to provide a positive ROI - very quickly! And 87% also say that video has a direct, positive impact on their sales. Video is, therefore, an effective tool to integrate into your design if you want to engage the attentive user.
Now, let's take a peek into the crystal ball and see what 2024 has in store. All the trends from 2023 will continue. They work and deliver good results.
In 2024, we will also take a nostalgic look back as we experience more designs with Y2K (Year 2000) effects. This includes larger texts, retro illustrations and fonts, neon colors, and a generally matrix-style aesthetic. Many people strongly react to the memories that come with nostalgia, making this approach effective.
With the Y2K effects also come color gradients, something we can already see widely used in logos, especially in apps.
Keep an eye out for dynamic typography as well, which adds animation to text to instantly catch the eye, oversized text, which aligns with our ongoing search for minimalist expressions, and general movement. This can include dynamic effects related to hover animation and loading animation for images, texts, and other moving elements.
Design Options in CMSs - which one should you choose?
There are several platforms available that can help bring your web design vision to life. Let's take a closer look at Shopify, Umbraco, HubSpot, Magento, and Cloud.
Shopify
Shopify is known for its user-friendly approach to web design. The platform offers a wide range of different themes that you can integrate as they are or customize and build upon to meet your needs.
Shopify makes it easy to create a beautiful and functional online store, even without in-depth technical knowledge. With built-in features like payment gateway integrations, product management, responsive design, and the option for deep customization, you can set up a professional webshop in a very short time.
However, there is often a need for special integrations or solutions to ensure you have a unique storefront. Therefore, we at MCB assist with the development and design of custom themes, features, and integrations.
Umbraco
Umbraco is an open-source content management platform, providing great flexibility and control over web design. With its custom templates and layouts, it's suitable for those who want to build a tailored website with complex features.
If you want to add an extra layer with a webshop, you can do so with Umbraco Commerce, combining both shop and site in one solution.
Umbraco is a good choice for those with specific requirements and needs.
It empowers developers to create unique web experiences, and at MCB, we assist in customizing everything from design and functionality to developing custom features and integrations.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing and sales tool. The platform allows you to create, manage, and optimize a website with built-in SEO tools, advanced analytics, and integrations with other HubSpot functionalities.
When it comes to web design, HubSpot offers an intuitive and user-friendly editor, making it easy to create beautiful and responsive websites. This can be done through a range of themes or by developing your own custom setup. We help with everything from web design and development to custom integrations.
HubSpot is ideal when you want to integrate your web design with your marketing strategies. With HubSpot, you don't just build a good-looking website but one optimized to attract and convert visitors into customers.
Magento
Magento is an open-source platform offering a wide range of features necessary for advanced webshops. It allows for customization from design to product catalogs and payment solutions. Therefore, it's an ideal choice for those with complex design requirements.
With Magento, you have the opportunity for deep customization and tailored web design features. This can be done through themes that you can customize to your needs and a wide range of extensions that let you add the features you need.
At MCB, we help design the webshop of your dreams and develop the custom features and integrations required to fulfill your vision.
Cloud
The e-commerce platform Cloud is an optimized tool with an updated and contemporary design, requiring fewer clicks and focusing on de facto standards and user experience for functionality. This means that Cloud provides an optimal editor experience for those running a webshop.
And nothing is locked down here. Cloud was developed by MCB, so you'll find the developers at MCB who can create the tailored platform you need for both B2B and B2C, with the features that ensure your online success.
Our design and UX team works closely with our Cloud developers. Therefore, you can have your webshop designed and developed exactly according to your desires, needs, and current trends and tendencies.
