For a few months, almost the whole world stopped. Almost the whole world, because of its important part – online life has started going faster and faster. Let’s check how Internet users have changed their habits and how this situation may affect front-end design.

Mobile-first

Of course, it is a cliché, but not entirely. Especially if you have a look at data from such countries as India, the economy with the second-fastest digitizing rate in the world, and the country with the second-largest number of mobile phones (1,17 billion) in the world. In April-May 2020, Indians’ smartphone-based productivity rose 120% compared to the level before the lockdown. Apart from work, the overall usage of the mobile increased by 50% in the same period. People usually checked governmental updates, weather forecasts, agro news (84%). They also used their smartphones for entertaining — to make and watch videos or spots (83%).

Remote shopping

E-commerce is one of the most significant areas that have grown up during the pandemics. In May 2020, we noticed a growth of 81% of worldwide retail volumes compared to May 2019. Sporting goods were the most popular (218%), followed by DIY supplies and houseware products (190%), and then by game accessories (84%). This acceleration in e-commerce forces online retailers to look for new solutions to provide the best services possible. That includes personalized offers, the end-user friendly customer journeys up to the successful transaction and delivery.

My home is my office

Today, this travesty of famous British saying is more up to a point than ever. Our daily vocabulary has been enriched by frequently used words like a home office, teleconference, Zoom, sharing, collaboration, cloud, etc. The home office has become a must, not a privilege. In Poland, managers are generally used to working with their teams on-site, and during the pandemics, as much as 67% of companies have changed their patterns and offered home office positions. Before March 2020, 41% of office employees could work remotely; in June 2020 — 76%. Nowadays, when the lockdown is on hold, many companies continue remote work because of higher productivity.

What do all these online life-related areas have in common? Well, if you create mobile software, e-commerce platforms, or tools for remote work, you would have to combine it with a good user experience. End-users are not interested in how much you have invested in your product unless your product doesn’t work better, isn’t faster, more optimized, and more intuitive than others. What should be done? Better design of front-end fulfilling the end-users’ needs is the answer. There are some available solutions like Progressive Web App, micro front-ends, or headless e-commerce. How to use them to enrich your offer? You will learn soon. Stay tuned!

Author: Cezary Dmowski, CTO, Co-owner at ITSG Global