Holidays may only alter the moods of those that participate, but seasons affect everybody. The way we feel changes the way we view things. According to our friends at Hubspot:

“First impressions form in a matter of seconds. The same goes for a first impression of a product or brand, and marketing emotion can help shape that impression … and help that brand or product stand out in your mind.”

This relates to everything from putting together a commercial that pulls on your heartstrings to the basic scheme/makeup of your website. The design of a website can alter our mood. Aligning our mood with a website factors into how receptive we are to a particular message.

So how can we factor the changing season into web design and web development?

  • Tailor Your Content to the Season
  • Utilize the Ability to Update
  • Be Intentional With Your Tactics
  • Put Together a Plan and Stick With It

    Tailor Your Content to the Season

    You wouldn’t want to run an ad campaign for swimming suits in January. Why not? Because most people (excluding warmer climates) are more focused on sweaters and indoor fireplaces.

    They have a pre-existing rubric for what is comfortable. Your website should also take the season into account.

    Lean into the season. Pre-existing ideas become cliche when they’re overdone. But these ideas often become overdone because they work. Autumn is many people’s favorite season of the year.

    After the heat of summer, a cool evening in a sweatshirt is extremely refreshing. People want to experience this change in all aspects of their day, including when they look at your webpage.

    Strategic web design and proper web development allow you to capitalize on seasonal sentiments for your business.

    Trees with changing leaves, corn mazes, Halloween — all of these offer many opportunities for imagery that fits your customers pre-existing moods. Aligning with those moods lessens their inclination to leave your page.

    And as we know, your chances of converting a visitor into a customer improves with each passing minute.

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Utilize the Ability to Update

The ability to change your content and layout quickly and easily is a great advantage. It’s important to stay on top of these changes. WordPress websites — for example — offer the great ability to swap out images and content to address seasonal concerns.

As soon as November hits, the public’s attention shifts from Halloween to Thanksgiving. This informs a whole new set of color templates and associations within your customer’s mind.

Schedule new content to roll out as soon as this changeover happens. Jack-o-lanterns are nothing more than a nuisance on November 4th. You want your customer to feel like you are attentive.

Current content shows your customers that you are paying attention.

There’s no better way to stay on top of changes than to take advantage of these scheduling capabilities.

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{{cta(‘2eb2c9fa-fba7-47fb-a607-0dfc30a00530′,’justifycenter’)}}Be Intentional With Your Tactics

You’re trying to convey a feeling. An emotion. It should almost be subtle enough that your customer won’t notice it until it’s pointed out.

You don’t want your homepage to be filled with witches on broomsticks and the cursor to be a piece of candy corn. There’s a fine line between leaning into the season and being cheesy.

Think soft, warm colors and pictures of trees changing and losing their leaves. Include new content that relates your company to the season. People are going to be spending more time inside as the air turns cooler. Use that to your advantage.

Before long, they’ll be researching holiday gifts. All of this adds up to more opportunities for your website to draw them in and convert them to customers. Be sure to have something for them to connect with.

Imagine yourself in their position. Maybe they’re looking for holiday recipes or new clothing to wear in the new season. Does the look of your website match how they feel? Do you have something for them to read that relates to this feeling?

The more you can connect, the more you can convert.

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Put Together a Plan and Stick With It

Effective web design necessitates planning and thought. Imagine yourself in the position of someone visiting your website. Not only who are they and what are they looking for, but what are they feeling?

The current season is a major factor in your vistor’s overarching emotions. Changing seasons means changing wants and needs. If you are able to match these changes in your web design, you have  an advantage over competitors that haven’t taken this into consideration.

Horton Group provides adaptable web development to help you keep up with the necessary changes throughout the year. Compelling web design drastically improves your visitor’s experience on your website.

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