We’re going to be working on some pretty hefty web redevelopment projects over the next six months so I thought I’d swot up on current thinking and future gazing on where the web is going next in terms of design and usability.   Here are some of the trends that are coming our way.  Thanks to the smart team at Net magazine for a great article in issue 198 called Tips and Trends for 2010. Here are my jotted out revision notes. I’ve chosen a neat top ten, there were lots more, but I like neat.

1) Improving  what you’ve got. The return to analytics.

Throwing money at gimmicky one-off micorsites and games will be replaced with a serious assessment of core site usability to increase customer conversions and retention. Analytics will shift from active pages to examining user activity. Google AB testing.

2) Multi-channel design briefs.

Companies will move to using the web as a primary source for spreading the message. This won’t lead to mega agencies, but to more creative collaborations with small teams. Designers will take a more holistic approach. Be content aware, user and usability focused.

3) Less choice and more single minded content.

Sites will become more purposeful and single minded, minimising self hosted content to the strictly relevant and using third party services where necessary.

4) It’s still about speed. Find , do , share things – Quickly!

The trend of enabling people to rapidly access information is here to stay. We’ll see a continued rise in the grid system, influenced strongly by print with plenty of white space to enhance visuals.

5) Apps will lead the way in design.

Apps provide quick, usable solutions for people on the go. Many sites will take their design and user experience from their mobile apps rather than the other way round. Designers will simplify and streamline websites for mobile platforms, resulting in sites with better usability and apps that give users greater control over their personal experience.

6) It will move for a reason.

2010 will see a move away from meaningless moving content and towards beautiful interactive style that looks great and adds something to the ease and pleasure of using a site. Flash is not dead, Flash CS5 looks promising.

7) It’s all about web fonts.

2010 will be the year of web fonts. Web designers can now use a wider pool of fonts without resorting to images or flash. Web fonts it will change the look of the web forever.

Designing for social engagement and the three universal challenges*

Designers will be optimising sites for things that can be commented on and shared. Designers must optimise for engagement and encourage participation. The three key design and usability challenges for social engagement look like this. 1) Help people understand how the site works. Quickly! 2) Get people to sign up. 3) Turn them into active returning users.

*I honestly have no idea why my number eight is a smiley face. I’ve looked at the HTML but I’m none the wiser. See point 10. Will email Pete on Monday.

9) Mobile and location awareness.

Location awarness will become integral on desktops.  Without relying on user input it will be possible to set a geographical context, enhancing the user experience with services such as localised search.

10) We’ll all need to broaden our skill set.

With the iphone it’s all about software so if you’re a designer who doesn’t know code you should learn. If you’re web page creator who doesn’t know basic HTML you should learn.

All this sounds pretty exciting to me. If you know of any more me drop me a line. Thanks again to  Net magazine.

Tags: design, trends, usability, user experience

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Our Managing Director Jon recently celebrated a big birthday. One with a zero involved, that’s all I’m saying. His birthday present to himself was a ‘top of the range’ road bike.  He sure does love that bike. I’ll ask him to post his thoughts on how much he loves his new bike very soon. In-between his euphoria he has fleeting moments of tormenting guilt about how much it cost.

This got me thinking about how pre-purchase thinking and consuming conscientiously is in part about making sure you’re really going to love something for the long term. If you love it, you value it, and if you value it, you’ll care for it.

Nowadays I seem to agonize longer over purchases then I ever did before. Shopping is something I avoid unless absolutely necessary. Some of the questions I try to untangle go like this:

Did the person (or company) have ‘fire in their bellies’ about making it the best it could be? Were they passionate about it? Has obsolescence been sneakily built into the design? Is it inherently disposable? Do I love it? And will I love it ‘long time’. Why do I love it? Fashion? Kudos? Have I given this purchase proper thought? Will I use it regularly? Is it practical? Ahhhh! Buying things is tough.

Here are a few things I thought hard about and decided yes I would love them and yes they would bring me a bit of joy every single time I used them.

My ‘box of Poppets’ size camera. It’s dead handy and bloody lovely to look at and hold.

My Roberts Radio. It’s on almost 365 days a year in my house. I love the buttons and the lovely rounded, deep sound.

My new shower cap. An obvious solution to keeping the ‘hairdo’ in check and adding a bonus ten minutes to my day. Got to love that.

And so to the real ‘digital’ point I’m trying to make. Web content, websites and blogs need constant nurturing; they are living things that are never finished. Owners have to continuously invest time into maintaining and developing the content and functionality. Being the demanding little buggers they are its vital that people love their websites and that using them brings them joy.

Making sure users enjoy their websites is a core design and UX (user experience) challenge. Not only should it look lovely up front it should be quick, easy and enjoyable update and maintain from the back end.

If using your website brings you (or the team) no joy it’s destined for neglect and will inevitably end up in the big digital landfill in the sky. Our Word Press blog is testament to a great back office user experience and a great design by Pete and his team on the front end.

We love it, it’s a joy use.

Tags: design, nice stuff, random thoughts, usability, user experience

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On some level, when a company offers me a form or an e-mail address as a way to get in touch, I feel slightly snubbed. Why so bloody aloof? Why keep me at arm’s length? I’m an alright person. My needs are not wholly unreasonable. I just want a few answers to a few questions that I can’t find the answer to on the website.

I feel pretty strongly about ‘Contact Us’ pages. They should be welcoming and encouraging. After a first date with someone you really quite like you wouldn’t ask them to leave a message so that you can pick it up at your earliest convenience. Surely you’d make yourself as available as possible. In fact if you really liked them you’d be waiting by the phone, e-mail, text and Skype!  After all, this is the critical phase of what could turn out to be lovely long term relationship. Every move matters.

Here comes the trumpet blowing.

On one of the sites we’ve recently been working on we’ve been improving that all important ‘Contact Us’ page. Built on Word Press, it’s not as big and elaborate as a lot of the sites we work on but it doesn’t mean you can’t do things well.  We think the end result is human, welcoming and super encouraging to ‘get in touch’. Like most of our website development work it all starts with a sketch and a conversation with the client and then (and only then) do we move into wire framing, information architecture and the techie build. I do the doodles and Pete and his team work their magic on design and build.

The final solution.

Here’s what we decided;

• Introduce the lovely staff. Include images and links to find out more about them.
• Offer four different ways to get in touch – telephone, e-mail, Skype and a call back form.
• Reassure that there is no question too silly and that the staff speak good English.
• Be upfront about response turnaround times, call rates and office hours.
• Wrap it all up in a bunch of  useful content and information. Flickr, YouTube, downloadable brochures, weather and the location.
• Offer the option to sign up to hear from them again and win a holiday.

We also worked with the client to set up appropriate telephony and route calls via Skype so the customer only pays for a national rate call. Here’s the end product. You can let us know what you think and what we’ve missed by leaving a comment below. Thoughts welcome!

Tags: digital marketing, tourism marketing, usability

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