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The Latest Research for Web Designers, September 2020

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In today’s look at the latest research for web designers, we’re going to look at studies and reports from Payoneer, Robert Half, Hootsuite, and Contentsquare to see what they have to say about things like:

  • Current freelancer demand
  • Web designer earning potential
  • A change in ecommerce shopping trends
  • Unseen content rates

1. There’s Light At the End of the COVID-19 Tunnel for Freelancers

Payoneer’s The State of Freelancing During COVID-19 had to take a different approach to reporting on the freelancer workforce than in years passed.

Here’s why:

When 1000+ freelancers around the globe were asked how demand for their services changed during COVID-19, this was the response:

Less than 17% of freelancers experienced an increase in demand for their services and less than 23% saw demand remain the same.

An overwhelming majority of freelancers experienced a shrink in demand, with nearly 29% saying it slightly decreased while almost 32% said it greatly decreased.

However, the data collected wasn’t just assessed on a global scale. Payoneer also looked at freelancing demand trends in various parts of the world:

Notice the differences between Asia and Australia (who were hit with COVID-19 earlier) and North America and Europe (where the pandemic arrived a little later).

It appears as though Asian and Australian freelancers are, economically speaking, already starting to feel the effects of recovery from the pandemic with demand working in their favor.

So, if you’re feeling like there’s no end to the hardships you’ve faced during COVID-19, and were considering dropping your prices, hold on for just a little bit longer. Freelancers are starting to feel optimistic about demand for their services increasing. If you go devaluing yourself now, it’ll be hard to return to where you were before COVID-19 when things get back to normal.

2. Robert Half’s Salary Guide Breaks Down the Earning Potential for Web Designers

On a related note, let’s talk about demand from the employer’s point of view.

According to Robert Half’s 2020 Salary Guide for creative marketing professionals, there’s big demand for digital talent:

So, that’s number one. We know that almost 50% of hiring managers feel as though their digital teams are inadequately staffed. That’s good news for web designers.

However, these same managers complain about creative marketing professionals’ lack of up-to-date skills as the biggest barrier to hiring or retaining them. Although the report doesn’t say so, I’m going to assume this refers both to employees as well as contractors.

This should be a no-brainer. By keeping up with the latest web design trends and techniques, you can make top-dollar for your services — and hold onto those valuable client relationships for a long time.

According to the report, this is how much you stand to earn working in web design (in the U.S.) today:

If you’re eyeballing those salaries in the 95th percentile, then you know what you need to do. Hiring managers have spoken up about what’s holding them back from hiring.

For those of you who feel as though you’ve gone as far as you can as a web designer, it might be worth exploring a new specialty. Like one of the following:

As you can see, designers in the UI, UX, and interactive space (along with web developers) have the opportunity to make more money, even earlier on in their careers. You may also find that more job opportunities are available as you move into these niches (because of less competition), which might cut down on any demand issues you’ve been experiencing because of COVID-19.

3. Hootsuite’s Digital 2020 Report Reveals an Interesting Trend in Ecommerce

Hootsuite’s Digital 2020 report is always a great resource for learning about social media marketing trends. That said, that’s not why I read it.

It’s for hidden gems like these:

It’s no surprise that we’re seeing changes in retail and ecommerce during COVID-19. What is a surprise, however, is how consumers’ online shopping habits have changed.

Here’s what we’re seeing when we compare 2020 ecommerce data with the pre-COVID benchmarks:

Site visits are 1.7% lower than expected. That would make sense considering how budget-conscious consumers are right now. It likely keeps them from going on unnecessary shopping sprees.

Session durations are 3.3% lower. This could be related to fewer site visits. It might also indicate greater consumer confidence. If they come to a website with a plan for what they need to buy, they’re going to take a straight line to conversion instead of spending time window shopping that prolongs their session.

