A website for your business is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. But, just because you invested in a website doesn’t mean that it’s effective in connecting with your customers and ultimately improving your sales. While there could be numerous reasons why your website isn’t effective, here are 10 of the most common explanations for website fails.

1. It’s not mobile friendly

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to most of us, but for the first time ever mobile and tablet usage surpassed desktop usage. As the mobile revolution continues to grow around the world, this trend toward “on the go digital,” will continue. In other words, internet consumption is moving away desktops and in to the portable devices territory. This means that your business’s website has to be optimized for mobile users.

Unfortunately, there are still lots of websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. This is just bad for business since it can lead to penalties from the Big G (Google), decrease conversation rates and deliver your customers a poor experience.

To make sure that your site is ready for mobile users, make sure that you use a responsive design, have large buttons and due your due-diligence on a/b testing, keep your layout simple and again, test it using tools like Google’s Search Console Mobile Friendly Test.

2. Contains too much jargon

I understand that you’re an expert in your field and that you want to demonstrate your knowledge and authority. But unless you’re talking to directly to your fellow industry experts, your average customer isn’t going to understand the technical language or industry jargon that you use to describe your business throughout your website.

Avoid the jargon and use simple and straight-forward language that your customers can easily understand.

3. Lacks content

Your customers have a problem. And they’re turning to your website to help them solve said-problem. That’s why your website needs to contain fresh and valuable content that answers real-life questions.

Remember, that doesn’t mean that they’re searching for your exact business. For example, our blog contains useful information for freelancers and small business owners. If a person is searching for advice on invoicing and processing payments, they could also land on our site because that’s the type of content we’ve been producing, as well.

In short, start a blog and keep writing awesome content. This will also help boost your SEO and content marketing efforts.

4. Hides essential information

Besides looking for information that will make their lives better, if customers are looking for your specific business, they want to easily locate information like:

• The address of your business. If you have a brick and mortar business, include a map link.
• Contact information, specifically a phone number and email address.
• Social media plugins.
• Hours, pricing and an “about us” page.

You’d be surprised at how many businesses still don’t have this information on their websites. And, if you’re like me, you may tend to stay from those types of businesses over security or legitimate concerns.

And, there’s really no excuse for forgetting this information. These additions are easy-to-integrate onto your site and usually free as well.

5. Loads too slowly

Customers expect a website to load quickly. In fact, 47 percent of consumers expect a website to load in just 2 seconds or less. And, that’s important to remember because an astounding 79 percent of shoppers who don’t enjoy their website experience less likely to ever return to that site again, nor buy from that site again.

You can test the speed of your site using tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix. These tools provide insights and advice on how to speed your site-up too.

6. Doesn’t have clear calls-to-action

You don’t want to leave your visitors in the dark by making them guess what you want them to do next on your site. So, give them clear instructions by creating a call to action button or hyperlinked text that is front and center.

HubSpot has 31 call-to-action examples that you should review if you need some inspiration. For instance, Dropbox has a blue “Sign up for free,” call-to-action button that stands out from the rest of the page.

Remember, without these buttons, your potential customers won’t move forward with the services or resources that you’re offering. When that happens, you won’t get those all-important business conversions.

7. It’s outdated

Webpages that are maintained and have a current design build trust and credibility. That doesn’t mean that you need to update your site every month. But, if it’s been years since you’ve had a major website design overhaul, then it’s time to find something more contemporary. The last thing that you want is to have a site that looks like a Geocities page from the late 90s.

8. It’s annoying and cluttered

Believe it or not, that are still businesses that insist on having websites that have music or videos play automatically once your enter the site. Even worse, these sites are also full of banner ads, bright colors and flashy text. These sites are just plain annoying and end-up slowing the page down because it’s so cluttered.

So, how many people are going to ever click on that site again at work — or anywhere else?

Keep in mind that a bulk of your visitors are browsing your site on mobile devices too. This means that you’re site should be clean and organized. Keep information to a minimum and use sub-headings, bullet lists and graphic elements so that visitors can digest this info in smaller chunks.

9. Shopping cart or payment platform is broken

Unless you’re relying on a third party payment gateway or shopping cart, then it’s your responsibility to frequently check to make sure that everything is working properly. You won’t be able to make a sale or receive a payment if your cart or payment processor is busted.

