In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying health crisis turned our lives upside down, and things are changing so much that a single week can look like a decade. Trying to predict the web’s evolutions in these troubled times is difficult, but we will still lend ourselves to the exercise.
What seems to be confirmed for 2021 is that the pandemic will still be here, in one form or another. With that in mind,
Here is our prediction of how this situation is likely to impact the web in 2021.
UX at the heart of e-commerce
While digital services have long been seen as an additional option for physical retailers, by 2020, this is no longer the case. In the future 2021s, the business will continue to serve its customers without e-commerce. After the government decree, small businesses were pressured to transfer their company online or risk closing their doors.
Recent data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index suggests that U.S. department store activity is expected to decline by more than 60% by the end of 2020, while e-commerce is expected to increase by nearly 20%. This could be seen as a shock to some, but actually, this pattern was already underway: the shift from physical to digital retail. The point is, there will certainly be no turning back: even in countries where things are almost back to normal, shoppers have made a habit of ordering online in 2020 and are likely to continue.
It is therefore clear that in 2021 more people will be buying online. Now is the time for businesses to develop more reliable, faster-to-load websites and apps, not to mention the ease of use for consumers, or fall behind the competition.
Create an e-commerce site or seek to improve an existing site? You can take inspiration from the online furniture sales sites, which combine neat design and ease of use.
Improved product visuals
It is generally easier and more convenient to shop online than to move from store to store. However, there is a big problem when it comes to non-generic items like clothing and furniture. When you can’t see, touch, or even smell those items in real life, it makes the process of buying a product more difficult.
This is why in 2020, we see that the thumbnail images are replaced by larger and more detailed images of the products on the websites, with often the addition of a 3D 360 ° view or a video of the presentation.
An example of this trend is the Apple Air pods pro sales page: large photographs accompanied by videos highlight the product.
The idea of large visuals can also be found on Birkenstock’s online sales site, which allows you to see the shoes from every angle by scrolling through the photos.
For greater immersion, IKEA uses an augmented reality app to see what a sofa would look like in your living room.
Nude’s lingerie brand has reviewed its entire customer journey and accompanied it with a communication campaign. We will relate to you in this article to promote the online purchase of underwear.
In 2021, as we spend more and more time at home and shopping online, we expect to see a lot more innovation in this area. That said, you don’t have to be a technical genius to help consumers get a feel for your products on your website. Just taking a picture of your product on location, for example, can do wonders in giving customers a sense of what it is.
A calming design
From the Covid-19 epidemic to systemic racism issues to recurring natural disasters, 2020 has seen the emergence of many new sources of stress. The web designers have, therefore, added a feeling of calm and order to their sites.
Therefore, we witness websites’ emergence with a concise and minimal design, soothing colors, and large relaxing white spaces to turn them into islands of calm in a noisy and tumultuous world.
This will continue to escalate soon. Think about it: in 2021, even as the pandemic eases, severe economic repercussions are likely to be felt throughout society, and we can only imagine the magnitude of the effects that will have. In this context, a little serenity on the web will be welcome.
Detailed data: DataViz in force
Who would have believed in 2019 that there would be such popular demand for scientific data visualizations? The boom also illustrates this trend experienced by the medical illustrator profession: People need to understand what’s going on and visualization of data like medical illustrations.
This New York Times visualization, for example, did a great job of showing how the pandemic was spreading in the U.S. At the same time, VOX shared graphics fascinating insights into its economic impact, and that data visualizations from the Harvard Global Health Institute helped contextualize the pressure on health services.
In the meantime, to put all this bad news in context, Pentagram has released a series of happy data visualizations, indicating the positives, such as the growing number of people volunteering, the number of vaccines developed worldwide, and the decrease in air pollution.
Whatever happens in 2021, the situation should not be calmer, and the demand for data visualization will continue to grow accordingly.
Improved video conferencing
It’s hard to imagine what confinement would have been like ten years ago, before the generalization (in the West, at least) of high-speed internet and videoconferencing applications. Fortunately, most of us, stuck at home during the pandemic, were able to keep in touch with colleagues and friends in this way.
However, the technology is not without its limits, with problems ranging from poor connectivity to “zoom bombing” (where pranksters hijack meetings to which they weren’t invited), making early video conferencing experiences more likely. Difficult than they should be. Therefore, it is a good thing that competition between platforms has led to massive innovation until 2020, including the launch of brand new super-secure services such as video.
In recent weeks, Zoom has announced the arrival of new Slack-like features on its platform, Microsoft Teams has launched a series of new features to help large organizations organize better online conferences, and Cisco has launched WebEx Classrooms, which allows teachers to set up online classes, schedule virtual office hours and parent-teacher conferences.
We expect the growing rivalry between these platforms to be accompanied by still very strong demand in 2021, even as the pandemic eases. After all, many of us have enjoyed virtual meetings and conferences in 2020 (no need to travel, travel, and stay in hotels anymore). Even if society returns to normal, this is another habit that is likely to continue.
We have already seen some eye-opening examples of web design and development in the contemporary era. Suppose you want to easily incorporate these ideas into your next website design. Web Development Services has over 600 pre-built sites to help you out.
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