Design Post Update

If your website matches any of these signs then it needs updating

The internet is a dynamic and rapidly changing place. It is not enough for a business to simply have a website. In fact your website needs to be fast, attractive and effective for it to be worthwhile having. Here are 5 quick things to check to see if your website is performing or whether it is in need of an update.

1. Your website appears dated

If you haven’t updated the design of your site for a while, chances are it has a dated aesthetic. Features such as Flash based videos or animations, bad pop-ups, corny stock photos or a gradient button menu are a sure-fire way to know that you need a new one. When analysing your website step into the shoes of a potential customer. They’re instantly going to associate the design and functionality of your site with the quality of the product or service you offer. You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so make sure you make the best one possible.

When analysing your website step into the shoes of a potential customer.

If your website messaging seems stale or blends in with your competitors, it’s time to make a change and showcase your company for how remarkable it really is. The good news is that website rebuilds or redesigns don’t need to be a headache, Opus Web Design can help you update your site so it will not only captivates your audience but push them towards a conversion. Often, it’s not necessary to go through a complete website rebuild. We find, in many cases, that some simple optimizations and refreshed page elements can improve website appearance and performance.

2. Your competitors outrank you on Google

It's all well having a good looking website but it isn't much use to you if nobody can find it. We all search for businesses on Google, often even if we know the actual web address so your business needs to rank well, especially against your competitors. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and content marketing are vitally important for ensuring a healthy Google ranking. Search technology relies on algorithms to identify websites that are either completely static or don’t change their content regularly.

By continually having engaging and informative content that is keyword targeted on your website, you can take significant steps towards ensuring that your site stays ahead of your competitors. A good way to see whether or not you’re lagging behind is to do a simple Google search for your site and for your key services/products. If you find some of your competitors are higher in the search rankings than you, it may be time to rethink your SEO and content marketing strategy.

3. Your website isn’t mobile responsive

Mobile browsing now accounts for over half of all online activity

So your website looks good and ranks well but is it mobile friendly? People are constantly on their phones and tablets, so if your website doesn’t look great and function properly on all major device platforms, you’re ignoring potential customers. Today’s websites should be completely mobile responsive so that they appear and function well on devices. Mobile responsiveness has become massively important in terms of search rankings over the past couple of years. According to Search Engine Land, nearly 60% of all online searches are now conducted on a mobile device, and that number continues to climb.

Click to do a quick mobile friendliness test for your website.

4. Traffic isn’t converting into sales

A lot of sites have good web traffic, meaning that they are doing the hard work in terms of SEO and effective content marketing, but for certain reasons very little of that traffic is converting into actual sales. It could be that the user experience isn’t great in certain areas of your site and it’s costing you potential sales. Your website is the first impression that most prospects get of your company, and its main purpose is to convert visitors into leads. If this is not happening, it’s time to redesign.

We can use Google Analytics stats can find the holes in your site and tell you where most of your visitors are slipping through the net. Many dated websites lack effective calls to actions that convert users to customers. A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or link that you place on your website to drive prospective customers to become leads by completing an action on your landing page.

5. Website Speed

Website loading speed is a key factor in Google's ranking algorithm

Your website’s loading time is a major factor in people either staying or leaving the site and never returning. Google Page Speed Insights find out how long your site takes to load. If your score is not in the green then you need to rethink the elements of your website that are slowing it down. The main result of slow loading times is a high bounce rate.

The definition of bounce rate is the percentage of people who arrive on your site and leave without visiting a second page. A high bounce rate is an obvious sign of an outdated or poorly performing site. Website users usually leave a site hurriedly without visiting other pages because it didn't load fast enough, they don’t find what they are looking for instantly or simply do not like the look of it.

What web design trends will merge in 2017? Find out here.

2017 is here and it’s bringing more technological breakthroughs and surprising web design trends than the world has ever seen. With each passing day, the modern world hits a new record for digital advancement. The future of web design looks bright for those ready to embrace positive changes.

In this article we shine some light on the web design trends that we think will be big in 2017, so here they are, our tips for the big web design trends of 2017 ...

• Touch
• Big
• Space
• Original
• Video
• Custom
• Voice
• Animation

Touch...

We think haptic technology will be a big deal in 2017

The mobile-first approach has been around for a few years now, but with mobile-phones now officially named as the primary devices used for browsing the web, more companies are realising the importance of having a site that effectively delivers content on a smaller screen. Furthermore, engaging users on mobile devices is becoming more difficult as the 'scroll' and 'swipe' design approach  used in many apps has led to users having a very short attention span when using their mobile device. This is where haptic technology comes in.

There are three sensory systems related to sense of touch in humans: cutaneous, kinesthetic and haptic. All perceptions mediated by cutaneous and/or kinesthetic sensibility are referred to as tactual perception.

