Your website is the backbone of all your digital marketing efforts. Your search engine optimization (SEO), social media, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and email marketing campaigns point back to your site. Given such a vital role in your success, your site’s design and functionality must be enforced with industry best practices and the latest trends and customer expectations.
Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of having a digital presence: You can only access a limited number of people with a physical location – but with a good website, you can have thousands (if not millions) of people visit your online storefront at once, at any time. Websites are being created rapidly to access the massive internet user base. According to Site Efy, there are over 1.1 billion websites today, and that number is projected to double in the coming years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statistics featured in this blog show the latest developments in website design and current consumer expectations. So, upgrade your website design strategy with the help of our website design statistics 2022 compilation to make your business stand out in the overly-crowded online space.
First Impressions Still Matter in 2022
It takes 50 milliseconds for visitors to form an opinion about your business based on your web design. (Behavior & Information Technology, 2011)
Web designers have less than a second to make an excellent first impression. Those first 50 milliseconds determine if the user stays or leaves your side for good. Many factors affect first impressions, including structure, colors, texts, fonts and spacing.
Research conducted by Google revealed that people form aesthetic judgments through visual complexity and prototypicality (the measure of how representative an object is of a category). Websites with low visual complexity and high prototypicality appeal more to internet users. This means that to capture a user’s attention within the first second, your website needs to be:
• Simple – Minimalism has been one of the most notable website design trends for several years due to its minimal visual complexity.
• Representative – Visual elements should mirror your brand accurately.
• Familiar – Web designs that contradict the users’ expectations may trigger a negative impression. For example, a furniture business should have a website that looks like it sells furniture and not anything else.
The digital industry is a highly competitive landscape. If you cannot make a good first impression and establish your credibility in seconds, you risk being overtaken by your competition.
Mobile Browsing Is the Future
Seventy-five percent of internet users prefer a mobile-friendly website. (Google, 2012)
When thinking about website design trends 2022 predictions, business owners should prioritize mobile optimization.
Seamless mobile experiences are significant for consumers, but according to website design stats 2022 from Google, 96 percent of consumers have encountered sites that aren’t optimized for mobile browsing. This is a big problem, especially for your business reputation, as 48 percent of the respondents of the same study stated that they got annoyed after coming across a website that’s not mobile-friendly, and 36 percent felt like they wasted their time by visiting those sites.
The following are best practices for upgrading your mobile website design strategy:
• Prioritize – Only display essential visual elements on your page, which usually consists of your logo, accessible navigation menu, comprehensive information about your offerings, a call to action (CTA) and a live chat button.
• Use readable texts – Web design stats 2022 from NN Group show users only read 20 percent of words on a webpage. For this reason, bold fonts are a must to make your page scannable and manageable for readers to digest.
• Optimize mobile layout – Mobile screens are smaller than their laptop or desktop counterparts. Ideally, targets on hand-held devices should be between seven to ten millimeters for accurate tapping. Also, keep in mind the “thumb zone” and place most of your interactive content, especially CTAs, within this area.
Source: LukeW
Trends are constantly changing, and sometimes it can be challenging to keep up. Hiring a website design agency can keep you up to date with the latest industry standards concerning mobile design. In addition, web design services maintain your site’s optimal performance in search engines to secure your top spot in search results rankings.
Site Speed Optimization Should Be a Priority
The chances of bounce increase to 32 percent as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. (Google, 2017)
Web design statistics 2022 show that site speed optimization is critical in reducing bounce rates (or the percentage of visitors leaving your site after viewing only one page). So before everything else, businesses must be aware of how long it takes for their webpage to load.
According to web design stats 2022 from Kissmetrics, 47 percent of online users expect a webpage to load fully within two seconds. Consumers in the digital age have a short attention span, and they are more likely to bounce off your site to click on the next search result if your site speed is too slow.
Luckily, there are methods to improve your website’s load time. The following are the best practices for website speed optimization:
• Monitor your speed – Many factors affect your site load time, so it’s a good idea to monitor it regularly. This practice helps you detect any issues early on, allowing you to make the necessary improvements before they become major issues.
• Compress image sizes – Images are large files and significantly affect your site speed. According to web design statistics 2022 from Yotta, resizing 22MB of images down to 300KB resulted in a 70 percent reduction in the time needed before users can interact with a site.
• Reduce plugins – If you have a WordPress site, plugins can do a lot to improve site speed and performance. However, installing too many can make it slow.
Some practices are highly technical and can be difficult for business owners to carry out, especially those with no web development background. For example, web hosting, which can make or break your page load times, requires technical skills and experience.
Employing the services of a web design agency is an option for you to stay on top of website design trends concerning site speed optimization. Experts from a website design agency provide hosting services to ensure higher uptimes and faster loading speeds.
Personalized Online Shopping Experience
Forty-nine percent of online shoppers impulse buy after receiving a personalized recommendation from a brand. (Segment, 2017)
Website design statistics 2022 predict that internet users prefer tailored experiences when shopping online. Here are some other numbers to highlight the importance of a personalized shopping experience:
• Web design stats 2022 from Segment shows 71 percent of shoppers feel frustrated when their shopping experience is impersonal.
• According to web design statistics 2022 by Accenture, 91 percent of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations relevant to them.
• Smart Insights’ website design stats 2022 reveal that 73 percent of online buyers will stop buying from businesses that use poor personalization tactics.
Providing a personalized online shopping experience will take your business to the next level, based on the website design statistics 2022 outlined above. Improve your conversion rates by leveraging website design services to develop tailored user experiences.
Work With an Experienced Website Design Agency
There are over 1 billion websites on the internet, but only 0.1 percent account for 50 percent of traffic. (Netcraft, 2019)
If you want your website to be one of the top few that attracts web traffic, it must be professionally designed, implemented and monitored. Unfortunately, many business owners go the cheaper route by designing the sites themselves or employing amateur web design services. However, a low-quality website that doesn’t meet user expectations will cost you more in the long run.
Professionals from a web design agency can make a custom site that speaks to your target audience and optimize it for conversions. These specialists also create strategies with website design trends 2022 in mind to keep you ahead of the competition. Most website design services have a significant upfront cost, but there is also much higher return on investment (ROI) over time.
Conclusion
Website design trends change frequently, and you need to stay on top of those changes to stay relevant and effective. With countless businesses offering similar products and services, website design can be the differentiator you have to set yourself apart and show your brand is worth investing in.
So, leverage the website design stats 2022 and best practices in this blog to make sure your website is aesthetically pleasing, mobile-friendly, optimized for speed and offers personalized experiences to consumers.
Let our web design agency help you elevate your website design strategy. Thrive is a full-service digital marketing company offering top-tier website design services to strengthen your business presence online. Our team of experts gives WordPress and eCommerce web design services so you stay on top of website design trends 2022. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts.
