Archive for MESSAGING AND DESIGN

Posted by DBC Digital on
 January 1, 2018

Web Design Trends for 2018

We’re pleased to offer a free website consultation. Call today, (303) 357-5757, or e-mail dbc@dbcdigital.com.

 

The Biggest Web Design Trends for 2018

As our use of the web keeps evolving, so do the trends for web design. With technology creating new and exciting options and the overwhelming use of mobile devices to feed our insatiable need for knowledge and entertainment, these are the major website design trends for 2018.

1. Clean and Simple Home Pages

Websites are moving away from busy web pages and making their home page clean, simple and sometimes even stark. These website owners understand that their visitors know to scroll down the page for more info, so the starting page now can convey just one simple message.

Check out Spotify, who uses bright colors, one central idea, and a simple design to get their messaging across.

2. Bright Colors and Distinct Typography

Spotify isn’t the only website not scared to go bold. A lot of sites are heading towards bolder colors and creating their own typography, so their website helps you immediately recognize their brand. For instance, most people now recognize the lowercase “f” that’s part of the Facebook logo.  That kind of brand recognition has become an important goal to companies on a very-crowded internet.

The bicycle company Cyclemon uses a similar approach with their home page.  They use a bright yellow background with light-pink lettering and a distinct font. They’re fighting to get your attention by being bright, colorful and different. The biggest web design trends in 2018 will follow this pattern of being noticeable and unique.

cyclemon-website design trends 2018

3. Video that Plays in the Background (“Cinemagraphs”)

While some argue that it’s a distraction, a 2017 web design trend that’s gaining momentum in 2018 is video movement when you open the homepage. Sites like K23 Media use looping video that plays behind their menu, creating a sense of movement to their website.

cinemagraphs-website design trend 2018

 4. Progressive Web Apps

The love of mobile apps is spilling over to web design. Web designers are taking the best of web and the best of app designs and blending them to create a new hybrid called “progressive web apps.” These progressive web apps are built to work in all environments, easily switching between mobile to desktop.

Web design trends in 2018 will feature more upgraded websites with animated page transitions, “push” notifications and splash screens.

Sites like Flipboard are built using the progressive web app mentality, making it quick and easy to use.

5. A Focus on Mobile-Responsive

Progressive web apps have become popular because having a site that’s mobile friendly is incredibly important. According to Google, over 50% of web searches are now done on a mobile phone.

With Google rolling out its new mobile-first index in 2018, being mobile friendly is an absolute must for website owners if they want to show up in search results.

What’s a mobile-first index? That means Google will rank and present search listings based on the mobile version of your content, even when someone is searching from their desktop. Every site must now be mobile friendly (“responsive”) if you want to rank better than dead-last in Google.

6. Screen-Bottom Navigation

With our love of mobile searching, the way we search has totally changed. Since certain parts of our phone screen are easier to reach with one hand, we’re getting used to clicking at the bottom of the screen while we navigate.  Many apps follow this rule and use the bottom navigation (a.k.a. tab bar)  for the most important features.

Facebook makes main pieces of their core functionality available with one tap at the bottom, allowing rapid switching between features.

With mobile app design taking over, web designers are placing “sticky” menu items (they stay in the same place even when you scroll) at the bottom of the site instead of the top.

7. 3D and Virtual Reality

As virtual reality becomes more common, virtual reality for websites is becoming a bigger trend. For example, 3D technology works especially well for the real estate market, where people can take a 3D tour of a home without stepping foot out of their house or the agent’s office.

New technology from companies like Matterport has allowed real estate agents to show some of their listings in 3D. Now prospective buyers can do an interactive initial tour of a house just by clicking on a website. Expect to see more amazing things done with 3D and virtual reality in 2018.

Bottom Line for 2018 Website Design Trends

2018 website design trends will be all about making it easier to stand out, to be noticed, incorporating more video and making it easier to navigate the web. Simple design, bold colors, greater mobility and incorporating what works on mobile devices into all web design will be what’s happening in web design in 2018.

