Rapid changes are taking technology by storm. Every B2B marketer realizes the importance of having a great website. An interesting web design is crucial as it is the first impression your customers have about your organization or product.In order to keep with the fast-paced innovation and maintain a strong foothold in the market, it is important to embrace various facets and trends of web design, keeping user-centered design as the focus.
Let us look at the UX design trends that are likely to shape the landscape of user-centered design and technology in 2017.
Providing a conversational experience
Picture this: When you go to a store and not able to locate something that you need, what do you do? The answer is pretty simple. You ask a store representative to assist you in the process. Similarly, in the online space, a user-oriented interactive digital feature that mimics a real human is sure to enhance the experience and make it lively and interesting. Chatbot is the new way of striking conversation with users to provide them with a simulating experience. Examples of conversational interfaces include Facebook Messenger, We Chat, Amazon Echo, Microsoft Cortana and Slack.
Micro interactions
Great interaction design ideally stems from the extent of detail that it targets. Micro interactions are intended to provide users with appropriate feedback for them to better comprehend the ongoing processes. This helps an interface to be approachable no matter how complicated the logic behind it may be. Micro interactions are those miniscule moments that may otherwise go unnoticed, but are designed to make a huge impact on the user’s mood and opinion. To illustrate better, consider this example: While you hit the ‘Like’ button on Facebook, or use Twitter’s heart animation, you are part of a user experience that involves a micro interaction. Subtle yet powerful, these user interactions bring digital experiences to a whole new level.
Minimalism and scrolling guidelines
Uncluttered, flat colored website design is the way forward. User psychology analysis on web-design and UX clearly shows that scrolling anchored navigation is the best possible way to ensure natural navigation than having to click through lots of individual pages. Instead of cramming every link at one place, the current trend dictates the use of on-page navigation tools that enable long scrolls and take users through a journey that facilitates better movement between distant pieces of related content. Simplicity being the key, it is found that better usability is achieved through simplifying the menus for navigation. Employing techniques such as the use of negative space or white space increases the focus on the main content, thus enabling users to look at only the key aspects and ignore the rest.
Quality Animations
Animations have long been an interesting and inevitable part of business web design. Considering this, B2B marketers have to invest in quality animations that enable them to stand out from the rest. However, it is recommended that animations are done only when necessary. Effective web design employs a good mix of static relevant content alongside rich yet subtle animations. Some websites employ unique kind of animations where visual elements appear gradually on scrolling. This could be a good storytelling tool that maybe used for product demos. Visual elements always carry more appeal than plain text. Yet, it is important to eliminate distractions and ensure reduced screen and image loading times.
Optimal use of social media
Social media is an important tool for B2B giants to gain optimal reach. For example, Twitter has a significant brand loyalty tied to its users so much so that followers promote great content as a result of increased brand loyalty. Yet another tool that marketers cannot afford to miss is Google+. Powered extensively through an algorithm, if used to its full potential, can work wonders for B2B giants. Do send your feedback on this blog to services@suyati.com
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