How the social media has influenced web design

God is omnipresent, so goes the belief; then what would you have to say about the social media? It is here, there and everywhere, the signs that makes us call it the same way.  The social media has impacted our lives and businesses  so deeply that it has shaped the way how advertising is done, how products and services are sold online and has even gone to the extent of influencing the design of websites. Almost all activities that are planned online whether it is for marketing, brand building or reputation management have to consider the social media angle. How these campaigns will turn out on the social media is the foremost consideration in designing and structuring such campaigns.  How platforms like Instagram has influenced the web design has been discussed in this article.

The cause of influence

To say that every business has a presence on the social media would be too much of generalization. Rather, it would be correct to say that all businesses are vying for a place on the Instagram platform.  The visual based social media platform that it is; has proven the words that a picture can speak more than a thousand words once again.  Instagram has recorded unprecedented engagement level of 4 percent of the follower base which is just too much high as compared to that of Facebook and Twitter that hovers around 0.1%. The figures are reason enough for web designers to make all efforts so that web designs are most compatible for Instagram and other social media platforms.

The impact on web design

If you compare the websites that are created today with those that were created 15-20 years ago, one design aspect can never escape your attention. Today’s websites, especially the home page carries the icons of other social media platforms where the website owner has a presence. The intention is to encourage visitors to link with the social media to get better involved with the business. More information about the company is available on the social media and by redirecting website visitors to the social media a way to prolonged engagement has been found.

Website designs are inspired by social media pages

The time has come when the design of the social media pages of a company is influencing the way websites are designed. The hallmark of social media pages is that these have interactive design elements that can be viewed with ease on all devices including mobiles. The concept of interactive design now rules the world of web design. Since more and more people are using mobile devices, it makes perfect sense for web designers to take this step. It creates huge scope for interacting closely with the audience in order to gain more mileage in marketing through better conversion rate.

Advertisements have changed

Having a social media page in addition to website has become almost mandatory. The fast growing popularity of Instagram is not without reason.  Users are most inclined to this platform and 62 percent track the brands of their choice on this media. Therefore, to garner the attention of the larger audience you have to be on Instagram. This craze has compelled advertisers to recast the designs of online advertisements to make it friendlier for the social media pages. This would ensure that the ads receive more clicks that can generate more leads that result in better conversion. It means more followers for Instagram that translates into more business.

Focus on images

Online marketing content that used to be loaded with more text and less images have now been turned on its head. The immense popularity of Instagram has shifted the focus from text to images and videos with text playing second fiddle in developing attractive content. Speaking less and showing more is the way content is being developed today. Images do the talking as it has proved to be more effective in communicating with the audience. Websites that are now being designed by using more images to gain the benefits that Instagram has already shown.

Linking business with social media pages

The way businesses have aggressively started to use the social media, it has compelled web designers to bring changes to the design of social media pages to make it more business friendly. Like websites are linked to the social media pages, the vice versa is also happening. Links on the social media page are directing visitors to the website. Considering that the social media as a market place, in order to use it to the advantage of generating business, the social media page designs are being optimized to match with your business.

Social media is embedded into web design

The most significant impact that social media has created on web design is illustrated by the way social media has become embedded in web designs. Websites are now being designed not only to promote business but also to highlight how active the business is on the social media. This is achieved by implanting social media indicators, icons and links in the web design so that clicking on it would lead to the relevant social media page of the business. Web design without social buttons being visible is something that simply cannot be thought of today.

The concept of sharing content is included in web design

Web design has expanded its scope and has gone much beyond mere visuals. The design has now included the concepts of social media that upholds sharing of content. The design and layout of websites now ensure that content is adequately supported by social buttons, images, videos and RSS feeds. This makes it easy for sharing across all social media platform thereby enhancing the outreach greatly. In turn, it increases the prospects of improving SEO through better rankings in search results.

As the social media has impacted web design, it has also changed the ways of marketing. Instead of pitching harshly for sales, the approach is to appeal to the mind and intelligence of buyers. Web designs have become much more sensitive to these marketing needs and have discovered a new language of communication through images.

Written by Walter Moore is a well known name in online marketing circles. He is enthused about the social media and its immense possibilities for business. He is among the avid followers for Instagram and is under the spell of this latest social media sensation.