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3 Essential Design Trends, September 2021

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Do you ever get bored with design projects? Feel like you keep designing the same things on repeat?

This collection of trends – from fun angles to illustrations where you wouldn’t expect them to cool three-dimensional concepts – is sure to help you think a little more out of the box. It might be just the right inspiration to cure some of that design boredom.

Here’s what’s trending in design this month.

1. Angles for Attention

Working with angles is a fun technique because you can essentially point website visitors to what you want them to see on the screen.

Angles can be aggressive and have an obvious visual goal. They can also have an easier feel without so much direct intent. This trend can look a lot of different ways, making it a versatile option for designers.

Each of the three examples here takes a different approach to angles.

Bake Inc. uses various angles with imagery and whitespace to draw the eye past the visual elements to the brand name at the bottom of the screen. If you click through to the design, you’ll see that there isn’t just one angle-image design, but it’s a collection of changing images and angles that work beautifully in concert.

Instabase uses a collection of animated geometric shapes as the main visual element on the screen. Note the directional pull of the triangle in the bottom left of the group of shapes. It helps lead the user to the “Request a Demo” call to action on the other side of the screen.

Readymag’s Custom Cursor is one of those aggressive angles. The giant cursor is what the design is about, but because of the size and shape of the object, users are directed to the word “cursor” as well. That adds extra emphasis to what the design is about. With the combination and the oversized element and giant angle that are so in your face, you can’t help but get a quick understanding of what the design is about.

 

 

2. Unexpected Illustrations

This might be the most fun we’ve seen with a website design trend in a while – projects and companies are using illustrations in some of the most unexpected places.

The design surprise happens when an industry that you don’t expect uses this type of imagery. A simple illustration takes the design to another level, or illustrations mix with other elements to paint a whimsical overall scene. Those are the things you can find with each of these three examples.

Krivitzky is a website for a business law firm. This is not at all the type of website where you’d expect illustrations (including a dragon). While the design is fun to interact with, it’s hard to say if it works. If you needed representation, would this appeal to you? In terms of legal websites, this is a total disruptor and forces your attention. That could be a good thing.

Studio Mesmer is one of those simply understated designs that’s almost perfect. The stark black background makes the simple illustration that much more striking. The eye also has a nice hover animation effect for an added surprise.

Kenn & Kitt mixes an illustration with real imagery to paint a more whimsical scene. What’s nice about the illustrated elements of the website design is that it helps connect the website to the product packaging, which uses illustrations while feeling “real” with the photo of a dog. It’s a bright and sunny combination of photos and illustrations that feels whimsical but has the right vibe for the product category.

 

 

3. 3D Depth

The three-dimensional website design trend keeps ebbing and flowing. And right now, it is flowing with full-screen 3D elements for maximum depth that makes you feel like you can almost dive into the screen.

While most of these designs use illustration with animation to create the 3D scene, you don’t have to abide by this example. The goal is to create something that looks and feels immersive so that users will want to take part in the experience.

The Match Maker has an 80s gamer vibe where you can feel yourself going down the tunnel on the screen. Additional hover animations move the screen, even more to help you get into the game.


Hafele Discoveries uses a wide-angle style animation with back and forth motion. The fish-eye style of the design adds an element of depth, which is further magnified by the foreground box with text and call to action elements. The design concept is attention-getting, but the motion can be a little dizzying if you leave it on the screen too long.

FiveT Hydrogen takes a more “traditional” approach to a three-dimensional website design with an illustration/animation that includes elements of depth. This is magnified on the scroll action of the design with shadows and layers and a variety of elements – real and illustrated – that make you feel like part of what’s happening on the screen. It’s an immersive learning experience about clean hydrogen that almost forces users to keep scrolling. The 3D effect is what takes it to another level.

 

 

Conclusion

Not every design trend is right for every project. Take a good look at what you are trying to accomplish and match it with a design concept.

If you want to try one of these trends, but they are a little too out there, experiment with a small area of the design or a landing page first. That’s a good place to test ideas and conversion rates to see if the design technique will work for your audience.

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Popular Design News of the Week: August 16 2021 – August 22, 2021

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Every day design fans submit incredible industry stories to our sister-site, Webdesigner News. Our colleagues sift through it, selecting the very best stories from the design, UX, tech, and development worlds and posting them live on the site.

