Is there a new website in your New Year marketing plans? Here are the latest web trends for 2020 that you’ll want to be incorporating into your web design.

• Oversized lettering/bold typography. Huge typography is gaining in popularity, as website owners strive to simplify web design. 
• Big solid color blocks. Think of familiar Facebook posts with solid color backgrounds. Use these on your homepage in conjunction with photos. Each block can contain a key message, a testimonial or a call to action.
• Split screen content. Do you have several key messages? Easy. Line these up side by side. Think about adding a call to action in the center to tie the two together.
• Asymmetric layouts. Most websites are based on grids, generally (invisible) columns and rows. Web designs that stand out will display broken grid techniques, with design elements placed chaotically. 
• Background video. Animation instead of static background brings your platform to life. Video contributes to your Google authority, or SEO value.
• Hidden navigation. By tucking your navigation away, you can save a lot of real estate for other components. I struggle with this one. We put a serious amount of thought into the navigation so that it has the maximum SEO value and makes it as easy as possible for users to get where they’re going. Now we’re hiding it?
• Flat design. Flat design lacks shadows and gradients. It’s streamlined, efficient and easy to read, but it may be falling from fashion. Another trend that doesn’t make sense.

An overarching design theme: Large elements surrounded by lots of whitespace

White space remains a key design element to showcase a key image or content. Now that white space is making its way into the online form! Think about it–how many times/week do we fill out online forms—to order something, to generate feedback or to get more information. Forms are important components of web interactions; expanding a form so that it takes up more room on the page, making it more inviting, accessible, easier with which to interact improves the user experience. 

Global web trends

Altered reality. Stores and brands are implementing altered reality (AR) into their websites by allowing customers to virtually “try on” clothes, jewelry, makeup, etc. They’re allowing users to rearrange furniture to see how it would look in their homes or offices.

Microinteractions. Look for more microinteractions that are meant to delight us. They’re tiny automated signposts that you’ll see when you: 

• Upload a file, hit the submit button, and see an upload status bar go from 0% to 100%. That’s a microinteraction. 
• Hover over a Call to Action and the color saturates and the button gets bigger–that’s another microinteraction! 

Data. No matter what industry you’re in, it’s increasingly valuable to be collecting our user information, and more web designs will be based on that data.

If you’re thinking about a new website in 2020, contact Top of Mind Marketing.

We can help organize information, develop content, build the site, manage images and help it show up in search engines. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Holiday Ads That You’ll Want to See Again

It’s the holidays, and we’re ramping up for another season of excess. I always hate the way the media sets us up for failure this time of year. Remember that not all of us are rushing from gala to gala, our arms loaded with expensive gifts. We’re not all getting cars for Christmas, as the ads suggest. I’m not sitting down to my holiday dinner surrounded by my loving family. My family is dysfunctional, and we haven’t seen each other in years. My holiday, as I expect it is for many, will be rather modest, yet I’ve learned to take pleasure in small things that make this time of year special—I love holiday music and lights and time with those I care about. Here are some holiday ads you’ll want to watch again

And those ads? Here are two companies that are totally nailing this

REI: #OptOutside

Last year, REI did something pretty astonishing—they had the temerity to close the doors at all of their stores on Black Friday, perhaps the biggest shopping day of the year. They invited their community to join their employees, taking Black Friday off to do what they love most: being outside! This year, they’re back big time with their #OptOutside campaign in full force. This is so smart—it’s getting attention from big names, including the National Parks Foundation, which is doing its own spin on this campaign. Let’s not forget that millennials are one demographic that love to support cause-driven brands. 

An ad from a German supermarket, Edeka, that’s restrained and endearing

This ad is a tear-jerker. It reminds us that what really matters around the holidays is spending time with those we love.

In the ad, an elderly man prepares to spend yet another Christmas alone

His kids cancel their planned visits at the last minute. We see his chopping carrots, preparing his solitary meal. The video then cuts to his various grown children—all busy with their careers. Then they receive a letter telling them their father has died. When they arrive home, however, they’re greeted by their very healthy father. He says, “How else could I have brought you all together?” The final scene shows the family laughing and talking around the table, sharing a holiday meal with their father.

Other than the delicious meal they share at the very end, there’s no hint that Edeka is a supermarket or that this is ultimately about food. This video generated 33.5 million views on YouTube within a week of posting. 

Good marketing tells a story, reaching people on an emotional level

It takes a commitment to make this kind of an ad. It doesn’t beat people over the head with special offers, free promos or phone numbers to call. The message is more subtle and needs time to develop. 

But stick with this, and you’ll be rewarded 

This is a powerful holiday message—slow down and be grateful for the things worth celebrating in your own life. Wishing everyone a happy holiday and a wonderful New Year.