The number of transactions is 19.1% higher and the conversion rate is 21.6% higher. Considering shoppers aren’t spending as much time with ecommerce websites, this point suggests that there’s a massive shift happening from in-store shopping to online shopping.

If that’s the case (even if consumers are currently spending less money), that means web designers need to set their sights on the ecommerce space. With the holiday shopping season expected to start sooner rather than later this year, now is the time to get in there and make sure these sites provide as streamlined an experience as possible.

4. Contentsquare Studies the Unseen Content Rates By Industry

Contentsquare analyzed more than 7 billion user sessions globally to create the 2020 Digital Experience Benchmarks report.

There’s some interesting data in here about website traffic and conversion trends, but what I find the most valuable is the breakdown by industry.

It was this chart, in particular, that really caught my eye:

According to Contentsquare’s data, between 60% and 75% of a website’s content is unseen. Some industries fare better than others, like home supplies and luxury retailer websites, but the numbers still aren’t flattering.

For example, what does it mean when consumers miss 75% of a financial service provider’s content?

Does this mean that the financial advisory content — which I’m assuming comprises the bulk of the pages on the site — is useless or irrelevant? Or perhaps it’s an issue of discoverability since blog content and other resources often take a backseat to service and product promotion?

What about ecommerce brands in the apparel or beauty space?

If two-thirds of their pages are unseen, does that mean their websites are overrun with obsolete inventory? Or, again, is it an issue of navigability and discoverability around the store?

As a web designer, I’d suggest performing your own unseen content analysis on the websites you’ve built. If over 60% of your pages never get any views, you’re going to have to decide what to do with them:

Option 1: Fix the navigation or search function so people can actually find these unseen pages.

Option 2: Remove them from the site and make room for content your visitors actually find valuable.

Wrap-Up

As you encounter research and reports online — whether it’s written specifically for web designers or other creative professionals — spend some time looking for hidden gems.

As you can see above, there’s a ton of relevant research for web designers out there, even if it’s hiding behind the mask of a larger issue or matter. And it’s this data that will help you get a leg up on the competition since it’ll get you thinking about your business and your approach to design in different ways.

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Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

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Should We Be Designing For Voice?

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Voice is one aspect of technology that is getting bigger and bigger, and showing little sign of relenting. In fact, 2019 data revealed that 22% of UK households owned a voice-controlled digital home assistant device such as an Amazon Echo or Google home. This is double the figure recorded in 2017 and it is predicted that over the next five years nearly 50% of all homes will have one. Smart home adoption rates are increasing, and it shows how voice control is something we are all becoming more accustomed to.

With these high figures, does it follow that voice should be something web designers build into sites? Or is it merely a gimmick that will die out and render sites with hardware and complex design issues? You only have to look at the failed introduction of Google glass to see that certain technological advancements don’t always have the outcome that might be expected.

Multiple Voices

One of the first issues with voice is establishing whether you want sites to recognise everyone’s voices, or just those who have registered. If you’re using the site in a crowded room will it pick up on snippets of conversation from others and think these are instructions? Google Home has a feature whereby you have to register your voice with its app to use more personalised features such as the shopping list. Is this the sort of thing websites would need?

Accents

The implementation of voice is complex, not only does it need to understand certain languages (such as English), but all the accents and variations too. With 160 English dialects alone, that is a lot that the technology needs to understand – not including mispronunciations, slang, and colloquialisms. Also, if a site is used all over the world (which many are) how many languages will it need to know?

Privacy Issues

if there are clips of your voice out there on the web…it can easily be imitated

If a website involves a feature such as online shopping or other functions which require sensitive details to be input, this could put people off using voice. Users need to know where this saved data is being stored, how it will be used and if it is secure. In 2018, HMRC had signed up about 6.7 million people to its voice ID service and HSBC said over 10,000 were registering each week. This shows many trust the service, but experts say that if there are clips of your voice out there on the web (such as in a podcast) it can easily be imitated. Bringing with it security and privacy issues.