The best way to keep up with the most important stories for web professionals is to subscribe to Webdesigner News or check out the site regularly. However, in case you missed a day this week, here’s a handy compilation of the top curated stories from the last seven days. Enjoy!

50 Great Web Development Tools Devs Actually Use In 2021

25 Excellent Creative Website Footers

Is This The Best Error 404 Page Ever?

FFmpeg for Browser and Node, Powered by WebAssembly

11 Best Landing Page Builders in 2021 That (Actually) Work

Assembler CSS

11 Principles of Design (and How to Use Them)

20 Creative Doodle Backgrounds for Designers

Busting UX Myths: 6 Misconceptions People Still Believe

Quick Ways to Make a Webpage More Scannable

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7 Landing Pages Comparisons To Improve Your Conversions in 2022

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Landing pages are crucial for conversions. User-friendly landing pages rank higher in the search engines and generate the maximum leads.

Interestingly, user behavior changes every year, and new website design trends should be kept in mind to continue acquiring sales from your existing landing pages.

If your high-performing landing pages in 2019 have suddenly started underperforming in 2021, then it is a clear indication that your landing pages need a strategic revamp to record higher conversions.

Landing page revisions are necessary for reduced bounce rate, more visitor time on the page, and better user actions.

This article will discuss some of the top web design trends of 2021 that brands have adopted to revamp their landing page designs. You can learn from the trends and apply your own custom design intelligence to redesign your landing pages for 2022 and convert the maximum number of visitors.

Let’s begin…

Why Landing Page Design Is Crucial For Conversions

Landing pages are the first stop on your consumers’ online buying journey and the first chance to put an impression.

People on the internet are becoming less patient. It takes only about 50 milliseconds for a visitor to form an opinion about a brand and decide whether they want to stay or leave the website.

Convincing modern customers to buy products or fill up query forms on a landing page is not easy with traditional website elements.

In 2021, it is now harder to impress visitors landing on your website than in 2019. Keeping in mind the audience of 2021 and beyond, an ideal landing page should be user-friendly, engaging, innovative and should encourage users to take action.

Here are some of the top reasons why landing page design is so crucial for conversions:

  • You get barely 7 seconds to create a strong impression. It is a time span in which visitors roughly scan the page and make their decisions.
  • Publishing 40+ effective landing pages at regular intervals can generate 12X more leads.
  • The average conversion rate from the landing page across all industries is only 2.35%.
  • Using the right types of targeting and testing can boost landing page conversion rates by up to 300%.

Considering the above stats, it can be easily said that a landing page has to be impressive and quick enough to impact the visitors positively.

7 High Converting Landing Pages & Lessons You Can Learn From Each

Below are some of the best high-converting landing pages, which were just updated recently in 2021. For each page, we list a lesson you can learn to inspire your next design revision in 2021 and ahead:

Example #1 – Replace Boring Customer Info Forms With An Interactive Quiz

Landing Page: Nextiva’s Unified Communications Readiness Quiz Landing Page

Industry: Voice Over IP software

Conversion Measured By: Leads fill out a form if they are interested

Redesign focus: Improve the quantity and quality of leads

Solution: Substitute online form with an interactive quiz

In 2019 and even 2020, many businesses were practicing the trend of including a customer form on their landing pages as a call to action to initiate a quick customer action.

The customer information form was useful for businesses because it helped them generate quick leads. However, at the same time, there was no real reason pushing the customer to fill in the lead forms especially if it consisted of more than 2-3 fields.

Nextiva used its creativity to replace boring lead forms with interactive quizzes. In its 2021 page design, the company added a quiz for visitors to participate in.

The aim is to have interactive pages to keep visitors engaged and persuade them to stay on the page.

Here are the comparisons of both the designs:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

  • The 2021 landing page now has a free Unified Communications Readiness Quiz that allows business owners to fill the form interactively. Adding a quiz with the number of pages mentioned at the top tells the user how many steps are left to complete the quiz, making their waiting time easier.
  • The background image is replaced with communication icons to simplify the message of the kind of services they offer.
  • The page looks neater and appears to be easier to scan at a glance.

