The Ultimate Design trends for Ecommerce Websites 2015

The New Year promises even fiercer competition amongst e-commerce websites so put on your thinking caps and plan ahead of time to make sure you don’t lag behind and lose valuable profits. Here are some of the finest predictions for e-commercewebsite design trends 2015, which are guaranteed to bring Lady Luck to your side.

Flat design is good

Apple started it and Google quickly took over with its idea of Material Design! We thought 3D would be the future but it seems like flat design has conquered the consumers’ hearts and the minds of the web developers at the same instant. Go for exciting graphics and lively colors to make your e-commerce web page more appealing to prospective buyers.

Videos to boost sales

It’s not new notion to include video tutorials and reviews along with the product to invite consumers to look a little deeper into its features. Now, thanks to higher speed uploading, browsing and overall improved performance, videos are becoming increasing common as a means for user interaction.

 

The “big” picture

Consumers are no longer content to just view images that make the website look prettier. They want every picture to be high definition and huge. This is why we see gigantic close ups in super fine detail and glorious photographs of stunning locations. These are used frequently in home page designs to create a breath taking first impression. 

Bold and beautiful type

Not just images, typography wants to steal all the attention from gorgeous backdrops! Type faces are bolder, broader and considerably larger than before. Handwritten typefaces are still in vogue with creative font types transforming the brand identities of businesses everywhere.

One design to rule them all

Online shoppers want the convenience of ordering their favorite items wherever they are at the moment and whenever they desire. This means that with the influx of incredible mobile devices rapidly pouring into our hands, mobile consumers must not be ignored. Focus is on a single web design, which will work for all the popular devices owned by online shopping enthusiasts.

Deceptive hidden menus

There is a relatively new concept of hidden menus entering the crevices of ecommerce websites. These are meant to convey relevant information about products/ services to those who seek it. At the same time, this technique helps prevent clutter on the web page, respecting the need for more space based web layouts.

Convenient card style layout

Revealing one thing at a time is a good idea but what if someone wishes to place all available options side by side for comparison? Keeping the layout in a need tiled arrangement makes the entire shopping experience more convenient for the customer. It also saves their time and helps them make wise decisions about product selection. Therefore, it is becoming an increasingly popular layout for easy navigation.

Animated micro transitions

It’s exciting to give users quirky little surprises when they move towards a certain option. It enhances the seller-buyer interaction and makes for a more interesting user experience. Conversion rates are more promising and recommendations are more likely. Smart use of latest animation techniques has made this feature more appealing to users.

Ghost buttons over images

As consumers love the idea of colossal imagery taking center stage in e-commerce websites, designers do not wish to spoil the simple but powerful beauty of this concept. A wonderful solution emerged in the form of transparent and translucent Ghost buttons. These have been spotted in science-fiction animation and movies as well because of its honesty and modesty.

Usability enhancing flashcards

To build a brighter user experience, you need to display adequate information for the consumer. Flashcards are the perfect method to convey useful information about products along with their images. The price, availability, sizes, colors, etc. is conveniently showed to user for selection plus an essential Call to Action button.  

Trends taking over SEO in 2015

 There has been dramatic evolution of SEO tactics last year with focus on research to understand what the users are seeking via search engines. This enables SEO strategists to come up with new ideas to add popular search terms within their content driving a greater flow of web traffic to the intended website.

SEO integration with marketing tactics

Previously SEO used to be a separate department within each company or they hired SEO specialists to elevate their website rankings and optimize their content for increased search engine visibility. As SEO developed from a fledgling idea to a full blown institution, it started to incorporate more marketing aspects. So, in order for a marketing venture to succeed, attention must be paid to search engine optimization benefits for the entire plan. 

Social signals determine search engine results

The social media rage is not going to die down anytime soon so why ignore its advantages regarding the insight it provides into the minds of the consumers? Social interaction gives valuable information about the consumers’ demands, complaints and reviews about various products/ services. Google search results seem to rely on social signals quite a bit this year. It would be best to gain maximum knowledge and statistics from social media sites while designing SEO master plans.

Emphasis on Long-tailed keywords

Content writers have been way too absorbed in frantic searches for popular keywords to enhance the value of their content but these are often short-tailed. This means that you are diving into some major competition and losing resources on such low impact content. Employing long-tailed keywords gives you an edge over regular competitors because they are specifically tailored to direct a certain target audience to your landing pages.

Focus on natural language search

Thanks to the craze over social media and some other factors mostly related to limited awareness or time constraints, natural language searches have now become the focal point of SEO. They are basically dependent on how users express their queries to a search engine. Since, user experience and usability is now a fundamental concern of search engine giants, businesses must improvise and direct their efforts into crafting strategies for these kinds of natural searches.

Filters to suit the target audience

Another factor embracing the dire need for improved user experience is the emergence of special filters within search engines. Brilliant usability is the key to a happy consumer and this is what these search engines aim to do. When developing SEO plans, it is imperative to keep the effects of these filters in mind.