According to futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, who invented the text message back in 1991, it won’t be long until we can complete a financial transaction with just a few words and a gesture. This can be a time-saver for things such as online shopping, but we need to ensure there are the correct security steps in place.

Users Don’t Talk The Way They Type

When speaking we tend to use shortened and more colloquial language as opposed to when we type. The voice function on a website will need to be able to adapt for this. One example is if you are filling in a form or comment box by voice for a website, you will need to tell it what to punctuate, letting it know where to add a comma, exclamation mark etc.

Website Processes Need to be Simpler

With the web as we use it now, we often browse through pages, reading other snippets of information before clicking through to the page we want. With voice recognition it will cut out these middle steps. For example, if you are looking for a recipe of something specific, you will just say the command “Show me the … recipe” and it will take you straight there. This direct access to what we are looking for could lead to a simplification of websites.

Regular Updates

With websites as they are now, they need updates semi-regularly, depending on how they are built, how complex they are, and what features we have built into them. A voice-based site will need updating regularly, whether to add new words or processes or to keep up with the fast-adapting technology. It might end up being quite a complex process.

Mistrust

While there are more of us now than ever using voice control via tech such as Alexa, Google, and Siri, there is still a level of mistrust over it. It’s still not quite clear where data is being stored, if it is being stored, and how easy it could be to abuse.

Larger Storage and Bandwidth

If a site is built for voice, will it utilise a ready-built plugin or will it have its own software built by developers? Will this feature require a greater amount of storage and bandwidth to cope with it? These are further factors to consider when thinking of the future of implementing voice to websites.

We Still Don’t Know Where It Will Go

Voice technology while working in some respects, is still a bit of a grey area when it comes to future use. Will it be the next big thing as many have predicted, or will it simply die down?

Look at Google Glass – highlighted as the big new technology, they soon died down and were eventually discontinued. Smart watches were another thing. You can see their initial downfall by reading an article published in 2017 about smartwatches – how major smartwatch makers such as Apple and Samsung rushed into the market before the technology was ready and they subsequently failed. Motorola exited the smartwatch market, Pebble and Jawbone shut down and Fitbit sold 2.3 million fewer devices than in their previous quarter. It was perceived as being a fad. However, fast forward to 2020 and more people than ever are wearing and using smartwatches. The smartwatch market was valued at shipment volumes of 47.34 million in 2019 and is expected to reach 117.51 by 2025, reaching a growth of 15.4 over the next five years.

Will voice follow a similar trend?

No More Impulse Buying

People enjoy browsing websites and many businesses rely on user’s impulse buying and ask their websites to be designed to reflect this. With voice taking you directly to the page’s users want to find, will they bypass these potential selling traps and just buy what they want – rather than added extras? Will it end up being a negative for businesses and see users not as satisfied for the experience?

Voiceless Still Matters

You will also have to remember that not all devices might work with voice, or people might be browsing somewhere where voice cannot be used. This means in the design process it needs to work both for voice instruction and manual use. It needs to work just as well for both to ensure the customer journey isn’t affected.

There are many ways voice can affect how we design websites in the upcoming future. It’s important to take note of market trends and usage – seeing how people use voice and thinking of the customer journey. It’s vital we don’t forget the end goals of websites – whether it’s to inform or to sell, the implementation of voice needs to assist this process not make it harder.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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Avec les solutions SAP Ariba, ERG digitalise sa gestion des achats et affirme son engagement en faveur du développement durable

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WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE : SAP) annonce que ERG, l’un des principaux producteurs d’électricité indépendants en Europe dans le secteur des énergies renouvelables, a mis en œuvre les solutions SAP Ariba pour digitaliser et unifier ses opérations d’achat.

En activité depuis plus de 80 ans, ERG a effectué sa transition du pétrole vers l’énergie verte en 2008 en produisant de l’électricité à partir de sources d’énergie renouvelables comme l’énergie éolienne, solaire et hydroélectrique et les centrales de cogénération thermoélectriques à haut rendement et à faible impact environnemental.

