The Most Important Web Trends for 2018
Keeping a website up to date means more than just refreshing your content. As time and trends advance, you will find that you may need to update your page design to bring it up to date with contemporary standards.
When you work with a WYSIWYG web site builder like WebDo, it is simple to update the design of your website, or even create a completely unique design to use when yours is no longer getting the attention it once was.
For 2018, these are some of the most important web design trends that you need to know about.
Less Design and More Content
Web design used to be about flashy visuals that captured attention. For a time, websites had very little content and instead relied on clever aesthetic gimmicks to get attention.
In 2018, the reverse is true. Pages need more valuable content and less visual distraction. Sure, visuals are still important, but it is the content that will get you noticed the most. Users now look to websites for information rather than entertainment, and they need that information up-front and unobscured.
The idea to day is to create attractive pages with minimalistic page elements. You can achieve this type of web design when using an advanced WYSIWYG web editor like WebDo.
Responsive Design is Critical to Success
Today, web users view pages from a multitude of devices. Tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and cell phones can all offer a slightly different web experience. Even video game consoles and in-car entertainment systems are used to access the internet today.
If you want to provide a uniform experience across as many different devices as possible, then you will have to follow the practice of responsive web design. This is a type of design and page coding that allows a website to scale to any device, with any screen size.
Thankfully, you don’t need to learn the coding specifics of how this design philosophy works. With WebDo’s WYSIWYG web builder, your pages will already be responsive, allowing you to reach the largest possible audience on any internet-capable device.
Natural Language Key Phrases Will Be More Important
When developing the content for your website you will always need to keep your target keywords in mind. Keywords are what will be used to get your pages listed in search engines like Google, and in 2018 long tail keywords will be more important, as will natural language search phrases.
This is because of the increased usage of voice assistant technology. A significant minority of users are now using speech activated search tools like Siri to perform day to day web searches. These users won’t be asking for specific key words, but will instead use natural language phrases. As an example, a Greek restaurant in Brooklyn would have previously targeted simple keywords like Greek Restaurant Brooklyn, Best Greek Restaurant New York, etc.
In 2018, the same business would need to think about natural language phrases for SEO, such as where can I get Greek food in Brooklyn, Greek restaurants near me in New York etc.
It’s a subtle change to how we look at keywords and search technology, but the businesses that get this right will be the ones that capitalize most from the voice activated search market.
Inclusive Web Design
If you are creating a page with a WYSIWYG site builder, then inclusive design is something that you will need to think about. This is a trend that relates to how pages are made more accessible for any kind of user. This can mean combining different types of content to share the same message.
As an example, a webpage could have standard text content, a video, and an infographic, all which carry a similar message with the same information.
Although this might seem redundant, it actually helps in terms of usability. A desktop user might prefer to read content to get the information that they are looking for, whereas a mobile user would prefer a video or infographic that can provide the information quickly.
It’s not just about the type of device that people are using to view a webpage. Inclusive design also helps with accessibility for people with disabilities, or even for people who have a language barrier between themselves and your content. A website written in English that includes simple infographics could become valuable to people that don’t understand all of the language on the site. A video could be helpful for someone who is visually impaired.
When designing your web page, consider accessibility and make it as inclusive as possible. Even if you don’t yet have video content available to embed, you can still use charts, diagrams, and infographics to convey information for those who don’t have the time or ability to read all of your text.
Create a Web Site with the Best Web Building Software
Whichever trends you choose to embrace in 2018, WebDo is the best way to incorporate them into a website. With a fully graphical WYSIWYG website creator, as well as advanced coding options for those who need it, WebDo is the most comprehensive website building software available today.
You can get started for free, and publish your website right away.
