web 2.0

The World Wide Web is changing, and evolving at an incredible rate. The whole approach to web design, online marketing and application development is being reconsidered. To move with these changes, we need apply this new thinking to web design in Ireland.

This concept is nicknamed Web 2.0, as in version 2 of the web, and has emerged from the lessons learned from the dotcom boom of the late nineties, the subsequent crash, and the successes that survived.

People are more web-savvy now, and spend a lot of time on the web. Blinking graphics and flash animation alone are no longer enough to capture the interest of your visitors. Content is king, and deep down it always was.

Information, data, images, video, podcasts, blogs and social media are what the web is about now. The days of a basic online brochure or ‘webvert’, with bullet points and contact details are over. It may have worked Then, but it doesn’t work Now.

As web users, we know what we expect to see when we visit a website. We look for informative, clear navigation, so that we can get to the content we want to quickly and easily. If we need to know about the company, we expect to see an About Us page, if we want to contact them, we expect to see a Contact Us page.

However, if you do not see what you are expecting, all you have to do is click the Back button and choose the next site on the list. The aim of the game is not just to get traffic, but to retain these visitors and convert them into sales.

The Web 2.0 style even looks different. It is simpler, cleaner and lighter than before. It looks modern and white, with purer colours, rounded corners, shiny reflections and drop shadows. It’s new, it’s bright and it’s easy to use, and the difference can be quite dramatic.