In 2017 several website trends caught traction which will remain popular throughout 2018. In the past year, we have noticed a major evolution in the design of small business sites. Cluttered pages, a lack of direction, and M.I.A. contact forms are a thing of the past. The message has been conveyed; business owners are realizing that strong photos, clear messages, and prompt customer service is what makes a positive user experience. A positive experience results in potential customers to stay on a site for longer. Therefore, websites are being designed with a specific goal to convey a clear message and make it as easy as possible for the user. More sites are sticking to a clean site format, incorporating a call to action (CTAs) and chatbots.
Clean Sites and Good Photo Quality
This is an example of a site that Old City Web Services redesigned not too long ago. Notice the simple color scheme, clear text, and simplicity of the site.
Above all else, a clean and focused website is a top priority for businesses. A cluttered site can be distracting and push potential customers out of your cyber-door. Since sites only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a user, distracting elements like blurry photos, a mismatched color-scheme, and too short or too long of content, is damaging.
Call to Action (CTA)
In this CTA, the St. Augustine Record advertises a local attorneys office.
The purpose of a CTA is to prompt the user to take a specific action while on your site. A CTA usually takes the form of a button, link, or pop-up and requests the user to “sign up”, make a purchase, download a coupon, or read more information.
Every site should have a CTA, especially e-commerce sites. They provide a direction for users, measure the success of a site, and let’s not forget they increase conversion. The proof is in the pudding. Nearly every large corporation site has several CTAs and small businesses are following suit in 2018.
CTA’s are for you if you have an e-commerce site, use email as a form of marketing, host events or sales, or provide coupons.
If you are interested in adding a CTA or expanding your current site into an ecommerce site, call us to schedule a free consultation.
Screenshot: Chat automation by thinkingchat.com. An example of what chat automation can look like for your business’ site.
Chatbots
Customer service will be more complex than ever in 2018. In the past, customers with an inquiry resorted to dialing a number for a resolution, but in 2018 they will resort to clicking; chatbots are the key to high customer satisfaction.
Consumers are interested in what is most convenient for them and phone calls have become inconvenient. Since users often use the internet and social media pages, such as Facebook, to find information, connecting with them online is more important than ever. Consequently, chatbots are taking the place of phone calls. As you may have noticed on some Facebook Business Pages, it is no longer necessary to dial a number for an answer. Chatbots make it convenient to answer frequently asked questions such as the price of items, event times, locations, and the purchase of tickets. While large enterprises have a customer support person on the other side of their chat box to answer questions, small businesses may not have the manpower to answer individual questions. However, small businesses can rely on chat automation, which provides pre-written responses to FAQ. Chatbots is beneficial for more than just the consumer. In fact, small businesses profit as well because customers are satisfied and better customer data is collected.
The technology behind chatbots is sophisticated but surprisingly inexpensive. Interested in knowing if chatbots are the way to the hearts of your customers? We can help you.
Mission Statement
Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at (904) 829-2772 or contact us today.
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Photo credits: Old City Web Services, Thinkingchat.com, Rodbender Fishing Charters.