As 2019 passes into history and 2020 looms ever closer, one thing is for sure: your company website will continue to be a highly valuable segment of your overall marketing strategy. And, as 5G and mobile users proliferate, your website experience becomes even more crucial.
 

Create Your Website for Users

Your overall guiding principle is to always keep users in mind. Effective websites are always designed to give the user or visitor the best experience possible while guiding them to the information they need. This means fast loading, easy navigation, easy-to-read, and visually appealing elements are all critical.
 

Less is More

While white space keeps web pages from looking cluttered and helps the user focus on the main page elements, an overall design can focus on less and be more effective. Some new aspects of simplicity have passed the level of trend and become a new wave of quality in website design.
 

Minimalism

Minimalism is the art of less, and it is becoming a popular modern design approach for business and personal websites. Modern online users are no longer impressed by flamboyant designs and floating images. They want to find the information they need, fast. Minimalist websites offer faster loading times and better compatibility between screen sizes. They are uncluttered, functional, simple, and yet beautiful in design and purpose.
 

Micro Animation

Micro animations are simply small animations. But they have proven to be extremely helpful guiding users through interactions with websites, while adding a level of playfulness that doesn’t detract from the seriousness of your business or industry. Micro animations have been popular for a few years but in 2020, it’ll be about using them organically. For example, many ecommerce sites use micro animations to enhance the user experience and give shoppers a sample of how their products look or function.
 

Thumb-friendly Mobile Navigation

Responsive design isn’t an option anymore. Your site must work well and be easy to use on mobile devices. This is where being thumb-friendly comes into play. If you are reading this blog on your phone right now, how are you holding the phone? Which digit on your hand is likely free to use for scrolling or navigating? You guessed it – your thumb. Putting your navigation bar, menu, and even contact buttons in the space the thumb can easily reach (the center of the screen) makes your mobile site even easier to use, greatly improving your mobile user experience.
 

Don’t Follow the Wave

Web design trends come and go, and it’s entirely up to you if you want your business website to ride them. Just remember that trends are hot one day and forgotten the next. While there is nothing wrong with a little experimentation to see how certain elements can help your overall user experience, do so in small increments and slowly.
 
Above all, website users want to feel comfortable using your site and locating what they want. Too many changes too fast and they will not feel at home. Your traffic will fall off dramatically as once regular users become confused and seek information elsewhere.
 

Ongoing Website Essentials

There are a few elements that gained popularity in 2019 and will continue to be big in 2020 and even beyond. They are:
 

• Load Speed– quick loading times remain important factors in user experience and SEO. Studies from both Akamai and Gomez.com found that 50% of users expect a website to load in two seconds or less. If it takes more than three, they bounce. And rarely do they return for a second chance.
• Mobile Design– mobile-friendly web design isn’t optional anymore. Mobile searches have outdistanced desktop searches since 2015 and by 2017, mobile traffic accounts for nearly half of all web traffic Also, Google has ranked mobile-friendly sites more favorably since 2018. Just remember to combine localization and voice search SEO with your mobile-friendly SEO efforts.
• Chatbots– chatbots are another feature that has become a normal feature to promote conversational marketing. They will continue to grow in relevance throughout 2020. As AI and machine learning continue to develop, chat bots will be used all the time for simple customer service requests and even personal shopping.

 
What are some tips that will give your company website users a better experience? Share them with our readers in the comments below.