Time To Let It Go? Should We farewell These 5 Web Marketing Trends?
Yes, its true. Trends come and go. Just like the “mullet”, some trends we’re glad to see the back of…
The fast paced world of web design and marketing is no different. Sometimes we hold onto old trends for a little too long, when we should really be letting go and moving on.
As technology evolves, it’s easy to fall into the trap of just repeating old patterns, or doing ‘what you’ve always done’. The web industry is constantly moving forward and holding on to old trends can weigh you down, and put you behind the competition.
Here are five web design trends it might be time for you to bid farewell to:
1. Wave Goodbye To: Mobile ‘Versions’ of Websites.
• A whopping 90% of smartphone owners accessed the Internet via their smartphones daily.
• 58% of smartphone owners used Search engines on their smartphones daily.
• 52% of smartphone owners visited the website of a business after performing local search on their smartphones.
It is these statistics that are leading to businesses creating mobile-first web design and treating desktop and laptop design as secondary. Also focusing on a fully integrated experience from your mobile phone – its just not enough anymore to detect the device and request to ‘use mobile site’
Mobile versions of websites are a trend of the past – now, you’d be foolish not to design with mobile in mind from the start.
2. Bid Farewell To: Text-Heavy Sites
As visual media increases in importance all over the Internet, there has been an unsurprising decrease in text-heavy websites. Instead of telling your story in a paragraph or block of text, the trend now all about visual storytelling.
Text has been cut down to the essentials, while visuals are increasingly used to impart important information. Combining content and visuals to tell a story can help hold the attention of even the Internet’s most impatient users.
3. Time To Turn Your Back On: SEO Copywriting
For years, SEO copywriting has been a large part of web design and promotion. But Google’s changing search algorithms have made it increasingly hard to keep up with the new SEO guidelines.
It’s time to say goodbye to SEO copywriting and start developing keyword informed and user-centric content instead. Developing easily understood copy with which your target market will emotionally connect. It’s also important to keep your content on message and use copywriting to build up your brand, instead of focusing on SEO.
4. Say So-Long To: Old School Pay-Per-Click
Pay-per-click advertising is changing rapidly. New technology helps us better target ads more and more specifically. The old style pay-per-click is practically obsolete, since new tools and new targeting capabilities can help you find your exact consumer. You can now target who watches certain television shows in certain geographical areas, exact age ranges, favorite clothing brands, and even target based on Facebook relationship status.
Consumers are self supplying a wealth of information on the internet that can help you pinpoint targets more accuratey and offer a more tailored advertising experience.
5. See Ya’ Later: Low Resolution
We all know Apple is a huge driver of technological changes and design trends. Heard of Retina displays? These have totally changed the game for website design, as unless you have the right resolution, the quality of your website will always be poor on these displays.
So, it might be just about time to say goodbye to web trends that have rightfully gone out of fashion. Web design and marketing is always changing, and if you cling to old trends… you may just find yourself with a ‘Mullet’ and a Nokia 5110 in hand… : )
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
