The Internet is a powerful tool that can make business more productive and profitable. When the Internet, social media, and email updates/newsletters are used effectively, they help streamline business activities, communicate more efficiently with customers and generate new customers.
While we are talking about websites specifically in this unit, it is important to remember that there are a number of different platforms that use the internet and businesses might use a combination of them.
The following are different uses of the internet as a business tool.
It is easy and inexpensive to define your image on the Internet, whether you are a one-person-company or a large corporation. The costs of creating an online presence are far less than a creating a physical one.
The Internet is a worldwide network allowing you to reach people even very expensive advertising could not. This makes setting up a business a more attractive prospect as you are no longer confined to a local physical market.
Social media platforms and email communication means you can keep in more direct and constant contact with existing and potential customers; this communicating might be new product information, sales or general company news. Moreover with the vast information we can now gather on users and their online behaviour businesses can take advantage of targeted online advertising.
Give customers instant and direct access to information about your products and services. This creates paying customers more quickly and also saves significantly on print and mail costs.
Sell your products online through a retail web store that allows digital payments. This makes shopping easier for customers and reduces costs for businesses.
Many products and services are now digital and accessed online. The online game you are creating is a good example of this as well as the web applications we talked about previously that were created purely for use on the internet. However there are also industries which are moving online. For example the music industry faces competition from online platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play.
Businesses can now compliment their existing products with tailor-made, more advanced online services. For example, an online account where customers can track their services and usage is now common practice in the phone and banking industries. Moreover, because of streamlined business activities and lower distribution costs businesses can provide extra customer services like trial products or regular updates.
Websites can facilitate more efficient customer service interactions. When customers have a question, or would like to speak with a person, they can do so through online chat, or by directly emailing the relevant customer service representative.
Most companies, provide information about job openings online and receive applications digitally.
This list does not cover all the ways that the internet is used by businesses today and that is partly because it is constantly evolving. As technology improves and the infrastructure for connectivity expands across the world there will undoubtedly be new ways of using the internet in business. You yourself might have encountered innovative uses of the internet for business. Be aware of this as you browse the internet, it may inspire you.
The internet has changed dramatically since its creation, both technologically and in the way it is used, and with it so has the aesthetic of web design. Have a look at this blog post to see how web design has evolved. You may find some of the screenshots entertaining in their simplicity but remember that the internet was conceived as an information sharing tool for academics and not as a business tool. Nowadays, that has completely changed. More advanced programming tools allow us to achieve visually stimulating and even interactive interfaces, so much so that User Interface Design is now an area of study and job title. The aesthetic continues to develop, as do new trends, it is not difficult to notice them yourself. For example one of the major developments in web design has been the spread of handheld internet enabled devices and the move to mobile-friendly/responsive design or a mobile-first approach.
Web design has become a big part of all businesses. Large organisations are likely to have a dedicated designer who visualises the interface and a developer who implements it technically. There can therefore be a large distinction between the role of a web designer and a web developer. Smashing Magazine is a great resource if you’re interested in these roles and the community working in them. On the other hand, there are a number of different online tools that allow people with limited technological and design knowledge to create a good looking, functioning and responsive website easily. These are sometimes called Content Management Systems. Some popular ones include Wordpress (self-hosted), Squarespace (hosted), and Shopify (hosted ecommerce).
In terms of web design as a creative practice, it aligns with broader design philosophies. Design is the process of collecting ideas, and aesthetically arranging and implementing them whilst being guided by certain principles.
Web design uses many of the same key visual elements as other types of design such as:
More often than not, your starting point for the creation of a website will be text-based content. Written text should always be relevant and useful, so as not to confuse the reader and to give them what they want so they will remain on the site. Content should also be optimized for search engines.
In the world of design, text is also about typography: the style and appearance of texts.There are now a variety of fonts available for use online that can help give character to your website but bear in mind that the information should first and foremost be easy to find and read at large and small sizes. There are also some technical considerations to be aware of (e.g. too many fonts will make your site slower, you need a backup font in the event that the user doesn’t have the font that you’re using).
Graphics can include logos, photographs, or icons, all of which enhance the web design. Some websites might be purely to display graphics (e.g. photographer’s website), but mostly graphics will be used to compliment text; making it easier to read or helping the user understand the content. For user friendliness, these need to be placed appropriately, working with the colour and content of the web page, while not making it too congested or slow to load.
The choice of colours depends on the purpose, company branding and clientele. Some websites might be black and white while others might take advantage of the seemingly unlimited colour palette available on the internet. The colours used will mostly be determined by the branding of a business and this will likely already be defined before the creation of a website.
Ultimately web design is about layout and composition. The content and design should work together to enhance the message of the site.