If it’s time to update your website, give us a call at (303) 357-5757 or send us a note at dbc@dbcdigital.com.  We’ll take a look and give you some ideas and options.

 

 

Please note: At DBC Digital, we offer marketing for small and medium-sized business. Our primary services include digital marketing, printing, graphic design, web development, and social media marketing. We’re in Centennial, near I-25 and Dry Creek. We serve clients throughout the Denver metro area, Colorado, and the U.S.

 

Categories : MESSAGING AND DESIGN, Website Design, WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Tags :
website design
Posted by Greg Sherwood on
 November 20, 2017

4 Reasons You Need to Update Your Website Now

We’re pleased to offer a free website consultation. Call today, (303) 357-5757, or e-mail dbc@dbcdigital.com.

 

As a business owner, when was the last time you thought about your website’s design?

Chances are you put up a website, called it good, went out for pizza and went on with the day-to-day business of running your company.

But there have been a lot of changes in the world of marketing over the last few years, and your website is one of the most important parts of your marketing and branding.

Like it or not, your website is a 24/7 online rep for your company. When people judge your website, they’re judging your company.

If your site is falling behind in any of these four categories, you’re likely losing prospects and money.

  1. Your Website is Showing its Age

For most prospects, your website is the first time they’ll meet “you.” Even if they find you another way, you can bet they’re going to jump online and visit your website.

81% of customers search online before buying a product or service, so your customers will have already formed an impression about you and your company before they decide to buy.

It only takes .02 seconds for a person to form a first impression of your site. And that first internet impression is a doozy.

Think about it this way, if someone with dry, frizzy hair with an outdated cut tries to sell you the latest hair products, you’re probably not buying what they’re selling.

You do not want your website to be the mullet-cut of the internet.

And internet time moves much faster than regular time. Consider the shelf life of a meme before it dies. What looked ground-breaking a few months ago might look pretty dated today.

If you have an outdated site that doesn’t represent your brand the way it should, you’re losing business.

  1. Your Website Isn’t Mobile-Responsive

According to Google, there’s over a 50% chance you’re reading this on your phone right now. The way we’re searching is drastically changing and anyone who’s been out in public knows how much time we spend on our phones.

“Responsive” is just a fancy way of saying your site automatically adapts to fit the screen you’re viewing it on, whether it’s computers, phones or tablets.

Mobile responsive design is a website must, not only because that’s how people search, but also because Google demands it.

If your site doesn’t look good on a phone or tablet, then Google is going to ding you. So even when someone’s searching for what you sell, you’re not going to show up as high in search rankings.

Search engines expect responsive design.  It’s like if you showed up to buy a new car and it didn’t have any wheels.

  1. Your Website SEO Isn’t Cutting It

Most people know that SEO is the key to ranking high in web searches. Google is constantly updating their SEO rules again-and-again.  To maintain or improve your ranking in searches you need to constantly adapt.

Long gone are the days when you could toss up some cut-rate article with the right keywords and expect it to get clicks.

Google is wise to these shenanigans and they’re always revamping their calculations so their search results are always providing the best answers for their visitors.

That means if someone’s searching for “Denver web design companies,” or “the best pizza in the Highlands,” Google’s going to make sure they get the right matches.

Until we overthrow our Google overlords, we must play by their rules. (Just kidding Google, you’re the best!)

The bad news is that it takes a lot of work to stay on Google’s good side. You can no longer just put up a website and leave it. Google expects regular site updates and wants to see you consistently adding quality content.

If you haven’t updated your site in a while, those little search engine crawlers will pass you by.

The good news is that if you’re providing the kind of high-quality content Google and your prospects love, and have the right SEO baked into your site, you’re going to show up higher in Google searches.

The more you update your website content, the better off you’ll be. So, if you haven’t updated your site in a while, you need to hit “refresh.”