10. You don’t guide users to different pages

A lot of businesses send all their traffic to their website’s homepage, as opposed to relevant links that their customers actually want to land-on. This could be because service pages and other pages of the site are just an afterthought when designing a website. But, the fact of the matter is that the home page isn’t as important to general web traffic and the overall design.

Instead, start creating specific landing pages for the various types of potential customers you encounter and where they are in the sales funnel.

See the full article in Entrepreneur

We have prepared a selection of key trends in graphic design for 2020. From the article you will learn what will be at the peak of the wave, and what goes into the past. So, what will be the graphic design tomorrow:

Templates and textures

Today, there is a noticeable increase in the use of templates and textures, but there is no need to use them like competitors. The trend for 2020 is to combine several patterns in one design, in several parts.

Virtual network users are faced with a deficit of texture and volumetric images. For this reason, the full immersion format is becoming increasingly popular.

Graphic design has picked up trends in recent years. The triumph of gradients is replaced by the triumphant return of realistic textures. Contours and graininess make you want to touch what you see. For this reason, you need to find a really good developer, to convert PSD to HTML. This allows us to speak about the future of this trend, especially in the field of graphic design.

Colour solution 2020

Specialists from the Pantone Color Institute proposed to call the main color of 2020 – a shade of blue. It is listed under the number 19-4052. Its other name is “ClassicBlue”.

According to representatives of Pantone, this shade can be described as “an encouraging presence that can cause confidence, calmness. This blue color will be associated with stability, constancy, which is lacking in the modern world. People are always in a hurry, tired of the excess of information received. They lack trusting communication, honesty. The classic blue color will help to calm down, to gather thoughts.

Specialists of the color institute decided to make a real gift for people. They wanted consumers not only to learn about the main shade of the year but also to experience multi-sensory experience, which will be associated with the classic blue color. Thematic images with soundtracks were created, thematic aroma and special fabric were invented. Cooperation with representatives of world companies allowed inventing even a tea mixture, as well as multimedia installation in honor of the main color of the year.

It is important to mention that the institute of color has been selecting the main shade of the year for 20 years. Experts’ predictions are based on the analysis of many social trends that can have an impact on different industries, including design and fashion.

Isometry

The creation of three-dimensional objects in two-dimensional measurement is a trend that has been actively developed this year. Designers can touch the miracle of making an entire universe in a small space. It will take some time to explore all the details of this universe.

The picture seems clean and simple. It won’t take much time to study it. Specialists note the presence of depth, which can not boast a flat design. The isometry will help to show all possibilities of the general view of the terrain, any program. The isometric design will not conflict with most trends. The picture shows a simple gradient of violet and blue colors. If you add some futuristic elements, the appearance of the structure will change. This picture will attract consumers’ attention.

Conclusion

The most important feature of the trends of 2020 is that they can be combined and you can choose something of your own. This, in turn, makes it possible to create something unique, something new in 2020. The year 2020 is a time of artistry, creativity, and fantasy.

In 2020, we will have to combine heterogeneous aspects from past and future, organic and geometric, artificial and real. Specialists have taken into account the current trends and moods of people. Everything will start with electrification, therefore, this must be remembered.

See the full article in Designer Daily

The other day a coworker and I were chatting about our phone’s home screens and the way we organize our app icons. We spent a good amount of time describing to one another our implicit rules on how we prioritize homepage icons, how we choose apps that will sit on the edge vs. the middle of the screen, how we thoughtfully select the ones that will stay fixed on the bottom dock. We were verbally documenting our own unspoken rules on how we had “designed” our phone home screen experience.

The other day a coworker and I were chatting about our phone’s home screens and the way we organize our app icons. We spent a good amount of time describing to one another our implicit rules on how we prioritize homepage icons, how we choose apps that will sit on the edge vs. the middle of the screen, how we thoughtfully select the ones that will stay fixed on the bottom dock. We were verbally documenting our own unspoken rules on how we had “designed” our phone home screen experience.

