Short Attention

It is a fact that our attention spans are getting shorter. With the advent of mobile internet, we are wanting faster speeds and insist on finding what we want quickly. If I can’t find what I am looking for on my phone, I am likely to move on after about 60 seconds.

Your company website should take this into account. How many times have you gone into a website, and have no idea what they are selling? This seems like an obvious no brainer, but somehow companies and their web designers get caught up in designing for the beauty of the site and forget that they may have just lost a potential customer. Unless you like to be a mystery, the first message a user should get is what the site is promoting. If you have a service or a product that is unknown to the populous, it may be wise to spend the cash to hire a professional writer to create simple concise content.

Demographics

Baby boomers to Gen X – we are all browsing, researching and shopping. Building a website for a retirement facility, that has small fonts in low contrast colors and fast moving graphics will get your 55+ user flustered. They are now in a time of life that they want to slow down and get out of the rat race. Eyesight and colorblind issues become more prominent as we age. If you want to sell to this demographic group, be aware of their wants and needs.

This goes for any group you are selling to. Make sure you lead your “brand” towards the end user. Figure out who that is before you create a logo and other marketing graphics.

Keep it Intuitive

I could write a book on how to lose your customer in 60 seconds. Technology has allowed us to advance so quickly that it is hard to know whether you should click, swipe, scroll,  speak, or simply use brain power to turn a page. And where is the navigation? As a designer, I love new innovative designs…but not when I want to find a product or search for a doctor.

By all means create a user interface that is contemporary and creative, but leaves clues that can quickly lead to the product or service. If highly intuitive, a user will feel elated when they easily navigate your site.

Predictability

I predict that if I go into a site that sells sporting goods, there will be images of people playing sports. If your pet dog is the first image as the site opens, it can throw your customers off balance. Good website design is like a tight rope act. There needs to be a balance of all aspects of your online marketing endeavors. Keep it tight, and the walk should be fairly smooth. Navigation should be contemporary, yet somewhat predictable. Imagery and font styles should lean towards your chosen customer. And text content should be relevant,  and quick to the point.

At 360 WEB DESIGNS, we walk the web development tight-rope with ease, as we step with our clients towards attention grabbing web presence. In a nutshell, we design for short attention spans, for your business’s demographics, keep it highly intuitive, and keep some predictability.

Source: Annette Frei – 360 Web Designs Sr. Project Manager / Creative Director