  1. Your Website Isn’t Easy to Navigate

As you skim this article, you’re probably aware that our attention spans are shrinking. Remember how you have less than a second to make a good impression?

Well if you don’t make it super easy for your clients to navigate your site they’re going to move on.

Great user experience (UX) design isn’t just an added bonus, your customers are demanding it.

We live in the land where we want it easy and we want it now. If your site isn’t easy to use or takes too long to load (not more than 2-3 seconds on mobile), we’re going to move on to watch some cat videos or check our Instagram for the tenth time.

The good news is you don’t have to guess how people feel about your site. Check your web analytics. It’ll tell you what happens when visitors reach your site.

Do you have a high bounce rate?  Are people leaving your site too soon? Do you have a low number of pageviews per visitor? What site pages are visitors spending the most time on?

If your customers are calling it quits too early, that probably means your site isn’t keeping them engaged or they’re having a hard time finding what they want.

Your web analytics are a great place to discover what’s working and what isn’t.

High bounce rate? It’s time to change it up.

It All Comes Down to This

Your website needs to make it easy for your potential customers.

If your site isn’t properly representing your brand, or is hard to view on mobile devices, isn’t easy to find in a search or is hard to navigate, then you need to update.

I know, I know, updating your website sounds like such a pain. The good news is it doesn’t have to be hard or expensive or painful but if it’s not getting the job done, it does need to happen.

Just imagine what you and your pretty new site can accomplish with a fresh cut and style.

Give us a call to talk about what new options might work for you.

 

 

Please note: DBC Digital is a full-service marketing agency in the Denver metro area. We’re in Centennial, just off I-25 and Dry Creek. We work with clients throughout Colorado and the U.S., in a variety of industries, including: real estate, financial, insurance, and mortgage.

 

Categories : Marketing, MESSAGING AND DESIGN, Search Marketing, SEO, WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
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marketing message
Posted by DBC Digital on
 March 31, 2015

Is Your Marketing Message Getting Lost?

Categories : BLOGGING, BRANDING, Content Creation, MESSAGING AND DESIGN, SEO, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
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Posted by admin on
 February 12, 2015

8 COMMON WEB DESIGN MISTAKES

good web design for a business website

A Good Website Design is Essential for a Business Site

The Importance of Web Design

In business, your website’s design is a key component of your brand’s online presence. For this reason, it needs to be functional, practical and appealing to users. To get the most benefit from your website, avoid these common web design mistakes.

1. Too much text.

When visitors are confronted with large amounts of text, they become overwhelmed and frustrated, and they are unlikely to read all of it. In fact, too much text can even cause some users to leave the page altogether.

Instead of covering the pages of your website with unbroken blocks of writing, keep your design scannable by using bullets, headings and fonts that are easy to read. To keep the amount of text to a minimum, don’t include “fluff” or nonessential information.

2. Lagging load times.

Life in today’s world is fast-paced, and no one wants to wait for a webpage to load. In fact, Econsultancy reports that up to 40 percent of users will leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. Test your load times regularly to keep them as low as possible, and make changes immediately if you notice load times approaching three seconds.

3. Blatant advertising.

Visitors will notice blatant advertisements in your web design immediately, and they will quickly leave a web design that contains a lot of them. If you must advertise on your site, limit the amount of promotional material that you place on each page, and check your site activity to be sure your ads are not impacting your website traffic or any other key metrics.

4. Cluttered pages.

Pages cluttered with images, videos, graphics and text are confusing to users. When designing your site, avoid the temptation to fill every empty space, and keep the layout as neat and clean as possible.  “White space” is good.

5. Confusing navigation.

If users can’t find where they need to go quickly and easily, they’ll become frustrated and leave your site in favor of a competitor. Keep your web design navigation simple and intuitive to prevent traffic loss.

6. No search function.

In some cases, a user simply wants to find something specific without browsing through page-after-page. To accommodate these needs, you need to offer a search function that can be accessed easily from all pages of your website.