It is also worth noting that the design of a website is an extension of the visual language you use across platforms and media. You want to maintain consistency so that your brand is identifiable. For example you might want to incorporate some of the visual elements of your game in the design of the website eg. colours, graphics, icons.
Below are some guiding principles that inform many design practices and can help to create an aesthetically pleasing design which clearly communicates information:
Balance is the distribution of heavy and light elements on the page. Larger, darker elements appear heavier in the design than smaller, lighter elements. The principle of balance shows you how to lay out your pages so they feel balanced and stable.
When most people think of contrast, they typically think of colours or black and white. But there is more to contrast than colour. You can have contrasting shapes (square vs. circle), or contrasting sizes (large vs. small), or contrasting textures (smooth vs. rough). Use contrast to help important information on your site to stand out.
Emphasis is what the eye is drawn to in a design. It’s tempting to give everything equal emphasis in a design, but this ends up making the design bland and flat. Instead, as a designer, you should determine the hierarchy of the page and information and then apply emphasis to the elements accordingly. Typographic hierarchy, for example, is extremely important to web design.
Rhythm is also called repetition. Rhythm brings an internal consistency to your web designs. Patterns are easy for humans to comprehend, and repetition provides patterns that make your site easier to comprehend.
Unity is also called proximity. It is the principle of keeping like elements together and diverse elements further apart. Unity pulls elements together.
In visual design, harmony means all parts of the visual image relate to and complement each other.
Think about these elements and principles while browsing the internet.
What websites do you like?
What kind of visual elements grab your attention?
Do you prefer colourful designs or more simple designs?
Consider making a list of websites that you admire and take inspiration from them.
For real-life examples of good web design visit this website: https://www.awwwards.com/
For visual and interactive design trends in 2018 read this article: https://99designs.co.uk/blog/trends/web-design-trends-2018/
Besides the basic elements of web design that make a site beautiful and visually compelling, a website must also always consider the end user. User-friendliness can be achieved by paying attention to the following factors:
Site architecture, menus and other navigation tools in the web design must be created with consideration of how users browse and search. The goal is to help the user to move around the site with ease, efficiently finding the information they require.
Relevant video and audio elements in the design can help users to grasp the information, developing understanding in an easy and quick manner. This can encourage visitors to spend more time on the webpage.
Design the webpage, to perform equally well on different browsers, operating systems, and screen sizes. Don’t forget most traffic to your site will be from a mobile device.
Convert users from visitors to clients with contact forms and newsletter sign-ups.
According to Krug’s first law of usability, the webpage should be obvious and self-explanatory. The user experience you provide should step them through your site effortlessly. A clear structure, with visual clues and easily recognizable links can help users to find their path to their aim.
In every project when you are going to offer your visitors some service or tool, try to keep your user requirements minimal. The less action is required from users to test a service, the more likely a random visitor is to actually try it out so avoid filling long web forms for an account they might never use in the future. Let users explore the site and discover your services without forcing them into sharing private data. Ideally remove all barriers, don’t require subscriptions or registrations first.
As websites provide both static and dynamic content, some aspects of the user interface attract attention more than others do. Obviously, images are more eye-catching than the text, use this to your advantage. Letting the user see clearly what functions are available is a fundamental principle of successful user interface design.
As the Web is different from print, it’s necessary to adjust the writing style to users’ preferences and browsing habits. Promotional writing won’t be read. Long text blocks without images and keywords marked in bold or italics will be skipped. Exaggerated language will be ignored. Talk business. An optimal solution for effective writing is to:
The “keep it simple” principle (KIS) should be the primary goal of site design. Users are rarely on a site to enjoy the design; furthermore, in most cases they are looking for the information despite the design. Strive for simplicity instead of complexity, don’t be afraid of the white space; in fact, a lot of contemporary design has made extensive use of white space.
Conventional design of site elements doesn’t result in a boring website, take advantage of them. Conventions are useful as they reduce the learning curve. Steve Krug suggests that it’s better to innovate only when you know you really have a better idea, but take advantage of conventions when you don’t.
This so-called TETO-principle should be applied to every web design project as usability tests often provide crucial insights into significant problems and issues related to a given layout.
Some important points to keep in mind:
It seems you cannot go a day without hearing about someone or some group hacking a website or stealing credit card and other sensitive data from eCommerce sites. Once placed on a website, malware can then be used to spread viruses, steal personal or financial data, and even hijack computers. It is not easily detected and may infect your customers’ computers after they visit your website. Ultimately, this negatively affects your company’s reputation and can result in lost business. If your website will store sensitive information from users (even a username or password), then keeping that data secure must be a top priority.