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Businesses around the world have begun to adapt to new realities that have resulted from the current pandemic. Although necessary, prioritizing your action steps can become overwhelming.

The nature of this crisis requires strategies and ideas to go beyond business as usual. That’s why it’s important to evaluate the unique challenges facing your business and determine the next steps to shift the way in which you connect with your audience.

One of those first steps should be asking yourself: How should our businesses’ approach to our online presence be adjusted in response to this current health crisis?

Before attempting to answer such an all-encompassing question, make sure to take into consideration how COVID-19 has changed customer behaviors online.

How online behavior has changed

Since the health crisis, consumers have radically changed their consumption behaviors – what, when, and how they buy. The change not only applies to purchasing behaviors, but also the way consumers obtain information, resources, and services that otherwise would have been part of day-to-day interactions.

As with any crisis, humans tend to move down Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs towards the basics of food, security, and safety. As a result, consumers are looking to technology to regain that lost sense of community and connectivity while staying safe.

With a growing amount of virtual spaces developing, both in terms of working and consumer habits, people are embracing new technology to meet their needs more than ever before.
Businesses can adapt to this shift in consumer behavior by showing their willingness to offer new technological solutions to customers.

Some key factors to consider when building and curating your online presence:
• Keep your audience informed
• Adjust digital advertising to meet the shift in trends
• Connect with your audience remotely

One of the best ways to achieve these goals is by prioritizing your business’s website to ensure its effectively reaching your customers while accurately representing your brand identity.

Why effective website design is important for businesses navigating COVID-19

Your website is one of your sole forms of brand representation, especially with restrictions posed by COVID-19.

Pre-pandemic, your website may have simply been a complement to other forms of brand representation. Now, your website is now likely the primary medium through which your brand reaches your customers.

With that in mind, you want to make sure your website is as effective as possible in reaching your customers, showcasing your services/products, facilitating their user experience, and conveying your brand identity.

While it’s important to remain up-to-date on current website design trends in order to maintain – or even surpass – the level of quality of the competition, there are certain staples that every effective website should have, including quality user experience (UX), consistent branding, SEO-boosting elements, mobile-first responsive design, speed optimization, among other important factors.

As you develop a strategy to reopen or adapt your business, find ways you can reposition your website to better serve your audience. With careful planning, every business can effectively use their website to safely, efficiently, and productively navigate COVID-19.