Say “good-bye” to overloaded small business web designs: Easier trends today

Just tell me small business website design gets easier…

Ok, maybe I shouldn’t admit this on a blog but, some days, I just want someone to tell me that my work may get easier. We are all busy – working hard and learning about our businesses and our customers’ needs so, when a new technology or device comes into your life, you might shriek from having to work more in order to learn it or update it or change everything you are doing.

But even then if it’s right, it may not save you time. When a new trend comes, many times that also means more work.

Like, remember the crown bangs or the crimped hair from the ’80s or for the guys, the sneakers that matched the pants, which also matched the shirt and the hat. All of those trends were time-consuming and costly.

I just want to have a trend that gets easier and doesn’t make me feel terrible because I can never get my hair to fly as high as the other girls. I want someone to say to me, “This is way easier and it isn’t going to take you long to change.”

Now, even reading it made you feel good, didn’t it? Well, what if I told you that current trends on your website will make your life easier? I like the smile on your face. Read on.

New Trends: Easier website designs that people love

According to a blog from Scott Donald with Marketing Profs, there are 10 areas in web design that just got easier and less complicated, as well as increasing your readership (see Say Bye-Bye to these 10 website design trends). I would like to highlight a few of these he mentioned that I myself have recognized and see often with small business websites.

#1 Complicated designs

More popular designs are those that are sleek and simple. Donald attributes some of this to Apple as a key contributor to trend starting in this area.

Many of our small business and nonprofit clients want way too much color, flashy pictures or too much on a page. Simple themes and designs say more and in a bigger way. You don’t have to have fireworks going off above your call to action, just have less on a page.

#3 Text-heavy sites

Are you writing War and Peace or St. John III?  This does not mean you need to ditch content; rather make it more engaging with visuals. Donald says that interactive is the way people are wanting to go.

With more visuals on social media like autoplay videos on Facebook or pictures on Twitter, people are wanting less text and more interactive learning/reading. He also sites Tesla as a great website that breaks up content and creates interactive elements.

#7 Stock photos

Guilty as charged. Yes, we have used our share of stock photos but as more businesses are on the internet and more small businesses are out there, more are taking advantage of these free stock photos and in some cases, you and your neighbor may be advertising with the same picture of the girl with an ice cream cone.

Donald suggests bold, bright photos that represent your brand and personality. I would also add that in the cases of both videos and pictures, a little raw is sometimes good. That doesn’t mean pictures that have terrible lighting or are out of focus but it does mean it doesn’t have to be polished and profession to make it relatable for a customer. But remember, when taking pictures of other people including staff, customers and otherwise, do so with their permission and if possible, get a release form from them in case they change their minds.

Donald talks about seven other areas that simplify your website and make your life much easier as you put it together and keep it going. When you find something that allows you to make your life easier and gets a higher engagement from your customers, it’s at least worth a shot, right?

This also goes for trends in small business website design. If it gets you higher viewership, higher conversions, and better response rates, you should do it.

Thanks for reading. We would love your feedback on this and other blogs so feel free to leave a note below.