Designing With Data: How Data Influences Web Development
Data science, which was once an abstract field of study for academics and researchers, has become an essential tool across many industries. Now, the impact of data science changes our everyday life. Below, in this article, you can get information about how data influences web development.
Professional data miners and analyzers extract insights from large pools of data. Data, once processes, provides intelligence that companies and organizations base significant decisions on. Data influences everything from product design to marketing strategy. For larger companies, understanding how consumers act through tangible data can save millions of dollars.
As the Internet becomes more and more accessible and human interaction with it increases, businesses can obtain higher volumes of more accurate data. This data not only influences product development, but it can also be useful for developing high-quality websites that attract further business.
What is Data Science?
At its core, data science is the process of drawing insights from the analysis of data. The rapid mass digitization of data over the past few years has driven the creation of big data, which fuels data science and even artificial intelligence. After deriving insights from the data, data scientists report their findings to whoever makes critical decisions within a company or department. That person then forms strategical processes based on the recommendations of the data analyzer.
Data-driven Web Design
Years ago, web design entailed only simple HTML and CSS. Now, designers can create intuitive, dynamic websites that users can access across devices at incredible speed. When it came to commercial web design, all a designer had to do to create a business website was throw basic information online. Today, sites drive sales; many businesses only operate online, not from brick-and-mortar stores.
To meet the needs of customers and to persuade them to make a purchase, websites need to anticipate the actions of online users. Their format should create functionality, not just an aesthetic experience. Insights draw from data science can help designers make strategic choices when it comes to layout and the online purchasing process. Using data science for web design has become a critical way for businesses to beat out their competition.
Research has shown that data-driven websites are generally ‘stickier’ than those that rely on just the developer’s experience. This means that users stay on these websites longer and are more likely to convert to customers. Why? Because sites designed based on data meet the real needs and preferences of their target audience. When a website makes it easier for visitors to find the information they want and presents that information in a way that speaks to them, they are more likely to spend their time on the website and eventually purchase a product or sign up for a service.
Data is a broad field, and there are specific types of data that are useful to web design. In general, data used by web designers answers the “what,” “how,” and “why” of visitor behavior. Quantitative data provides the numbers that help designers establish, for instance, how many people of a particular age group visited a specific section of your website. Qualitative data will help explain why people of a given demographic are attracted to certain types of content on your pages.
In general, there are three categories of useful data:
1. On-site Data– The kind of data described above. On-site data reveals statistics on how visitors interact with your website.
2. Third-party Data– As useful as stats from your site can be, they will not give a complete picture of Internet users at large and how they consume online content. For this, you will require data on web user behavior collated by external sources.
3. Social Data– Any online statistics collected in this day and age will be incomplete without including web users’ interactions with various social media accounts. This type of data consists of the number of people liking particular posts or how many visitors follow links posted on Facebook or Twitter to visit web pages.
The Right Web Developer
The right web developer is not just one who incorporates the latest coding techniques, wows you with catchy graphics, or loads your pages with chatbots and other snazzy interactive features. When it comes to commercial web design, the best designers are the ones who understand a company’s business strategy and can create a website that aligns with these goals. If you’re looking to hire a web developer, look for one who can use the magic of data science to inform their work. A data-driven developer follows what the numbers say as opposed to leaning on their own judgment or personal preferences.
Hiring the right designer will prevent the possibility of having a website that’s pretty, but doesn’t create enough revenue. Employing a developer with data analysis skills will not come cheap, and the process of collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data will take time. However, in the long-run, it will prove a worthy investment.
The Future is Data
Data-driven website development eliminates the guesswork and allows you to get a better return for your investment. And as more data scientists venture into web development and vice-versa, data-driven developers will become more available. To take your web presence to the next level, be sure to find a designer who can take data insights and turn them into a beautiful, functional website.