Example #2 – Emphasize Strong Visuals and Copy that Stresses on Product Details

Landing Page: Western Rise Homepage Variation

Industry: Ecommerce

Conversion Measured By: Apparel purchase

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of leads

Solution: Improve the copy and visuals

Western Rise, a clothing eCommerce company, realized the importance of having impressive images and detailed product information on its landing page.

The 2021 page replaced ordinary product images with strong visuals of the models wearing Western Rise clothing. Also, the product image includes extensive product details, which were missing on the older page.

Here is a clear comparison of the 2019 vs. 2021 landing pages of Western Rise:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

  • The new landing page has a powerful headline – Performance Clothing for Travel, Work, and Play. In just a couple of words, the brand tells everything about itself. ‘Performance Clothing’ is their unique selling proposition (USP) that tells the customers that their product is durable. Besides, the caption ‘Travel, Work, and Play’ tells what the product is about. Modern customers like products that fulfill a particular need, and Western Rise made it easier for the users to realize the importance of their products which fulfilled their specific needs.
  • The bold visuals in the new page capture contemporary shots of the models that put a strong impression on the audience. Every image is clicked mindfully to explain the style and quality of the Western Rise clothing line.
  • The products displayed on the new page include every minor detail and feature that often other clothing brands ignore, such as the specialty of the product, occasions to wear, and weight other than colors, fabric, fitting, etc.

Example #3 – Use Strong Social Proof To Increase Conversions

Page: Aura Save 50% Landing Page

Industry: Identity Theft Software

Conversion Measured By: Online registration or an inbound call

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of signups

Solution: Add strong social proof

It is a known fact that social proof on sales pages is essential for increased conversions. But in 2021, the importance of social proof has gone too far.

Aura is an identity theft protection service that aims to build trust with its prospective customers when they first browse their landing page. Take a look at how Aura displays customer reviews above the fold to catch user’s attention.

Unlike others, Aura combined the rating stars and the review to prove customer satisfaction and emphasize their expertise in the field.

BONUS:

Another example of using strong social proof is the Exploding Topics newsletter landing page.

Exploding Topics is a newsletter with a pro subscription for content marketers and anyone interested in trending topics about any topic. It’s an excellent example that uses a lot of social proof on landing pages that give something away for free, like a weekly newsletter or an eBook.

If you could notice, the latest landing page below has multiple forms of social proof on a single page. First, they feature a list of brands that trust Exploding Topics. Secondly, they quote Wired Magazine founder Kevin Kelly’s feedback, followed by the logos and tweets praising the newsletter.

Key Takeaways:

  • Exploding Topics uses several different types of social proof that appeal to different demographics.
  • Their “trusted by” logos of world-renowned companies stand out to potential B2B subscribers.
  • Kevin Kelly’s quote is catching the attention of tech-savvy readers.
  • Despite packing the page with social proof, the opt-in form is still well above the fold. It is the best landing page practice that applies to nearly all pages.
  • The landing page uses actually embedded tweets (not screenshots), which help demonstrate that the tweets are legit.

While Exploding Topics have smartly used social proof on its page, the ideas of leveraging social proof are not limited to this only.

Example #4 – Focus On Visually Appealing Above the Fold Content

Landing Page: Perfect Keto Homepage Variation

Industry: Supplements

Conversion Measured By: Online purchase

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of purchases

Solution: Improve Above The Fold Content

Above the fold content greatly impacts customer’s decision-making. Perfect Keto lacked that appeal on its 2019 landing page design.

Hence, the 2021 design was revamped with better visuals and more professional looks.

The 2021 page received major changes in above-the-fold content, such as the top menu bar with the brand name not losing the user’s attention anymore and an additional menu bar giving a quick overview of what the brand offers.

The older page did have many social proofs, but those were limited to customers only. The 2021 design also highlighted the publications where the brand appeared, which proved exceptional in building customer trust.

Take a look at the two landing pages of Perfect Keto in 2019 and 2021:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

  • The 2021 landing page heading is more compelling because it clearly conveys what their product is all about. The older page was missing the actual purpose of the product.
  • An additional section on the new page to educate customers about the Keto diet and how to start it helps visitors understand the product even better.
  • The inclusion of a product image above the fold attracts user attention and makes the product trustworthy. People now know what they will be buying right at first sight of the page.
  • The new page proudly displays the products featured in the publications, such as Women’s Health, Healthline, Reader’s Digest, and Popsugar, which again helped customers trust the brand.
  • The page also features a video of the Perfect Keto founder that is brilliantly working in gaining visitor’s attention and faith.

