If you’re realizing that you need to evaluate your real estate organization’s digital presence and planning to do something about it, you’re probably not alone. Perhaps you’ve taken it a step further and are already in talks with a web development company’s design team.
Whatever the case, this is a great time to brush up on some trends, terms and absolute necessities in the world of website design and development. This way, when you approach a website design agency, you’ll have an idea of what their web developers are talking about. Thus, you can determine the best approach for your own digital property.
Let’s take a look at five web development terms you need to know:
User Interface (UI) Animations
UI is a way to describe the web page that visitors will see. UI design determines how different font colors, backgrounds, size, shapes, and the position of the different parts of a page are taken into account. Thus, when a web designer does UI design, they are working on the aesthetics and layout of the pages.
UI animations go beyond the basic user interface and take web responsiveness to the next level. View some examples of this in action here
WebGL2
Browsers are getting faster, more powerful and offer more functionality than ever before. Current browsers support WebGL2. This is a JavaScript application programming interface (API) that allows for interactive 2D and 3D graphics. Web developers use JavaScript to add automation, animations and interactivity to web pages. Your web design team will also use it as part of their responsive web design approach. They have to make sure that they are compatible with any web browser without using extra plug-ins. Your website’s appearance should change according to the screen size or orientation of the device used to view it.
Your web development team can use this as part of their responsive design and development process. Imagine creating things like 3D texture, object rendering, fragment depth and more. This is particularly useful if your organization is a visual one, specializing in real estate development or luxury goods.
Here is a cool example of what WebGL can do.
Virtual Reality (VR) WordPress Site
Are you as excited about VR innovations as we are? It completely changes people’s relationships to technology while boosting functionality. And, let’s be honest, VR is cool to use. Also known as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, VR combines technology and experience design to create completely immersive environments that make users feel like they’ve entered a different world.
WordPress now offers support for VR on their sites. Given the widespread use of WordPress sites, this means VR has the potential to become much more mainstream in responsive web design. Some business and e-commerce sites have already added VR components to their web and mobile sites, giving their customers the opportunity to interact with products in a completely new – and customized – way.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Customer Service
Speaking of e-commerce, the increased use of chatbots to address customer service enquiries continues. You know those little pop-up windows that say “can I help you?” when you’re browsing a site? These are computer programs that use machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to communicate with your website visitors.
Chatbots allow you to automatically respond to frequently asked questions instantly, freeing up valuable human resources for other important tasks. Chatbots aren’t just great for business websites. They can also be helpful for navigating information-based sites, offering quotes for services and more. Ask your website development company about adding AI to your new web initiative.
Voice UI
One area of the online market that has grown in importance is voice command designs. A voice UI allows someone to interact with a system or product through voice or speech commands. Some well-known examples of voice UIs are Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa, by Amazon. This hands-free, eyes-free approach allows users to interact with a product. As a result, demand for the smart speaker app industry has become more than just a trend.
Voice-assisted devices may only be scratching the surface of their potential. Yet, many web and UI designers are polishing their voice UI skills. Websites are now adapting to remain relevant and increase their accessibility for those with vision impairments. Having the option to use voice commands for your website will open up many more opportunities for website visitors. Good advertising agencies in Toronto are always looking at new ways to create practical, seamless voice-powered applications. This enables companies to offer alternative ways to interact with their customers.
We won’t overwhelm you with jargon
We appreciate that some of these web development terms are quite technical and you might not use them in your day-to-day work. Being a website design agency in Toronto, the team at Channel13 can help you cut through the jargon. We’ll help you understand how all these elements come together to create a robust digital presence for your real estate business.
Ready to talk about your company’s digital goals for the new year and stand out in the real estate development market?
Get in touch with our team today!
