Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011

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Last year we published the Top Web Design Trends For Small Business in 2010 and as I reflect on the  Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011, I know for certain that technology is moving so fast that many new technologies will probably be introduced by the time I finish this article!

Websites as business tools will continue to be important. In 2011, shared content will become more significant, as people read it and then share it with their networks. Social optimization of websites coupled with integration of all marketing activities – e-mail, websites and social networks — will be the key to success.

Websites are making an interesting shift in 2011. A traditional website will no longer be sufficient as more and more individuals are accessing the Internet from their mobile devices. This will not only affect small business websites, but ecommerce tactics as well. I’ve collaborated with a few of my colleagues at Network Solutions to take a deeper dive into mobile and online trends for 2011.

I want to start with a very simple observation:  Have you noticed that when sharing URLs more people are using the non-www version of their domain names as their main URL address? Rick Wilhelm, VP of Engineering at Network Solutions, says “Given the ubiquity of the Web in today’s media landscape, writers no longer need to lean on the “www” prefix to let readers know that the URL is actually a URL.  If we went back in time, we would find a time when a 10-digit number with dashes needed to be identified as a telephone number.  Now, URLs have made that a similar transition.” Most Web servers can be configured to send both requests (www and non-www) to the same place.

Top Website and Website Design Trends For 2011

Flexible Websites
This trend came from my long-time friend and Chief Web Designer at Network Solutions, Bob Kohute. Bob stresses the importance of the ability for a single website to serve several media purposes successfully (traditional browser, iPad, iPhone). The hot trend right now is utilizing CSS media queries to serve multiple layouts based on device and screen dimensions so that the website is flexible enough to display properly and cleanly.

Flexible websites are very beneficial fpr small businesses as there is no longer a need to build separate, custom websites for mobile-specific purposes. Small business owners are able to build one website that properly uses media queries and can serve up business content successfully across several browsing platforms.

Here is an example. Resize your browser to see the benefits of a scalable and flexible website.

The Emergence of HTML 5
You may be familiar with HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) that is used for Web pages. HTML5 is the next major revision of HTML that will see wider adoption in 2011, both by Web designers and browsers.  Many Web giants like Microsoft, Google and Facebook have already started implementing it, with increased implementation for HTML5 in 2011.

Lynne Brehmer, Principal Design Services at Network Solutions, says “Although it won’t be fully available across all browsers in 2011, according to Smashing Magazine, more and more people should start experimenting with the new HTML5. YouTube is already offering enhanced video feature for browsers that support it. In addition, HTML5 offers an integration tool with social media, which will be a major focus in 2011.”

Simon Mackie wrote in a GigaOm article, “As technologies like HTML5, CSS3, SVG and WebGL start to become more mainstream, not only will the Web apps we already use become more useful, but we should also see developers building Web apps that do things that previously could have been done only by desktop applications.”

Also, take a look at this note from Davin Recordon on Facebook on his team’s HTML5 projects.

Moving to the Online Newsroom
Every website craves the attention of Web visitors, but the average attention span is about 8 to 10 seconds. In that short time your website has to grab the attention of the visitor and if you succeed, you probably have another 2 to 3 minutes to present the relevant information to the visitor. In 2011 website designers will reward visitors with a new trend—the “editorial layout.”

Lynne Brehmer also shared her thoughts on the editorial layout, stating, “The editorial layout will be another big trend in Web design in 2011. This style allows Web designers to provide readers with a better layout, enabling them to find information much more easily. These websites are simple to navigate and cater to succinct messages that are easy to follow. As a result, websites will contain brief articles with subheadings and large images.”

Staying Secure in 2011
Before people trust your website with their money or information, they want reassurance that they are at the right website and the site is secure. With increasing awareness of online security, websites with trust seals will have a better chance of retaining visitors and shoppers.

According to Roy Dykes, Product Manager at Network Solutions, consumers are becoming better educated when seeking key trust indicators while shopping online. Online businesses that successfully convey trust and assurance to their customers through the use of Extended Validation or EV SSL Certificates will benefit from increased customer conversion and lower abandonment rates. Extended Validation SSL Certificates which provide a green “good-to-go” browser indicator to online visitors provide reassurance that the website they are visiting has been thoroughly vetted by a commercial Certification Authority (CA) and that it is safe to interact with.

