If I were to ask you how will a website look 5 years from now ? What will be your response? What are those elements that you imagine? It is an interesting question and everybody will have their share of opinions. I recently asked this question to a marketing manager of a leading airlines company. She said, “I want something really simple! One page types”.
So, whenever I go to pitch about digital medium, I share my observations with my clients. They are generic and are as follows:
a. Is the website having responsive design? laying out itself as per the screen.
b. Is the website having social media integration? Can you uniquely like/share website components?
c. Is there a blog?
d. Are there info graphic types of information packages on the website? Which can visually package information?
While these are generic observation and need to be applied with a context and might not make sense in every case. But, I would like to share more on the front of future. I have two strong opinions on how social media and building websites will converge in time to come?
a. A business like Facebook is in true essence a business of identity network. My analogy to that is (Facebook) being a very big shopping mall and it tries to know its footfall (which all brands the users are interested in through their likes) and sharing that preferences to a small retail shop outside the mall is a potential business model through a Facebook login. So, that they (small business) can personalize the shopping experience immediately. For example, if I browse an amazon.com or a make my trip with my social identity. I am transacting my social data stored on Facebook. So, that they(third party website) can suggest me a book/trip which are according to my taste. Hence, lowering my transaction cost. Who knows we might see in future Facebook charging companies to integrate their ‘Facebook Login‘ into a website.
b. With ever-growing social networks, web is getting de-anonymized. As we know more and more about a visiting customer to our website. What all we are going to change in their experience? If there is a user who visits your website and you make them login using Facebook login. Are you going to change the color of the website and remove/add components as per their likes. Blue color website for boys and pink for girls :p
At MixORG we want to build a page on our website representing future. Will come back more news on that soon! Until then if there is some idea we should build in it then please let us know.
Cheers
-sachin