Example #5 – Make The Call to Action More Compelling

Landing Page: Zendesk HelpDesk Softwage Landing Page

Industry: SaaS

Conversion Measured By: Online registration

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of registrations through the website

Solution: Make The CTA More Compelling

Zendesk did a clever job by replacing the sign-up form with a single button. On the older page, it was unclear to the user if the company has a trial option for free unless they move to linked pages. Such confusions often resulted in traffic bounces.

Adding the start free trial button on the 2021 page makes it easier for the users to understand that the product comes with a free trial. At the time, it helps the user take quick action.

Similarly, the ‘Get started’ button at the top was replaced with ‘Free trial’ with the same intention.

Moreover, chat support was added to guide users at any stage of the buyer journey. Live chats are vital to help visitors better understand the product and move a step ahead in the customer journey.

Take a look at below two images:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways

  • The CTA buttons have more actionable text and look more prominent.
  • The color choice for the button is in contrast with the background but matches the page theme.
  • The older page missed sales support, which is included in the new page for a better customer experience.
  • The tabs in the menu bar were reduced to four to make the page simple to use for users.

Example #6 – Use Contrast To Highlight Specific Copy On The Page

Landing Page: GetResponse Website Building Landing Page

Industry: Online Software

Conversion Measured By: Online signup

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of signups

Solution: Use contrast around important copy on the page

GetResponse focuses on attracting visitors’ attention towards the offerings from their business. Starting from above the fold section, the landing page highlights the texts that are important and need the visitors’ attention.

The infographic on the landing page is the next thing that promises to grab user attention while beautifully describing how this website builder works and is useful to the user.

Key Takeaways:

  • The text highlighted on the landing page draws the user’s attention towards what the business has to offer or unique selling points.
  • The infographics briefly explain the working of the tool in an easy-to-understand manner.
  • The Yellow color is used prominently on the landing page to attract user attention and persuades users to try the tool by listing its advantages.

Summary

Landing pages provide the first opportunity to create an impression in the minds of the consumers. A well-structured and mindfully designed page sets the right tone for your brand message and encourages users to choose your business.

However, the strategy for landing pages needs innovations from time to time for better results. The examples and tips shared above prove how landing pages in 2019 have seen significant improvement in 2021.

In the coming year, use these ideas to create landing pages that influence customer decisions and encourage them to take quick actions.

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10 Cool WordPress Plugins You Should Check Out

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If you have a WordPress website, you’re obviously aware of the benefits this premier open-source website-building platform brings to the table.

But are you aware of the legion of website and business enhancement tools lying in wait among the thousands of cool WordPress plugins currently on the market; one or more of which could easily take your site or business to the next level?

What’s out there? Quite a bit, obviously. 

Which useful WordPress plugins are “must-haves” for me? It could take you a ton of time to find the answer to that one. 

That’s what we’re here for.

10 essential WordPress plugins are admittedly a small sample size. But these are 10 of the very best, and we’re guessing that one or more of them could be just what you’ve been looking for.

1. Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin

This game-changing booking plugin fully automates your business’s interaction with existing and potential clients and allows you to focus on key business operations instead of having to constantly interrupt your workflow to manage appointments.

  • Installing and configuring Amelia can be done with just a few clicks. You don’t have to know anything about coding.
  • Amelia can manage an unlimited number of appointments for an unlimited number of clients, an unlimited number of employees, and at multiple locations.
  • Clients can book appointments 24/7 and manage their own appointments as well as their profiles from the front end.
  • Amelia accepts deposit payments, sends out appointment reminders, and can charge different rates for different appointments.
  • If you have a global clientele, Amelia takes into account customer time zones as well as manages translated notifications if you have a multilingual site.
  • Amelia also manages event bookings, whether they are recurring or one-time.

In the unlikely event you encounter a problem with Amelia, the customer support team stands ready to help.

2. wpDataTables

The wpDataTables WordPress plugin allows users to quickly and easily create responsive, interactive, and highly customizable tables and charts from large amounts of data.