La digitalisation des achats vient soutenir les objectifs de transformation cloud d’ERG

ERG adopte des technologies cloud pour obtenir une infrastructure plus flexible avec une meilleure intégration, des processus améliorés, des mises à jour plus rapides et des coûts de gestion réduits. ERG a choisi les solutions SAP Ariba dans le cadre d’une stratégie visant à consolider ses achats sur une plateforme unique, rapprochant les besoins de diverses fonctions commerciales afin de partager des informations avec tous ceux qui en ont besoin au bon moment.

« Après une évaluation approfondie des solutions disponibles, nous avons choisi les solutions SAP Ariba pour leur facilité d’intégration avec nos systèmes SAP existants, et pour offrir à nos fournisseurs une interface unique à partir de laquelle ils peuvent se connecter et collaborer avec notre organisation et nos partenaires », a déclaré Anna Campi, responsable du contrôle de la planification des achats et de la gestion des fournisseurs chez ERG. « Depuis que nous avons adopté les solutions SAP Ariba, nous avons réalisé des économies considérables par rapport à la solution précédente. Nous avons également amélioré notre structure de qualification des fournisseurs par secteur de produits grâce aux solutions SAP Ariba, qui proposent une liste de fournisseurs beaucoup plus précise et plus fiable. »

Grâce aux solutions SAP Ariba Sourcing et SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance, ERG pourra collaborer avec ses fournisseurs tout en s’assurant qu’ils sont alignés sur ses principes organisationnels et son code de conduite. Elles aideront notamment ERG à évaluer régulièrement la conformité de ses fournisseurs stratégiques, qui représentent environ 80 % des achats de la société. Grâce à la collaboration en temps réel, ERG pourra améliorer ses marges d’exploitation et récompenser ses fournisseurs stratégiques pour leur conformité.

« Collaborer avec ses fournisseurs n’a jamais été aussi important qu’aujourd’hui, car les entreprises se concentrent actuellement sur la continuité de leur activité », a déclaré Chad Crook, senior vice president and global head of Customer Engagement and Adoption, SAP Procurement Solutions. « Avec les solutions SAP Ariba, ERG dispose d’un processus digital simplifié de gestion des dépenses de bout en bout sur une seule plateforme et d’une meilleure capacité de communication et de collaboration avec ses fournisseurs, qui lui permet d’assurer la conformité et la fluidité des opérations entre ses partenaires commerciaux. »

L’engagement d’ERG en faveur des énergies renouvelables et du développement durable

La société ERG est engagée en continu dans développement durable. Pour la deuxième année consécutive, elle figure parmi les 50 grandes entreprises les plus durables au monde, selon l’indice Corporate Knights Global 100, et est cotée à la Bourse de Milan. Cette initiative, et l’objectif que s’est fixé ERG de développer ses projets de production et d’achat tout en améliorant les processus de bout en bout, ont influencé ses achats. Conformément aux nouveaux principes écologiques de la société, le conseil d’administration d’ERG a récemment approuvé un code de conduite pour les fournisseurs.

 

The post Avec les solutions SAP Ariba, ERG digitalise sa gestion des achats et affirme son engagement en faveur du développement durable appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

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L’Ecole by Capgemini s’associe avec SAP et emlyon business school pour former au métier de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » dans les domaines de la supply chain et de la finance

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Paris, le 26 août 2020 – Capgemini choisit SAP et emlyon business school pour la création de sa deuxième filière d’excellence : « Future of Supply Chain and Finance ». Dédiée à la gestion de la chaîne d’approvisionnement et à la finance, elle s’appuie sur SAP S/4HANA®, l‘actuel ERP Intelligent et les expertises métier d’emlyon. Alors qu’on estime que 85% des métiers de 2030 n’existent pas encore[1], cette filière permet aux apprenants d’accéder à un programme de formation unique qui les mènera vers des métiers d’avenir.