Mobile aspect of SEO

It is not wise to ignore the majority of the mobile users, which dominates the target audience of any business. The style of mobile searches tends to be significantly different from those of other consumers. Therefore, you need to be vigilant about adding special features for mobile users in your current SEO campaign.

On studying the predictions for SEO trends in 2015, it seems that the scene for SEO strategies is going to be changing considerably. So brace yourself and invest in the right places to become a resounding success this year! 

How does Local SEO Focus on Site Optimization in 2015?

Put aside your bag of tricks

Most websites seem to be quite dependent on off-site tricks and applications to get local search engine optimization (SEO) rankings. Sure shortcuts work to some extent but what happens when you run out of tricks to try? It is always better to invest time and resources into creating a powerful website, which will do this job splendidly for your business.

Analyze your local SEO campaign 2014

Time is an excellent teacher so what better way to learn than from the mistakes you did last year? Looking at last year’s local SEO performance, you can get a fairly good idea of where you went wrong and why your tactics did not have the desired effect. In 2014, there were popular tools including Google Maps, GetListed, Google Places and Google Local Toolbox, which helped boost your local SEO rankings. However, now that Google has brought in its new local ranking algorithm update, Pigeon, local SEO trends are going to change drastically.

Questions you should ask yourself about local SEO campaign 2015

Instead of looking for new ways to enhance your local SEO strategy, go back to the basics and see what fundamental faults you spy in your local SEO plans. Start with your website because ultimately your web content and website usability determine the quality of your user experience, the web traffic, and conversion rates.

Have I got defined local SEO goals related to conversion?

It is not all about website traffic so even if you have received a pleasing report for the web traffic, do not count your chickens before they have hatched! Focus on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and enhancing your Conversion Funnel’s functionality. The best way would be to set goals for this purpose so that you know exactly where you ought to expend energy and resources without wastage.

Do my web pages have sufficient information for visitors?

The worst possible mistake is explaining the main headings on every web page in only a few sentences. If this is what your website looks like, you have just thrown your user experience out the window. Redeem yourself in the eyes of your visitors by showing them that you care about how much information they obtain from your web content. Make it relevant, crisp and to-the-point with a smooth flow for their reading pleasure.

How partial am I to spamming keywords?

Not all your website visitors are aware of the intricacies of SEO content writing, but they are not naïve enough to bear keyword spamming with patience. They know what the content is about so there is no need to resort to uncalled for keyword stuffing. This is a huge turnoff for users and search engine administrators, who even remove links with such tacky attention tactics.

Are my title tags good enough for search engines?

A lot of businesses make the simple, but major error of not paying enough attention to how they phrase their title tags. You have to be careful about using your basic keyword at the beginning of your title tag. This way, even if the length is too long to fit completely in search engines, your main keyword will still show up there.

Have my images alt tags been optimized for local SEO?

Equally important are the image alt tags present in your web pages, which are used to describe what the images are depicting and allow search engines to detect them. Missing image alt tags could be a serious hindrance to the success of your local SEO strategy.

Have I incorporated city/state in appropriate places?

When you mention local SEO, it means you are trying to target location based searches by prospective consumers. Therefore, it is imperative that you add in your country, province, state or city name if your web content is directed towards the population residing in a certain area. These specifics must be mentioned in all the main headings and even image alt tags.

So, it is clear from all the facts and data collected so far for the year 2015; that local SEO is going back to the basics. In order to attain maximum benefits in this area, you need to step up your game and critically examine your website for optimization purposes.

Hottest Web Design Trends 2015 Predictions

Look out 2015! We got some happening trends shaping the New Year for web designers across the globe. That does not mean we will be saying goodbye to all the useful web design trends discovered and developed during last year. In fact, web designers are smart enough to figure out ways to use old knowledge and craft something even more extraordinary to wow audiences! Inspiration is ripe with a multitude of ideas pouring in from different regions and fields of work, existing due to market fluctuations and advances in other technology types, particularly mobile development.

Is your responsive design responsive enough?
You heard right folks! It’s here to stay because the mobile market just keeps giving us more and more reasons to think about the web design in terms of usability for mobile consumers. It came out of nowhere and spread its tentacles all over the web designing world last year. Now it has got its grip in deep, and we are grateful for its presence. It saves millions of dollars in website investments for businesses in the US, along with accomplishing a drastic decrease in complaints from frustrated mobile users. If you haven’t got a responsive yet, prepare to be bulldozed by your competitors! Apparently, it is more of a necessity than a trend now.

The flatter the better
The word “flat” is normally used to describe something bland and boring but for web designers, it has become a term to describe chic and edgy designs. This change shows how complicated the user perspective evolution has been in recent years. Flat designs follow the theory of minimalism, which seems to define the majority of web designs today. Maybe that is why they are so popular with target audiences. Other reasons include its suitability for mobile users, versatility, universal appeal and honesty. Get ready for some seriously cool flat web designs in this year!  