Key features include:

  • The ability to create tables that allow front-end editing, whether they are created manually or are MySQL-based
  • Advanced filtering capabilities that enable front-end users to filter table data by single or multiple column values
  • Automatic syncing of created and published Google Sheets
  • Simple wpDataTables wizards to access the HighCharts, Chart.js, and Google free charts libraries

wpDataTables’ many other features include:

  • Connection support to MySQL, MS SQL, and PostgreSQL databases
  • Responsive design from any data source
  • Creating tables from CSV, JSON, MySQL, and Excel and Google spreadsheet data
  • Formidable Forms plugin support
  • Sorting by single or multiple columns
  • Data color-coding using conditional formatting

More than 50,000 companies and individuals have placed their trust in wpDataTables.

3. Visual Composer Website Builder

Visual Composer is a new, ReactJS-based intuitive drag and drop website builder that enables you to create a website quickly, easily, and hassle-free.

This website-building popular plugin:

  • Enables business owners to showcase their brand online with its drag and drop editor and professional templates.
  • Its feature-rich design controls enable designers to achieve pixel-perfect perfection as they bring their projects to life.
  • Its top-of-the-line marketing content elements give its users the ability to create high-conversion landing pages, integrate with social platforms, and more.
  • Makes building a beautiful WooCommerce-based online store a piece of cake.
  • Features a library of 500+ content elements and templates that is downloadable from the cloud
  • Offers free and premium versions for business owners to start easily and scale their online presence

Your site will be SEO-friendly, fast, and responsive, and the support is terrific. Free and Premium versions (Starting at $49) are available.

4. Slider Revolution

Slider Revolution can do more than create sliders. A lot more.

  • It can add impressive (read that WOW) effects to an already notable website design.
  • It can give you new and unusual visual editing capabilities without requiring any coding on your part.
  • With its collection of hero blocks, sliders, WooCommerce carousels, and more, it brings beauty to any WordPress website.

5. Logic Hop

Logic Hop lets you customize your site’s content for individual customers or customer types.

  • Logic Hop supports personalizing your site in response to dozens of criteria so you can tailor your content to address a unique audience.
  • Logic Hop works with Gutenberg, Divi, Elementor, Beaver Builder, and every other page builder.

Any design or content element you can customize in WordPress can be customized in Logic Hop in minutes.

6. Stacks

The Stacks drag and drop native mobile app builder offers a full package of features to help you design your website or mobile app without coding.

  • Stacks works perfectly with WooCommerce and WordPress
  • Certificates required for Google Play Store or Apple Appstore are automatically generated
  • It takes but a single click to generate and upload the Android & iOS Application Package (APK & IPA)
  • Notifications to customers are easy to generate and send, and Stacks utilizes WooCommerce payment gateways.

7. Heroic Inbox

The Heroic Inbox plugin enables a business to manage all of its emails in shared inboxes right inside WordPress.

  • Customer data is presented on the sidebar next to your ongoing chat or message.
  • Key performance metrics are tracked so the team and overall company performance can be assessed.
  • Zero Inbox status can be quickly achieved and maintained.

8. Tablesome

This powerful WordPress table plugin allows you to quickly create a table and embed it in a post or page.

  • Tables can be imported from CSV and XLSX files.
  • Types of tables that can be created include large data tables, product catalogs, comparison tables, sports statistics, and more.
  • A shortcode builder for table and table element customizing is included

Tablesome is performance-optimized and SEO friendly and works smoothly with any WordPress theme.

9. Ads Pro Plugin – Multi-Purpose WordPress Advertising Manager

Ads Pro is the best ad manager for WordPress you are likely to come across.

Ads Pro features:

  • An intuitive backend Admin Panel that allows you to manage an unlimited number of ad spaces
  • A frontend User’s Panel from which you can control access to manage ads
  • 25+ user-friendly and responsive Ad Templates in 8 categories
  • 20 ad display options
  • 3 Billing Models (CPC, CPM, CPD) and 4 Payment Methods (PayPal, Stripe, Bank Transfer, WooCommerce)

10. Static Pages

Static pages/sites do not require any web programming or database design.