Cette filière est un accélérateur de carrière pour les profils expérimentés qui bénéficient d’une approche pédagogique structurée autour de trois axes : le renforcement des compétences personnelles (les « soft skills »), la spécialisation métier et la dimension technologique. Ce cursus d’une durée de 4 mois se clôturera au mois d’octobre, avec la remise des diplômes en cas de réussite

L’amélioration des processus et la maîtrise de la donnée sont des enjeux majeurs de performance pour les entreprises, parce qu’elles doivent notamment prendre des décisions rapides et fiables au sein d’environnements complexes. Le métier émergent de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » vient répondre à cette demande.

Jérôme Siméon, Président de Capgemini France, précise : « L’Ecole by Capgemini est un programme de développement des compétences. Chacune de ses filières est élaborée en collaboration avec des écoles de renom et des partenaires technologiques leaders du marché. Ces formations sont différenciantes car elles permettent d’acquérir des compétences rares et recherchées. Le retour de nos apprenants est d’ailleurs très positif, ce qui nous conforte dans nos ambitions de former à terme chaque année 400 consultants et ingénieurs par ce biais ».

Gérald Karsenti, Président de SAP France, précise : « Avec la digitalisation de la société et la transformation numérique des entreprises, de nouveaux métiers se créent ou font leur révolution. Se former à ces nouveaux métiers et aux dernières technologies de pointe est plus qu’une nécessité, c’est une chance. Celle de donner ou redonner un élan à sa carrière au travers d’une formation qualifiante dans un domaine passionnant où les débouchés sont importants. Développer ses compétences sur ces solutions est indiscutablement une opportunité d’aller plus loin ».

Pour sa part, Aude Henou, Directrice des Relations Entreprises d’emlyon business school, indique : « Le développement des compétences et de l’employabilité, à tous les âges de la vie professionnelle, est au cœur de la mission d’emlyon business school ; et nous sommes ainsi ravis de pouvoir contribuer par nos expertises fonctionnelles et pédagogiques à des projets aussi audacieux et innovants que L’Ecole by Capgemini ».

A propos de Capgemini

Capgemini est un leader mondial du conseil, de la transformation numérique, des services technologiques et d’ingénierie. A la pointe de l’innovation, le Groupe aide ses clients à saisir l’ensemble des opportunités que présentent le cloud, le digital et les plateformes. Fort de plus de 50 ans d’expérience et d’une grande expertise des différents secteurs d’activité, il accompagne les entreprises et organisations dans la réalisation de leurs ambitions, de la définition de leur stratégie à la mise en œuvre de leurs opérations. Pour Capgemini, ce sont les hommes et les femmes qui donnent toute sa valeur à la technologie. Résolument multiculturel, le Groupe compte aujourd’hui 270 000 collaborateurs présents dans près de 50 pays. Avec Altran, le Groupe a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires combiné de 17 milliards d’euros en 2019.

Plus d’informations sur www.capgemini.com. People matter, results count.

Contact presse Capgemini : Hélène Delannet – helene.delannet@capgemini.com – 01.57.99.44.51

A propos de SAP

SAP est le leader du marché des applications d’entreprise : 77% des transactions financières mondiales passent par un système SAP. L’entreprise accompagne les organisations de toute taille et de tout secteur à mieux opérer. Nos technologies de machine learning, d’Internet des objets (IoT), d’analytique avancée et de gestion de l’expérience aident nos clients à transformer leur activité en « entreprise intelligente ». SAP dote les professionnels d’une vision approfondie sur leur activité et favorise la collaboration pour garder une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrents. Pour les entreprises, nous simplifions la technologie afin qu’elles puissent utiliser nos logiciels comme elles le souhaitent, sans interruption. Notre suite d’applications de bout en bout et nos services permettent à plus de 440 000 clients d’opérer de manière rentable, de s’adapter en permanence et de faire la différence. Avec son réseau mondial de clients, partenaires, employés et leaders d’opinion, SAP aide le monde à mieux fonctionner et à améliorer la vie de chacun.

