Web design in Charlotte, NC is quickly evolving for businesses of all types and sizes. Website users are expecting a certain level of creativity, page design, “surprises” and chunks of highly-relevant, fresh content. They are hungry for everything that is prescribed by Google.
So what does Google have to do with your business web design here in Charlotte? Well, just about everything if you want to differentiate from competitors and attract active, savvy web users (i.e., customers). Google is still the king of search engines, Internet technologies, emerging user trends, social sharing and social collaboration. Your best bet is to ensure that your web design is Google-relevant and Google-friendly by search standards and design.
The Idea People in Charlotte have designed and developed websites for hundreds of businesses on thousands of web and Internet projects since 1994. We have the basic web design techniques and tactics down very well. But where we really excel is in the adoption of emerging and early-stage web design trends and Internet technologies. Our web design clients expect us to know where the web is going and how to accelerate their growth to capture those trends and technologies in 2012.
What Makes for Great Web Design in 2012?
1. Web design for a stronger user experience. The Panda releases from Google in 2011 have put all web designers and SEO’s on alert that Google is now evaluating web user experience from a human perspective. So your web design should be well-organized, easy-to-navigate, “feel trustworthy and reliable,” and be presented as a source of “expertise” and “knowledge.” Human traits are now important in web design and user experience. Web design in 2012 should capture attention in under 3 seconds so the user feels like this is a good place to be.
2. Mobile and smart phone web design. Your web presence on mobile and smart phones should be specifically 
designed for the mobile experience. Tighter navigation, limited graphics, links to view the full HTML site, and easy contact forms with directions to your location. Acceptable mobile web design elements include video, maps and simple contact forms with a phone number that is easy to click to dial.
3. Video inside your web design. A rich media experience is at the top of the list for well-designed websites. Video elevates and enhances a superb user experience. But the video production needs to be targeted, appropriate and highly-relevant to the topic of each page. Video grew by leaps in 2011 as more and more consumers used video as a resource on their iPads, smart phones, laptops and desktops. Video captures emotion and can touch more senses than any other medium. Powerful desktop editing and graphics suites enable video editors with The Idea People to create movie-like scenes, music and graphics.
4. Writing & developing custom content. Writing and developing custom content is part of your web design and is extremely important for creating longer user experiences and stronger search engine rankings. Custom content is highly-relative to the keywords and information that users are searching for. The Idea People creates and markets custom content in-house, just like this news article. All of the content in this post is focused on the web design trends for 2012. The content is highly-relative and targeted to the user (you!).
5. Web design extending to Social Media. The creative web design that you create for your main HTML website should be extended to your social media pages. Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, WordPress, and YouTube should each have the creative design elements from your main website. Social media continues to grow with acceptance on all levels of audiences. And social media is blending closer with your Internet marketing tactics as the search engines begin to integrate social media into search results. The very definition of “web” is the sharing of content between websites and users. So is the definition of “social media”. The lines between social media and the web will continue to blur as they seamlessly share back and forth.
To learn more about Charlotte web design trends for your business, please contact Jay Joyce at 704-398-4437 or email jay@theideapeople.com. The Idea People are professional web design and Internet marketing specialists who can collaborate with your business and help you win on the Internet.