Here’s where I stand as of today:

• I try to limit the number of icons displayed on my homepage to the ones I use every day. The rule is simple: if I haven’t used an app for more than 3 days, I move it to another page. The fact I have less information to look at helps reduce cognitive load 100 percent of the times I unlock my phone.
• I removed all red badges from the homepage icons (except Slack and work email) to reduce anxiety and the feeling that I need to click on certain icons in the first place — because I really don’t. I noticed my phone usage has drastically dropped since I changed that setting.
• Since I realized I’m often holding my phone with my right hand, I moved icons that I need to access quickly to the right side of the screen, so it’s more easily accessible with my thumb. I don’t really need to open Twitter, Linkedin, or Instagram when I’m walking outside holding my phone with one hand and trying to cross a busy street.

The list goes on forever.

I have rules around how my phone’s second screen is organized as well.

I could write a whole book on the little things I do to optimize my day-to-day experience — not only with my phone, but with my laptop, with my wardrobe, office desk, electric chargers, fridge, backpack. But in all honesty, that would be an incredibly boring book.

The specific rules are not the point (I am not trying to convince you my rules are the right ones, or that they will work for you, and I actually hope you disagree with some of them).

The point is: taking the time to think through what those rules are, and how they are going to impact your everyday.

Why are we not doing the same thing with every single aspect of our lives?

Isn’t that exactly what design is?

Understanding your own use cases

• How many times through the course of a workday do you reach for pen and paper to sketch something out while sitting at your desk?
• What are the shirts you usually choose for weekdays (when you are in a hurry) vs. weekends (when you may have more time, and feel a little more adventurous)?
• What are the 3 things you need to bring with you every time you leave your house?
• What is the cologne you wear everyday, versus the one you wear in special occasions?

It strikes me that so few designers I know actually take the time to think about their own user journey throughout the day.

We use that same logical thinking when designing the app we are working on, when deciding what to include (or not include) on the homepage, when discussing product priorities with our coworkers, when defending our design decisions to your clients.

Still, sometimes we forget to apply those same principles to our own life.

Designing your life begins with designing the environment around you. It makes logical sense: with the efficiency you gain by designing your own experience, you will end up with more time to design experiences to other people.

Defining your personal KPIs

Design is all about making decisions that prioritize one metric over another. What metrics are important to you?

• Less time spent: what are the tasks you repeat every day that can be optimized or automated to save you time?
  From using Buffer to schedule my social media posts, to setting up if this than that recipes that will help me manage the UX Collective; I’m constantly paying attention to time-consuming tasks that are repeated at a certain frequency, and finding ways to automate them or eliminate them altogether.
• Less forgetting: how can you reduce the number of times you forget things?
  Setting monthly reminders to pay the bills, yearly birthday reminders for the people you love, or even daily reminders for more mundane tasks; it only takes a minute, and can save you a lot of frustration and energy later on.
• Less decision-making: how can you reduce the number of decisions you have to make throughout the day?
  As a designer, you are making hundreds of decisions at work, so you might want to reduce decision fatigue in other parts of your day. Make sure to define your personal priorities: some people (like me) prefer to wear the same color every day to avoid decision-making in the morning, but do not want to give up on choosing a different restaurant every night — or vice-versa.
• Less cognitive load: how can you free up your brain from processing excessive amounts of information all the time? Look at the world around you with the eyes of a designer. Aren’t there too many pictures on your living room wall? Too many objects sitting on your desk? Too many apps on your phone home screen? Take a pass at every environment you interact with throughout your day and ask yourself the question: what can I eliminate from here to open up more breathing room for my eyes and brain?

This article was originally published on UX Collective by Fabricio Teixeira.

PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral is the color that will represent 2019. Vibrant and warm, this color sends a powerful message on many levels.

Pantone selects a color at the end of each year to represent the following year, and while not everyone is on board with the concept, it can be a fun look at a particular color trend.

Living Coral – Symbolism Behind it

We live in an ever-changing environment which needs, more than ever, warmth and nourishment. This is why Pantone’s Living Coral with its shining, golden undertone is considered to be a perfect choice for the year ahead. We rely so much on social media and technology in interaction which has made us distant and less empathetic. Therefore, Living Coral reminds us to take care of each other, nurture intimacy and authentic connection.

This color is supposed to have a HUMANIZING factor, said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Institute.

Nevertheless, it has other meanings. Living Coral is there to remind us to nurture a positive attitude and playfulness. Having all this said, what could possibly be wrong with the color of the year announcement?

Living Coral Color Formula

Pantone: Between PR and Design