Plus d’informations sur www.sap.com

Contact presse SAP : Daniel Margato – daniel.margato@sap.com – 06.64.25.38.08

A propos de emlyon business school

Fondée en 1872 par la CCI de Lyon, emlyon business school accueille cette année 8 600 étudiants de 110 nationalités et plus de 6 000 participants à des programmes de formation continue. L’École, qui compte 6 campus dans le monde (Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Casablanca, Shanghai, Paris, Bhubaneswar), s’appuie sur un réseau de 190 partenaires académiques internationaux et anime une communauté de 32 000 diplômés dans 120 pays. La mission d’emlyon business school est de révéler des « makers », des acteurs de la transformation qui anticipent, relient des mondes, construisent et positivent, privilégient le passage à l’acte, apprennent par l’action, portent des valeurs, dans une démarche collaborative. Cette notion de « maker » reflète la vision de l’entrepreneur d’emlyon, qui essaie, expérimente, se trompe, recommence, apprend en marchant. emlyon business school propose de développer ces compétences dans le cadre d’un enseignement de nouvelle génération, qui associe la production et la diffusion d’une recherche académique d’excellence et l’élaboration de parcours d’apprentissage innovants.

Plus d’informations sur www.em-lyon.com. #earlymakers

Contact presse emlyon : Julie Guillot – guillot@em-lyon.com – 06.45.23.23.04

[1] Institute for the Future for Dell Technologies, The new era of man/machine partnerships

The post L’Ecole by Capgemini s’associe avec SAP et emlyon business school pour former au métier de consultant « Transformation Digitale ERP » dans les domaines de la supply chain et de la finance appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

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20 Freshest Web Designs, August 2020

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In this month’s collection of the freshest web designs from the last four weeks the dominant trend is attention to detail.

You’ll find plenty of animation, in fact, almost every one of these sites uses animation to a greater or lesser degree. Let’s dive in:

Globekit

Globekit is a tool that allows developers to quickly create animated and interactive globes and embed them on web pages. Its site features some exceptional 3D animation.

Yolélé

Yolélé is food company built around fonio, a West African super grain. Its site features a great page transition, and the landing page carousel is one of the few examples of horizontal scrolling we’ve seen work well.

Begonia

Begonia is a Taiwanese design agency with an impressive client list. Its site features animated typography, a super bold splash screen, and some surreal artwork. There’s so much here, it’s almost overwhelming.

Next Big Thing

Next Big Thing is an agency supporting the full lifecycle of start-ups. Its site is clearly targeting tech-based clients, and there are some lovely transitions. The masked hero transition on scroll is delightful.

Proper

We all have every reason for the odd sleepless night right now, but regular sleep is essential for our health. Proper offers sleep solutions from coaching to supplements on its subtly shaded site.

The Oyster & Fish House

The site for The Oyster & Fish House is packed with some delightful details. We love the subtle wave textures, the photography has a nostalgic feel, and the typography is perfectly sophisticated.

Drink Sustainably

Fat Tire produces America’s first certified carbon neutral beer, and Drink Sustainably has been produced to explain the concept. We love the vintage advertising style of the artwork.

Treaty

It seems like every week there’s a new CBD brand launching. What we like about Treaty’s site is the slick fullscreen video, the inclusion of botanical illustrations, and the really brave use of whitespace.

Studio Louise

You’re greeted on Studio Louise’s site by a shot of trees with two random shapes; as you scroll the shapes morph and relocate to the top right corner, and you suddenly realize they’re an “S” and an “L”, cue: smiles.

Wünder

Another site for a CBD product, this time a vibrantly branded sparkling beverage. Wünder’s site features enticing photography, an on-trend color palette, and credible typography.