  • The Static Pages plugin allows you to publish any static page on a WordPress website in a matter of seconds.
  • You can improve sales by adding a beautiful landing page to your existing shop or blog or add a page with a Mailchimp subscribe form.
  • Or use Static Pages as an easy way to test something quickly and easily.

Have you been searching for a top-of-the-line WordPress plugin that will help you take your business to the next level?

There are 58,000+ useful WordPress plugins for you to choose from. That would be good news, except you could easily be overwhelmed trying to find just the right plugin for your website.

This post features a collection of top plugins for WordPress websites. Chances are good, you’ll find something here that will make your day.

 

[– This is a sponsored post on behalf of BAW media –]

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Popular Design News of the Week: June 14 2021 – June 20, 2021

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Every day design fans submit incredible industry stories to our sister-site, Webdesigner News. Our colleagues sift through it, selecting the very best stories from the design, UX, tech, and development worlds and posting them live on the site.

The best way to keep up with the most important stories for web professionals is to subscribe to Webdesigner News or check out the site regularly. However, in case you missed a day this week, here’s a handy compilation of the top curated stories from the last seven days. Enjoy!

22 Exciting New Tools for Designers, June 2021

7.css

Does the Hamburger Menu Make Mincemeat of UX Design?

Top 15 Tools and Resources for Designers and Agencies

Loaf Animation SVG Library

WordPress 5.8 Introduces Support for WebP Images

Star Trek + Design

11 Landing Page Design Tips You Should Follow Today

Isometrica 3D Constructor

HTML Semantic Tags Cheat Sheet

What is a Design System?

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UX Design Doesn’t End With Your Website

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User experience design is something that most of us associate with websites. But why isn’t it something we extend beyond the website?

Here’s why I ask this:

As a consumer, it’s so rare that your only interaction with a brand is through its website. Take an ecommerce site, for example. You buy a product from it, and then what happens?

  • You get a confirmation email;
  • You get another email when the package ships;
  • You might get another email or SMS notification when the package is delivered;
  • You retrieve the package and open it;
  • You open up your purchase and use it.

These are all an extension of that initial user experience on the site. If there’s just one hiccup along the way, it could easily erode the trust and happiness you felt after quickly finding and buying what you needed on the site.

So, what I’d like to do today is look at 10 areas where UX design should extend beyond the website to ensure that the frictionless experience started there remains untarnished.

Extending UX Design Beyond the Website

As a web designer, you might be thinking that this part of the user experience doesn’t fall under the umbrella of your responsibilities. And you may be right about that.

For brands to truly be successful and profitable, someone needs to carefully examine the bigger picture and ensure that the user experience is flawless no matter how far away from the site it is. At the very least, you should share the UX research and strategy you do for a client’s site so their team can ensure it carries over to other areas of the business.

Here are some things to think about:

1. Mobile App

It’s not uncommon for websites to have mobile app counterparts these days. The layout doesn’t need to be identical since mobile users tend to behave differently than those on desktop.

That said, an app shouldn’t force users accustomed to the desktop experience to re-learn how to navigate or engage with the brand. So, the branding, UI design, speed, security, and navigation all need to be on par with what’s already been established in terms of usability.

2. Email

Most websites have a direct connection to email. For example, blog newsletters, purchase confirmation emails, and lead generation follow-ups all start on the website.

Consumers are well aware that when they hand over their email address, they will receive an email in return. In many cases, those emails are welcomed when they’re done right. But if something feels off, that bridge could easily burn between brand and consumer.

To preserve the UX, emails should come with the following:

  • The same branding and visual style as the website;
  • A personalized subject line, greeting, or offer;
  • Consistent messaging as the site, especially when it comes to the CTA.

Another thing to remember is that email isn’t the time to inject dark patterns into the experience. So, the “Unsubscribe” option should be in an easy-to-spot area and a sharply contrasting font color.

3. Social Media

Social media is another channel that’s commonly connected to a website. While you can’t control the aesthetics of social media websites themselves, the visuals and messaging in posts need to be on-brand.

That means that things like memes and emojis — which are popular means of communication on social — should only be used if they’re normally part of the brand identity. If not, you’ll need to find other ways to communicate engagingly.

Another part of the user experience to think about is customer support. Social media is a lot like going into a store. If someone has an issue with what they bought or the service they received, there will be many people around to witness the complaint. Social media only amplifies that — so the quality of customer care needs to be consistent with how the brand handles it everywhere else.

