Marketing + Web

4 Website Trends To Watch in 2019

Website trends come and go, but as we prepare for a new year, where should we concentrate our focus?

There is a fine line between trend and trendy — on which side will your website land in 2019? Industry pros pour over details to predict which web development elements will be rad or fad and can help you rate how your website measures up. Here are the website trends to watch for, or avoid, in the new year.

1. Create Fast-loading Websites

Web use statistics reveal that more and more people access the internet on mobile devices — to the tune of 50 percent! With the mass move to mobile web browsing, web developers have been hard at work ensuring that the websites they create are responsive across a variety of platforms. However, just because your website is responsive doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fast. They key here is test, test, test! Always be sure that there are not any large graphics or bad code bogging things down.

2. Remember: Content is (still) King

As we look to 2019, all eyes are on content marketing. This digital marketing strategy has taken on a life of its own and is constantly changing as search engines change their algorithms. It’s not only about links and meta; How you phrase your content increasingly matters as people come to the internet looking for answers.

The majority of web searches come in the form of a question. You’ve probably heard of Siri, Alexa, and Cortana—artificial intelligence built into our computers, phones, and other devices that create the ability for us to verbally search for answers with a simple question. Content should be written in a way that answers questions such as this: “Hey, Siri, what’s the closest place to order take-out?”

It’s called voice search optimization and it’s one of the biggest shifts in content the web has ever experienced. Of the approximately 3 million blog posts published online each day, few of the posts are written through the perspective of answering a question. Get ahead of the curve (and a higher search engine rank) by changing the way you craft your content.

Furthermore, if you are a local small business, zero in on geotargeted content. This ensures you remain on the front page of search results which helps you generate leads. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, geotargeting is the practice of leveraging web user location information (such as zip codes, cookies, IP addresses) for targeted marketing and advertising. This not only includes web content but also content that you place in virtual phone books like Google My Business. This can get complicated but we specialize in un-complicating things and can help you make sure your content is up to par.  

3. Incorporate Video and Film

Everyone knows that Google is the number one search engine in the world but many are surprised to learn that YouTube is the number two most used search engine. This reality has upped the ante on the necessity of including videos and brand films into your marketing strategy.

Adding videos to your website can give your digital marketing efforts and pretty serious boost. This is a major trend that isn’t going away. As brands invest more in videos and continue creating strategies for user-generated content, film and video will be mission-critical to all digital marketing strategies (if it isn’t already!).

4. Ecommerce

If you offer products or goods of any kind, your website should serve as a digital storefront for your wares. A significant portion of your prospects will go elsewhere if you aren’t selling online. In 2017 online purchasing hit an all-time high at 1.66 billion customers. Early estimates indicate that millions more will make online purchases in 2018 and 80 percent of Internet users in the United States are expected to make a purchase online in 2019.

These are only a few of the trends we see coming down the pike. Most of our clients come to us because they don’t have time (or the desire) to track the shifting tides of website and digital marketing trends. Let us know if you have questions. We’d be happy to help you navigate these unpredictable waters so you can sail smoothly into the new year looking agile and awesome.