Seal + Co

Some professions lend themselves to exciting, aspirational sites, and some companies are accountancy firms. However Seal + Co’s site creates the impression of a modern, capable, and imaginative firm.

DocSpo

There is some lovely, 3D animation on the DocSpo site. The company is a Swedish startup enabling digital business proposals, and its site is bold, Appleesque, and packed with nice details.

Motley

We never get tired of particle effects, like the one employed by Finland-based agency Motley. There’s some superb work in the portfolio, and it’s great to see a blog using Old Master paintings for thumbnails.

The Ornamental

The Ornamental sources leather goods for wealthy individuals, and luxury lifestyle firms. Its site is minimal, with some drool-worthy handbags. We particularly liked the image zoom hover effect in the store.

G.F Smith

G.F Smith is one of the world’s leading paper suppliers. Its redesigned site is much simpler than its last, with some lovely touches, like the varied paper photography when you hover over product thumbnails.

Raters

Raters is a new app that lets you discover new movies via reviews from people you trust. This simple site does an exceptional job of previewing the app, across multiple device sizes.

Fleava

There’s a whole heap of nice interactive details on Fleava’s site, from the cursor-following circles when hovering over links, to the way the thumbnails are squeezed when dragging through projects.

The Story of Babushka

A babushka doll is a traditional Russian toy, made up of dolls, nested inside dolls. The Story of Babushka uses the toy as a metaphor for growth in this children’s book, and the accompanying animated website.

Grand Matter

After the uniformity of the 2010s, there are a wealth of illustration styles being explored across the web. Grand Matter is an artist agency that represents some amazing talent, and we love the illustration they chose themselves.

Nathan Young

Nathan Young’s site does exactly what it needs to do: Providing case studies for his design work. The fade-out on scroll is a simple device that elevates the whole site experience.

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The Convergence of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence

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Introduction

According to a 2016 research by Mckinsey, it was revealed that the total annual external investment in AI ranged between $8billion to $12billion in. Statistically, this is a clear sign that AI is making a great impact in the global industries especially the financial sector. In other words, it’s a revolutionary impact in the financial industry can not be underestimated.

Blockchain, on the other hand, has also shown its immense potential in so many industries especially in the finance industry. In fact, it’s digital disruption is greatly impacting how so many businesses operate in our contemporary world. While so many industries are beginning to embrace the amazing options these technologies – Artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology offer – helping them to create more value,  boosting sales, and so on,  it’s interesting to know that the combination of both will positively revolutionize the future of the fintech industry.

Source de l’article sur DZONE

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The Latest Research for Web Designers, August 2020

While a lot of the research for web designers that’s come out this year has to do with COVID-19, we’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Many of these reports aren’t just looking at the effects of the pandemic on business and marketing today. They’re now looking at what consumers plan to do once the pandemic is gone.

So, I have some very interesting research for you here today. Three of the reports have to do with coronavirus side effects — pertaining to ecommerce, market research, and freelancing — and one of them is just a really great argument against using PDFs on websites.

1. The Digital 2020 Survey Says Ecommerce Growth Will Continue Post-Coronavirus

Obviously, everyone is paying close attention to COVID-19’s impact on the world. For the purposes of the work you do as a web designer, you should be clued into what it’s doing to the business and marketing fields. Because, if those opportunities dry up or companies begin to pivot, you need to be ready to adapt.

The Digital 2020, a joint monthly report from we are social and HootSuite, brings interesting news about the state of ecommerce thanks to COVID-19.

Because the pandemic has forced consumers indoors, online shopping has increased. But, according to about half of those surveyed for this report, this isn’t some temporary solution. They plan on doing more online shopping even after the pandemic ends.

This means that web designers are sitting in an enviable position now and for the foreseeable future. If you’re not already helping businesses sell through their websites, now is the time to do so as more and more businesses are going to need reliable online stores to sell their offerings through.

