I have been making websites for nearly twenty years now. My, has it changed! Those early websites would look terrible now. I’m thankful that none of them are still active! But at the time it was pretty good, and a very new technology to be used for marketing. Loading in 5 seconds was impressive in those days, when most were on dial-up connections and would patiently wait for a blank webpage to start springing to life. Each image used sparingly, compressed to the hilt so they could display at all. Just a few pages to browse through, all designed to fit neatly on a 800 x 600 screen.

Of course, technology progressed and we started seeing animations and even videos on websites! Cor, the luxury of broadband internet. Faster speeds, so we’ll throw the kitchen sink at it. Flashy animations were a must on any professional website, reminding you that you needed a plug in to view it. But once you got that sorted, you could see things MOVE. You could play games online, and the first social media spaces started to pop up. We had more space to play with, now that bigger monitors became the norm. All this space, more than a few pages, and rich media – Wow.

Then along came internet-enabled devices like smartphones and tablets. Back to dial-up practices in some ways, remembering that not all devices are equal both in size of screen or how much internet they could use. Recent stats suggest these devices are now accessed daily, more often than the bigger desktop screens. More domains are created to keep up with increasing demand. As online spaces get crowded by more websites bustling for attention, SEO develops as its own niche area. So has social media. 

The way in which I do the same job – in this case, designing and building websites – has changed enormously. I know more than I did, but I also know differently. What worked back then still functions now, but it is more likely to be ridiculed. Keeping up with technology advances has been a must. But knowing the old ways isn’t in vain – trends come and go, but the core knowledge remains the same. User centric design is what designers call it.

Looking to the future, some predictions are saying that the rich media (audio and video) will continue to boom. Social media drives the requirement to keep up with media hungry audiences. Online spaces continue to diversify, and so competition is fierce. Keeping up with audience expectations is vital, but it’s not easy.

In your business, you may have similar tales to tell. How things once were isn’t how they are now. Core ideas remain, but how that is delivered to your customers has changed. You have navigated your way through these challenges, but many businesses won’t have. 

Be proud of your journey, your knowledge and your expertise. You’re remembering to prioritise what your customers want, and that’s a great way to run your business. You’re thinking like a designer would!