2014 is almost over. And what a great year it was – not only for DBurns, but for the Internet in general.
It brought a lot of progress in the technology available for website development. We saw changes not only on how (and where) users consume data and interact with digital interfaces, but also on how websites now need to be designed to accommodate these new needs while taking advantage of the new possibilities. DBurns worked hard this year to be on top of all these changes and is proud to have brought a new edge to all of its service offerings as well as to the way that the firm presents itself.
We are very excited for 2015, but before we go full speed into the new year, it’s always good to look back and see all the changes and achievements that happened throughout this past year – in our Company and in our Industry.
For the first time, mobile exceeded PC in Internet usage
While PC Internet usage stayed steady in the past years, mobile usage is in high growth, finally surpassing desktops in January of 2014. On top of that, smartphone adoption increased 39% while PC sales dropped nearly 14%, according to CNN.
Image: marketingland.com
Image: If that wasn’t enough, smartphones are now the most used devices for consuming media outside of the US and UK: people are spending more time on mobile than they are watching TV, when it’s not uncommon to find mobile devices being used as a second screen (or maybe, TV is becoming the second one). That trend is not too far from becoming a reality here in the US as well.
image: marketingland.com
image: From the many activities performed during that time, 44% of users will engage in online browsing – that can be initiated by something they saw on TV, a search, or from scrolling through a Social Media App – what leads us to the our second topic:
Responsive design became the norm
Responsive design – the ability of a website to adapt to the screen size, be it a big desktop monitor or a small phone screen – used to be an advantage. That’s not the case anymore: it’s not an advantage, it’s the norm.
Responsive websites should no longer be considered an option, while the ones that are not responsive or have a dedicated mobile version, at least, are seriously behind. Having a mobile optimized site is so important nowadays that Google takes it into consideration when indexing sites clearly stating that “they would prefer all sites to be responsive websites”, impacting directly your search position and the current SEO practices.
Browsers are more powerful than ever
Who still remembers Flash? It took the Internet by storm in 1998, bringing sophisticated movement and audio to previously static, lifeless html pages. It was very high in popularity until Apple started its demise by releasing the first generation of the popular iPhone, back in 2007.
Eye4U was considered one of the most impressive sites back in 1998. Today, it is a relic from a not-so-distant past, that can still be seen here.
Eye4U was considered one of the most impressive sites back in 1998. Today, it is a relic from a not-so-distant past, that can still be seen With that, a rush to get online content viewable in an iDevice just got worse with the release of the iPad in 2010. Many website owners – some of our clients included – had to say goodbye to their page-flip effects, transitions and animations.
DBurns’ client Zen Arts used to be a full Flash website – what made it a challenge for SEO and impossible to access on mobile devices.
Fast forward to 2014, the internet seems to have recovered from that loss: HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript are more than enough to bring back the effects that before were only possible with Flash – but now making it available everywhere, no matter the device you are on. We can’t wait to see what will become possible in 2015.
The new Zen Arts uses the latest technologies available on browsers today to make a very engaging and unique experience.
DBurns won 4 awards and 2 nominations for Zenartsla.com
DBurns strives to keep pioneering the use of innovative technologies in our service portfolio – and this year our efforts have definitely been payed off. We are humbled – yet very proud – by being one of the Digital Agencies selected to receive a variety of awards this year for our work on the new Zen Arts website.
The website received a Gold W3 Award in the category of Entertainment Web Design, a Gold Davey award in the category of Performing Arts, and 2 Silver Davey awards – one for Web Graphics and one for Visual Appeal. We also received nominations for Site of the Day at Awwwards.com and Cssdesignawards.com.
DBurns launched its new website
Together with new visual enhancements and effects, the new website also has a new blog – full of relevant articles about the Internet Industry, good practices for Content Creation and Digital Marketing.
DBurns starts offering digital marketing services
As the internet keeps evolving and changing year after year, so does the requirements for a website to remain relevant. Since Google is constantly improving its algorithm in the pursuit of finding the most useful resources for your search, it becomes incredibly more complex to keep relevance and visibility today than it used to be. Needless to say, the quote “If we build it they will come” proved not to be applicable on the digital space.
After realizing that today it takes much more than building an attractive, responsive and optimized website to be relevant for search engines, DBurns now is focusing a lot of its efforts in the development and implementation of Digital Marketing Strategies, or, as new digital marketers call it, Inbound Marketing, which focuses not on the old style, black-hat SEO practices, but in Targeted Strategy, Content Development and Social Media presence.
A few sites we released in 2014
Finally, one of our favorite moments every year is to look back and see a few of the sites we had the pleasure to publish this year:
ZenArtsLA.com
Winner of multiple awards this year, Zen Arts is one of out most successful websites.
LiveLifeLean.com
The new fitness App by Pauline Nordin, founder of Fighterdiet.
ImMe.org
A charity dedicated to helping orphans in Haiti, led by David Nelson – wide receiver at the New York Jets.
theFareTrade.com
An exciting subscription box that sends you, every month, gourmet ingredients hand-picked by emerging chefs.
BeverlyHillsSpineSurgery.com
A fully-responsive website that is also a resource for information on spine injuries and procedures.
CollectEmojis.com
A colorful, fun toy website, full of CSS3 animations and transitions.
Innovate in 2015!
We encourage you to enter 2015 by adopting the new technologies and digital marketing strategies that this fast growing industry requires. Our team of marketers and design experts are available to consult with you at any time – contact us to request a free consultation.