2. eMarketer Shares Data on Social Listening

When conducting research at the beginning of a design project, what kinds of sources do you turn to for quick and reliable information? Your client provides you with information on their business, industry, and the competition, of course, but what else?

You can conduct user surveys and interviews, but those take time and resources. It also usually means working with clients who have existing businesses and user bases to tap into. Unless you’re working as a UX designer where that’s a big part of the work you do, you might not have the ability to do that level of research.

As reported by Gartner (via eMarketer), leading marketers are now learning about their target audiences through the following channels:

Thanks to the surge of traffic online right now, social listening platforms have become really useful resources for learning about one’s users, with 51% of marketing leaders using them.

If you feel as though your initial research and planning phases could use a boost, I’d recommend taking advantage of one of these social listening tools now.

If you build websites for a specific niche, you can set up keywords/hashtags that are universally relevant to (most of) your clients. By listening in on these conversations regularly, you can become more attuned to what the visitors of your websites actually need and you can proactively build better experiences for them as a result.

3. Upwork Reports Increasing Numbers of Freelancers Entering the Market

The main focus of the Upwork 2020 Future Workforce Report is on how employers are changing their approaches to hiring now and in the near future. And the basic premise is this:

  • It’s long been predicted that more and more of the workforce would be allowed to work remotely.
  • COVID-19 has escalated those predictions to the point where most of the workforce is remote right now.
  • Businesses see the value in remote work arrangements, especially if it enables them to get work done more quickly and cost-effectively by freelancers.

While this is certainly great news for web designers looking for new clients, the report also provides us with this data:

64% of professionals in the top of their field work independently. That statistic alone means you’re up against some tough competition. But there’s also the 50% rise in signups on freelancer marketplaces that should have you worried.

Even though business demand for freelance talent is growing, this unprecedented rise in freelance competition may pose some problems. So, if you’re not already doing everything you can to position yourself as the web designer in your niche, get going on that now so you don’t get drowned out by the rising number of competitors.

4. NNG Says That PDFs Are Unsuitable for the Web

While I don’t have statistics to share with you from the Nielsen Norman Group’s post on why the PDF is “Still Unfit for Human Consumption”, I do have a ton of usability arguments against them that are worth summing up here:

  1. PDFs are written in the style of print documents, which means that strategies we use to design content on websites — like making a page scannable and accessible — don’t apply.
  2. They’re not designed to be as concise or attractive as a web page.
  3. They don’t operate like a website, which disrupts the seamless experience you’ve worked so hard to create when one is opened up from your site.
  4. The website navigation disappears and any sense of orientation (besides the browser “Back” button) goes out the window.
  5. There’s no way to build an internal navigation in a PDF document, save for internal linking or a table of contents.
  6. If they’re formatted for paper sizes, scrolling through them can be difficult for mobile users.
  7. They load more slowly the bigger they get, so unless it’s something like a small and optimized menu, expect visitors to wait for the download to appear.

And those are just the arguments that came from NNG’s researchers. Take some time to read through real user complaints about PDFs and you’ll never want to include one on a client’s website again.

Wrap-Up

Thankfully, the research for web designers and marketers is finally starting to move away from the confusion and speculation we saw a lot of earlier this year.

Just as with anything we do on the web, the more time you give it, the more data you can collect. And, luckily for us, the data suggests that there’s a pretty positive outlook for web designers if they position themselves the right way now.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

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Top 5 Open-Source and Commercial RPA Tools to Use in 2020

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This pandemic has fostered the digital transformation and made that as a norm rather than an option of luxury. Adoption of niche technologies like RPA, AI, ML has increased and the decision-makers are serious towards its implementation in order to survive and stay abreast.

It is clearly evident that we have to change our operational practices and RPA plays an important role. Let’s see what are the few best Open-source and Commercial RPA tools to use in 2020.

Source de l’article sur DZONE

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