The clearly visible ghost buttons
Ghost buttons have fast become the favorite kind of buttons selected for Call to Action functions for websites. Everyone seems to have caught the “Ghost Fever” because apparently, even Hollywood cannot get enough of it as is evident from the science fiction movies released recently! Ghost buttons are simple, clear and direct with a basic geometric shape enclosing the text with a transparent background. So, they fit in perfectly with all sorts of the web design themes.

Typography rules supreme
A few years back, no one could have imagined that boring old text would be the most prominent feature in the web design this year. We have the free font sources to thank for that along with the innovative web designers, who took the risk. We think it is safe to say that it paid off. The sheer number of font types available and the beautiful scripts dedicated to various themes and emotions is plain astounding! It is a fresh approach that web users are not going to tire of anytime soon what with the influx of even more amazing original font types in stock for them.

HD imagery just got real
Even though the typography and image based designs went head to head last year, they appear to have come to a mutually beneficial compromise. Now we have got some pretty awesome image editing software widely available, so web designers are showing just how much potential pictures have to create breathtaking websites! Homepages consist of a heart-stopping background image with flawlessly matched typography dominate the web design scene this year.

 User-friendly micro interactions
Pop-ups? Just plain annoying! A few lines into the website these hard-to-ignore minions want to greet us with some utterly uninteresting message so we cannot wait for them to cease to exist. Wait! What if they carried meaningful well-written script directed towards a completely relevant purpose and made to look attractive with some eye catchy graphics thrown in? In 2015, web designers perfected the art of developing micro interactions chock full of usability to excite the users and send them down the conversion chain.

Why click when you can happily scroll away?
Once again touch screens have made our lives easier by inspiring a new web design trend this time. It makes for more attractive overall websites and gives them a modern and sophisticated air. It is especially convenient for mobile users, who cannot constantly click to select options because they are often multitasking. Scrolling is not just easy; it’s addictive!

So, there you have it! The hottest and most highly anticipated the web design trends of 2015 for the modern website user. They are being spotted in the web designs of major companies all over the web and are sure to spread elsewhere in a short span of time.
   


  



  

What are the qualities of a brilliant real estate web portal?

Real estate is all about an exceptional presentation, which instantly does half the job of convincing your client to accept the bargain. The most talented real estate agents can make a deteriorating building in the middle of nowhere seem like the Taj Mahal! Therefore, any real estate agency needs to put their best foot forward when finalizing a web design to announce their online presence to competitors and consumers alike. Here is a list of essential features, which will aid in establishing an amazing real estate web portal, and help generate maximum traffic for higher website rankings:

Source: http://www.getacoder.com/users/zensys/portfolio/real%20estate%20web%20portal/real_estate_web_portal_9517.jpg

Keep your pages unlimited for maximum data

A real estate is no small venture so there will be a huge mass of major and minor details that will be required on the web portal. Too little information is just going to infuriate your consumers, who visit your web portal in the hopes of gaining insight into your business. There must be sufficient space left for images and videos as well so an unlimited number of pages are ideal.

    

 Slide shows and for available properties

Most web portals today don’t have a lot of text on the home pages according to recent trends because now textual content needs to be precise and brief. No one has time to read all that so web designers must gain the attention of consumers and communicate with them another way. Slide shows can have images related to a great number properties added to them for livening up the home page and displaying attractive properties on sale.

Source: http://assets.vancitybuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/zh.rew_.ca_News-900x586.jpg?c71332

Smart categorization of real estate types

It is best to enhance usability of the web portal by adding popular real estate property types, which you offer to your prospective clients. By listing real estate properties under their respective categories like residential, commercial, etc the whole process of browsing to find suitable offers would become much more convenient for your online users not to mention it would make the management of the web portal extremely easy for you.

Separate section for listing dealers

Other than categorization depending on property type, another method of organization would be to write the offered properties down with respect to the dealer you are engaged in business with regards to that particular property on sale.

State of the art content management system (CMS) and database

Just the presence of all that information is not enough to grant you superior status; in fact the abundance of data poses a tricky problem. What happens if you mismanage the data? You could have a serious crisis on your hands and lose your professional image and reliability in the eyes of consumers. A proper management system needs to be put into place to keep things flowing smoothly and a secure backup system is required for storage in case of data loss.

Meaningful urls for higher search engine ranking

The words you incorporate into your url are imperative to the success of your web portal. This is true for each and every web page because they will all show up in search engines. It will do wonders for your search engine optimization and help your website reach the first page without too much effort.

Source: http://www.properweb.net/content/images/screenshot05b.jpg

Attractive image and video galleries

A good idea for real estate properties’ displaying is by creating virtual tours of available properties through videos. Videos are a favorite means of communication for real estate buyers and give them comfort. They are fast and efficient in this respect. Image galleries are a convenient way of browsing through properties and comparing their details.

Add content from other reliable sites

There are good options for adding things to your real estate web portal, which will make it more popular and add authenticity to it like Google Maps to show property locations, videos from YouTube and other image based sites.