Mobile E-Commerce: Shopping on the Go
John Steedman, Principal, E-Commerce Products, at Network Solutions, provides additional insight into mobile trends. Beyond developing their mobile strategy for Web design, small businesses will need to consider mobile e-commerce. Mobile sales have grown 143 percent, from $1.4 billion in 2009 to $3.4 billion in 2010, according to ABI Research. Shoppers are increasingly using smartphones for price comparisons, participating in loyalty programs, finding local inventory and making online purchases.  This has led to a power shift toward the buyer, and as a result, retailers are challenged to find innovative ways to attract and retain the mobile shopper. In 2011, at a minimum, retailers will need a mobile-friendly presence to remain relevant to the mobile shopper.

Social Sharing and Shopping
Social networks are a fantastic way to share content. Websites that “wow” visitors will be shared more often, so small businesses should consider shareability in their design. Visitors who stop by your website should be able to use their browser plug-ins or widgets like Addthis, Sharethis, Facebook  Like ,Bizsugar,  Tweet button for Twitter or Linkedin Share to easily share a  good summary of your content with their networks.

John Steedman also notes that mobile e-commerce is only the beginning. Merchants will need to leverage their customers’ social connections to get share of mind in 2011. More and more customers are on social networks. According to Morgan Stanley Technology Research, Facebook’s user base grew more than 50 percent in 2010 to more than 600 million users.  Twitter’s user base grew 74 percent to more than 100 million users.  As customers spend more time engaging with their social networks, e-commerce merchants will need to leverage their customers’ networks to promote their brands and products through share and like features and social storefronts.

Year of Website Measurement
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there,” Avinash Kaushik quoted Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland in his article, Leverage Custom Reports for Better Insights. Avinash is Analytics Evangelist at Google. If website owners are not already paying attention to their analytics, this will be the year to do so.  While you may look at your data-rich analytics report and pat yourself on your back, admiring the scores of Web visitors, this year may be the time to look at them to see what is actually working. “Don’t be data rich [and] insight poor,” said Jim Sterne in his book Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment.

Set your goals. Agree on your KPIs (key performance indicators). Find where your best visitors came from and which campaigns worked for you, and invest more money and resources there.

Consider Mobile First and Foremost for Your New Online Strategy
As a small business owner, you are probably using a mobile device to check e-mail, receive calls from customers and use productivity apps. Your audience is doing the same, and smartphone adoption and the usage of data on mobile devices are increasing. According to Mobile Marketer, one out of four consumers today has a smartphone with Web browsing and application download capability. This figure is expected to jump to one out of three in 2011. This is an important year to consider or reconsider your mobile strategy.

Lynne Brehmer also weighs in on this trend. It’s not all about the PC anymore. According to a ComputerWorld article, in the next 18 months, shipments of smartphones, tablets and other app-enabled devices are projected to overtake PC shipments. As a result, it won’t be enough for your business to merely have a traditional website. Now it will be important to implement a mobile strategy first and foremost when designing content. Your audience will be mobile—so you need to be too.

See these additional resources for more information on mobile website trends: Paul Graham, Nielsen, Business Insider and Zurb.

Short Is the New Content Trend
Twitter and Facebook status updates are getting more eyeballs, and you have to get better at crafting your message in 140 characters. As IH Hudson said, “It’s not the 140-character limit but the character of the message that counts.” How does your website article heading translate into a 140-character tweet? How can your URL be shortened to fit the 140-character limit? These are some of the questions website owners need to work to answer.

URL shorteners  Bit.ly and Hootsuite offer the option of custom domain URL shortening, which means you have the option of having your brand as part of the URL. For example, Twitter has t.co as a shortener and New York Times has nyti.ms, Washington Post Wapo.st. The possibilities are enormous. Google has its own URL shortening service called goo.gl. Did I mmention many of them offer analytics on clicks using the short urls?

Locate, Check In and Review
This year, there was a proliferation of location-based services, which allow users to search for nearby business, check in to any business and share the info with their social networks. Location-based services continue to evolve, with businesses rewarding frequent customers and customers leaving virtual tips about the business. Some of these sites include Yelp, Gowalla, Foursquare and Facebook Places. Most, if not all, target mobile devices.

Encouraging your customers by adding badges to your website urging them to check in to your business on these sites will give you exposure with this check-in crowd. Consider having a feed from these sites on your website to serve as useful, real-time testimonials.

As the small business experts who spoke at the GrowSmartBusiness Conference 2010 said, “Technology for technology’s sake is not a good strategy. Use technology to solve a business problem and make your services more efficient.” We look forward to a great 2011!

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