4. SMS

Not every brand will need to be connected to customers via text messaging. eCommerce companies, news sites, and personal services providers likely will, though.

However a brand uses SMS, the same UX guidelines apply here as they do across all other channels:

  • Keep messages concise;
  • Make sure they’re relevant and valuable;
  • Use branded messaging and design;
  • Don’t abuse the privilege and send too many;
  • Make it easy to opt out.

Basically, if you can’t make it a valuable extension of the brand’s offering, don’t use it.

5. Phone

Any website that publishes its phone number should expect to receive calls from prospects and customers. While there’s nothing to design here visually, the experience of getting on the phone with a company should be consistent with what they experience elsewhere.

One way to do this is to design an easy-to-follow routing system. It should be simple for callers to figure out which number to choose. What’s more, there should be no endless loops. If a caller has exhausted the options, they should be immediately directed to a representative.

Another way to ensure consistency is to adhere to a script — that goes for call centers for enterprises as well as the local lawyer’s office. Every caller should be greeted with the same tone and handled in the same manner (depending on the situation, of course).

6. Ads

There are a lot of places where brands can advertise these days:

  • Google search;
  • Social media;
  • Ad networks;
  • TV;
  • Radio;
  • Podcasts;
  • Blogs;
  • Billboards;
  • Direct mail.

When designing an ad campaign, there should be consistent messaging, aesthetics (when relevant), and CTAs presented. If branding isn’t consistent from ad to ad, there may be a delay in consumers recognizing the brand or its offer. Or, worse, not recognizing it at all.

7. Packaging

For brands that sell products, you have to think about how the packaging will impact the user experience. There are two types of packages to consider, too.

The first is the product’s own packaging. Branding should be clear as day and consistent with the site they bought it from.

It should also be easy to open. There’s nothing more frustrating than finally getting your purchase, only to realize you need tools to get it out of the packaging.

You also have to think about packaging for products that get shipped.

The product should fit well within the packaging. A too-roomy package will feel downright wasteful. So will excessive bubble wrap and paper filler.

Having a shipping label present in the package is also important. If the website makes it easy to make a purchase, the package should offer a convenient way to return the product if they’re not happy.

8. Product

The product itself has to align with the expectations set by the website.

Take the example of a SaaS. You’ve built an awesome landing page and mobile app store page to promote it. It looks great, it loads fast, and it’s easy to get around. But if the SaaS itself is ugly, disorganized, slow, or otherwise just clunky, all of the work you did to market it will end up being just false advertising.

So, make sure the expectations set before and during purchase naturally carry over to the experience with the product.

9. Business Exterior

For brick-and-mortar companies, the business’s exterior matters just as much as what happens inside it.

The most obvious thing to focus on is the aesthetics of the building. Does it look attractive? Is it in a safe area? Is there clear signage around it? Is it easy to find?

But you also have to think about user experiences that take place outside of the building. For example, there’s now a rise in curbside pickup. There are tons of things that can affect how happy the customer is with the experience — like if the pickup area is hard to find, there are never enough spots or the associates who deliver the orders always seem to be in a foul mood.

The business’s exterior should always set a good impression for what takes place inside.

10. Business Interior

Here are some things to think about when it comes to “designing” business interiors for a good UX:

  • Decor;
  • Layout;
  • Signage;
  • Furnishings;
  • Product discoverability;
  • Availability (of products or people);
  • Quality of customer service;
  • Checkout process.

It doesn’t matter what the company does — whether it’s a large retailer like Walmart or your own freelance design business. If a business’s establishment doesn’t look good, operate flawlessly, or provide a good person-to-person experience, it’s going to be very hard to get people to return.

So, all those things you do to design a streamlined website journey should be applied to a bricks-and-mortar business’s interior.

Wrapping Up

Depending on the types of companies you build sites for, some of the channels and suggestions above might not be relevant. Hopefully, this has got you thinking about other ways you (and your clients) can extend the UX design and strategy from the website.

If you can maintain the high-quality user experience from channel to channel, your clients’ brands will get more business, grow their profitability, and see a rise in loyalty, too.

 

Featured image via Pexels.

Source

The post UX Design Doesn’t End With Your Website first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.


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