7. No marketing strategy.

It doesn’t matter how impressive your web design is if consumers don’t know where to find it. In addition to designing and launching an excellent website for your business, you also need to have an effective marketing strategy in place in order to drive traffic to your site and maximize results.

8. Lack of a mobile-friendly site.

With so many users accessing the internet from mobile devices, a mobile-friendly version of your website is more important than ever before. Failing to offer this option may end up costing you a significant amount of business.

If you want to build a successful online presence for your brand, a properly designed website is essential. As you design or redesign your site, make sure that you avoid the pitfalls listed above. In addition, remember to test your site regularly for problems and resolve them quickly when they occur.

Categories : Content Creation, MESSAGING AND DESIGN, WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
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Posted by DBC Digital on
 August 14, 2014

Why Your Marketing Needs Location-Based Targeting

Location-Based Targeting

As recently as a few years ago, advertisers had no interest in location data. A consumer’s GPS location in the world was far less interesting than other demographics used to target consumers. Marketers didn’t care whether you lived in New York City or Tuscaloosa–what mattered was your age, gender, education, income and other telling characteristics.

In 2014, this outlook has entirely changed. Businesses have come to understand location as an extremely powerful filter used to target consumers in digital marketing campaigns. This shift can be credited in large part to new channels for gathering location data–consumers now use smartphones and tablets equipped with location technology that makes this data easy to record and analyze.

Even if you aren’t primarily targeting a mobile consumer base, incorporating location into your targeting strategy can save you a lot of money while improving your campaign results. Here are some of the key benefits.

You Stop Wasting Money on Far-Away Consumers

The first key benefit of location-based targeting is the most obvious: You can stop spending money on entirely irrelevant consumers. What’s the point of promoting your local restaurant to someone who lives 1,500 miles away? Why pay to advertise products to parts of the world you aren’t equipped to ship to? At the simplest level, location-based targeting weeds out all of these consumers that will never spend on your business.

If you’re a local operation–a dentist, plumber, or other company that depends on physical foot traffic and in-person transactions–location targeting lets you spend on digital marketing in a cost-effective manner. You can ensure that everyone who sees your ads is within your service area.

You Can Spend More Heavily on Shoppers in Your Local Area

If you suddenly cut out the fat of marketing to consumers outside your target area, you free up tons of digital spending that can go to better uses. If you’re been running campaigns inefficiently, location filtering can create plenty of new dollars to re-invest into more efficient campaigns. All of these funds can go into campaigns that restrict ad displays to whatever area you choose–it could be a city, a zip code or other constraints.

Because all of these dollars will be funneled directly into your local market, you should see an uptick in the conversion rates of your ads. Every exposed consumer will be more relevant, and therefore more likely to invest in your company’s offerings. This will drive returns from your campaigns and increase your revenues.

Walk-In Specials and Other Promotions Can Be Utilized

When you market to a local area, unique promotional opportunities can be used to drive business. Just as you might mail coupons or limited-time offers to consumers in your local area, digital campaigns can be used to deliver a variety of promotions. You might choose to offer daily deals to anyone within a certain proximity of your business, or you could push in-store traffic by marketing a walk-in sale.

Even if you sell to a national or global audience, a physical location can benefit nicely by encouraging shoppers to visit the store. Furthermore, it reminds shoppers that you aren’t an online-only brand–you also have a local presence, and this physical location may attract consumers that don’t always want to do their shopping online.

Once a primitive targeting tool that couldn’t be offered with any accuracy, location has become one of the most valuable targeting tools on the digital front–particularly when paired with other targeting filters you are already using. To get started building location-based targeting into your digital strategy, contact DBC Digital today.

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greg_sherwood_photo_feb_2012_v8

Greg Sherwood is CEO of DBC Digital, a marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado.  With over 30 years of marketing experience with traditional and inbound (internet) marketing, Greg helps mid-sized businesses get a better return on their marketing dollars.  

You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com

Categories : MESSAGING AND DESIGN, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
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