The sense of touch may be classified as passive and active, and the term "haptic" is often associated with active touch to communicate or recognize objects.

Haptic communication recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user through their mobile device.  Currently the Samsung Anycall Haptic enables users to feel clicks, vibrations and other tactile input. In all, it provides the user with 22 kinds of touch sensations in response to various user actions.

But how does all this relate to web design? Well, for example a strong vibration could be activated to discourage users when exiting a website or app. On the flip side a relaxing, pulsing sensation could be output from a meditation app on your mobile device. There are, of course, numerous other possibilities and I think 2017 is the year when we will see haptic technology emerge as a major feature in web and app design for mobile devices.

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Big...

This website utilises big text and big images to dominate the screen

Images, Text and Video are all set to be big in 2017, and I mean that literally.

With the rise in mobile usage, users are reading less, scrolling more and browsing quicker so designers are having to go big to grab attention.

Full screen background images were popular in 2016 and we also saw the introduction of full screen video backgrounds too on websites such as pay-pal, more on that later though. This trend is expected to continue and become more widespread in 2017 as websites try to get their point across quickly and visually.

Large custom typography is also set to be used more to create personality, evoke emotion and set tone. As device resolutions become sharper and type becomes more easy to read on-screen, companies will look to push the limits of typography even further in 2017 to appeal to their target audience.

So expect to see an increase in over-sized and full screen type this year, hopefully it'll be of the beautiful, unique and hand-rendered type and not the bold, blocky and in your face type. We'll have more on the benefits of a custom approach later.

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Space...

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Original...

Expect to see more illustrations like this in 2017

As discussed above, the rise of mobile device and UI patterns now places UX as the most important aspect of design, meaning that many sites now look and work in similar ways. This is fine for users as they now know, instinctively, how to navigate around a website that they have never visited but it's not fine for a company who wants to stand out from the crowd.

In order for a brand to really stand out and strike a connection with it’s audience, while still using a design users can manage, they’ll need carefully considered and completely bespoke visuals which are more representative of who they really are. We can see this being a big web design trend in 2017 and is one that we really look forward to seeing.

Original illustrations are fantastic, versatile mediums for creating playful and friendly visuals which add an element of fun to a site. 

Talented illustrators are able to create illustrations which are full of personality and tailored to match the tone of the brand, something which brands will be striving for more than an ever in 2017.

A custom, purpose taken photograph is the main feature of this website

With a unique style of illustration established, brands are then able to roll that out through their entire identity, for use in large header images, custom iconography and beautifully animated visuals. Dropbox, is a great example of a brand who uses illustration to create beautiful, friendly and totally unique visuals which are full of character to appeal to their users.

This demand for originality will hopefully lead to the death of the dreaded stock imagery that we see everyday across the web and lead to a rise in more authentic photography in 2017. Brands and designers will now be thinking more carefully about the imagery they use on site, hiring professional photographers to take their shots which frame them in the way they want to be seen.

Unfortunately, it’ll probably be a long time before much of the cheesy stock photography completely disappears, but expect to see it disappear a little in 2017.

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Video...

This website utilises a full screen video background to epic effect

One trend that grew quickly the past year is video content and we expect to see it grow further in 2017 especially as video content is now increasingly cost-effective to produce, with apps that enable quick and easy live video recording and professional-grade productions. The combination of decreasing costs of video and growing popularity of this medium is the perfect storm for video to overtake written content as king in 2017.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, but a video does that tenfold,

Video, although by no means new, is long-established and versatile medium, useful for story-telling, marketing and vlogging alike, and has several advantages over traditional photography. Where static imagery is flat and motionless, video is altogether more dynamic, using sound and movement to appeal to the senses and hold attention for longer.


Watch the video image above for a few seconds and see how encapsulating it can be. Much like with animation, a moving image on a page instantly captures the users attention, drawing them in so brands are able to get across their carefully constructed narrative and message.

Video is quickly taking over the internet, and the above reasons are testament to how successful it is as a means for content delivery. As well as using video for marketing purposes, it’s becoming more widespread in social media, with the recent releases of live-streaming services Periscope, and Meerkat illustrating the demand people have to not only view video content, but produce their own.

The benefits of video outlined above are reason enough for brands to want to incorporate it, but they are also great reasons for any freelance web designer to start using more video as a feature in their designs.

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Custom...

Unique and personalised online user experiences are increasing sought after

It’s no secret that responsive web design has taken the web dev community by storm. In 2017, however, we think responsive design will reach a whole new level. Instead of simply adapting based on device, websites will adapt based on each user to give them an entirely custom experience. For example a website’s content, color scheme, font sizes, and spacing could respond to accommodate a user based on their age.