What are the web design trends for the upcoming year that are actually relevant to you & your business? Read this article & make those changes today!
Funny thing about predictions, not like “haha” funny — they don’t have to be accurate for us to pay attention to them.
Think about it, how many times have waited to hear whether or not an oversized rodent in Pennsylvania saw its shadow? A day devoted to an inaccurate weather prediction. For those of you keeping score at home — out of 138 times Phil has been pulled from his home to enlighten us about the weather, he has seen his shadow 18 times prognosticating an early Spring. His accuracy, 35%.
Comically ironic… okay, not funny either — Sci-Fi possesses a level of clairvoyance which is almost creepy.
Alexa is just a kinder cousin of HAL 9000.
Not to mention:
• Cell phones
• Tablets
• Holograms
• Universal translators
• Video calls
• Injections without needles
• Bluetooth
• Virtual reality
• Smartwatches
• Video billboards
• Lasers
• And of course, the self-driving car.
Essentially, when you’re wrong, nobody cares as long as you’re cute…
And if you’re right, well, you’re lucky and nobody cares, period.
So, with that, here are my 3 predictions for 2019 in web design:
Pillar Pages
Google changes algorithms like a serial dater with a match.com account. What do I mean? They continuously change how your business shows up in search results. Remember when it was keywords? Then it became keyword phrases. Now, if your page provides some semblance of expertise, the higher you rank. How can you do that? By not only providing specific content but providing outbound links, sources, and inbound articles within the realm of the subject matter.
These are called pillar pages and topic clusters.
Let me give you an example: You have a page devoted to one primary topic, let’s say it’s sports cars. Under that topic is a variety of subtopics:
• Domestic sports cars
• European sports cars
• Asian sports cars
• Muscle cars, etc.
Within those subtopics, you provide external links to other reputable sites/articles related to your content. Also within the same article, you not only have internal links back to the subtopic page on your site, (Domestic sports cars) but the primary topic page (sports cars) as well. All while utilizing popular keyword phrases. This shows Google you’re not only an expert on the subject matter, but it can and will increase the likelihood that your page will organically move towards the top of search queries.
The folks at Hubspot are the Ninja Gaidens at this. Check this article out for more information. And if you get lost trying to translate it, remember my Fast and the Furious-ish example. It will help.
Mobile First
This is one of those “no shit” moments on every list. You know, like having Michael Jordan be atop a list of the “Greatest Athletes Of All-Time”? Well, this is one of those. Because it’s obvious, yet necessary.
For years now, the idea was to create a snazzy website for both desktop and laptops. Then, once that was done, you worry about mobile.
Not.Any.More.
In 2015 Google noticed how they were being used more frequently on mobile than desktop. So, what did Google do? Come on, you know this…They changed their algorithm. This change was designed to reward sites who were mobile-friendly and offered mobile responsiveness as opposed to those who strictly had a strong desktop-friendly site. They saw what was happening.
In 2017, 50.3% of all web searches worldwide were conducted via mobile phone. A number assured to increase.
However, don’t just walk in telling your web designer you only care about your site being mobile friendly. Have a grasp as to why.
• SEO Value
• Google AdWords
• Builds Credibility
• Quintessential for Ecommerce
And if you’re not convinced, do yourself a favor and read this post. The title, “Three Reasons Lacking A Mobile Friendly Site is Costing You Money.”
Catchy little title now isn’t it?
Video
Okay, if mobile-friendly was Michael Jordan, video is the LeBron James.
Also, here is some irony for you–You’re reading a blog stating the importance of having video on your site. You’re also reading this on a site that doesn’t have any video content. We’ll get to the latter in a moment, but first…
Video is everywhere and video is powerful!
Whether traditional Youtube, whether it’s live, whether it’s GIF’s or whether it’s Tik Tok — The value in video content is not only apparent to a 5-year-old, but it’s also something you need to buy into immediately as it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
The previous two, pillar pages and mobile-friendly, both need to have some form of video contained within them. Period, stop.
If it’s a blog post on sports cars, have a cool, professional-looking video of said car.
If someone is searching your site on their phone, make sure your site has a video that can easily download.
Don’t be dismissive of this either if you think your product and/or service doesn’t necessarily cater itself to video. Because, and this is where you can get really excited, video on your site can be anything you want it to be! Just as long as it’s representative of you and your brand. Prime example, this video by Squatty Potty.
Plus, for the SEO fanatics, adding Video Explainers (via MarTech) to your website can increase the chance of a front-page Google result by 53 times.
I cannot stress how important and impactful video is. I will use this example to only strengthen my point: On November 29th, 2018 Kareem Hunt was one of the best running backs in the National Football League. Two days later, he was no longer in the league. What happened? A video of him assaulting a woman was obtained. It happened that quick. And justifiably so.
The power of video is ineffable.
And in regards to you reading this on a site, JEG DESIGN INC, that currently (as this article is being written) lacks video content — JEG is in the process of having videos produced for 2019. So, there’s that.
Conclusion
In the hours, days, weeks to come, your social media timelines, emails, new sites, etc. are going to be saturated in lists consisting of “Best of 2018” and “What to expect in 2019”. Yet, here is the thing, how many of these lists contain topics which:
1. Need to concern yourself/business with?
2. Are realistically able to be implemented before it’s 2020?
Hopefully, after reading this, you will take a moment of reflection over the year that was, give thanks, and be ready to move on accordingly.
Hopefully, after reading this, you realize there are simple measures you can take to help elevate your brand to the next level, and JEG DESIGN wants to help.
JEG DESIGN is offering a free review of your website. For more information about this or anything of the topics mentioned, contact Jon at JEG DESIGN INC and schedule your consultation today.
From ours to yours, Happy Holidays!
Written by Keith Hannigan
Keith & his wife Katrina are the owners of S.B.I. Content Creation LLC. For more information about the type of content S.B.I. Content Creation LLC specializes in, contact them today for your free estimate!
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