Akram Atallah is CEO of Identity Digital, a global leader in next-generation top-level domains and digital identity.
Technology is ubiquitous, as is the need for the experiences it enables. Consider how many devices people use every day. You probably have a laptop and a phone, maybe also a tablet and a smartwatch, within arm’s reach right now—and so will your customers. That’s why it’s critical to deliver a consistent brand experience across devices and platforms. One way to do this is by implementing a standardized user experience for all of your assets.
According to Salesforce, 79% of customers expect consistent interactions like sign-in, browsing and checkout across all devices and digital channels. When a platform is unavailable on one device or lacks functional parity across multiple devices, users often become frustrated and won’t hesitate to switch to another service that offers consistent capabilities.
To capture as many customers as possible, businesses must standardize their brand experiences.
Reclaiming Brand Identity Through Consistent Digital Interactions
In this digital-first era, a user’s experience of a brand’s digital offerings can inform their overall view of the business. For example, if an app is intuitive, responsive to every touch, visually appealing and functionally consistent across devices, customers are more likely to revisit that brand. Conversely, if the experience is inconsistent across devices, that can lead to a negative opinion of the brand.
A unified experience is more than just a better website, portal or app. Creating a centralized location to house content can result in a seamless experience across devices. It can also give you control over critical content. When your images, messaging, blogs and videos are accessed consistently across platforms, you amplify the brand, values and mission. As a result, this can inspire customer trust and loyalty.
Consolidating information and content under a unique domain name can also offer a cascade of practical benefits—increased visibility, which lends itself to better search engine optimization (SEO), resulting in greater credibility and higher rankings. While this can be a boon to any business, it’s especially helpful for entrepreneurs, influencers and brands entering new segments. For legacy brands, maintaining a strong central online presence tied to your domain name can be like an insurance policy against obsolescence.
Five Steps To Unify Your Cross-Device Experiences
Establish Interactive Design Standards
Reusable design language and structural approaches can help standardize common functions like navigation, search, entry forms, apps and websites. You can define and use your own standards or leverage ones from providers like Material Design and Bootstrap. Just make sure all of your product and service design teams are aligned on employing these standards so quality and user experience stay consistent across device types.
Ensure Digital Elements Adapt To Device Sizes
Responsive design can ensure your website looks and acts like your website, regardless of where it appears. Use tools like fluid grids, flexible images and media queries as well as design techniques like progressive enhancement, feature detection and device-specific templates. These can automatically tailor elements (menus, buttons), inputs (mouse clicks, gestures), media feedback (visual, audio) and font sizes to each device’s resolution and aspect ratio.
Preserve Functional Consistency
A house style guide can ward off many unforced errors. It can ensure all digital elements adhere to the standards users expect from your brand. Component libraries and cross-platform tools like React Native and Flutter can properly and consistently deploy each element’s visual and functional aspects on every device.
Test, Test, Test
Before anything goes live, review how it looks and works from the customer’s point of view. Test on different devices, web browsers, operating systems and network conditions. Make necessary improvements to achieve greater consistency across devices and platforms. Use guidelines and conventions from official websites and developer portals to learn how best to tailor your approach to experiences like navigation, controls, gestures, notifications, permissions and accessibility to the most users possible.
Adopt New Web Address Names
Centralizing content under a new web address can help businesses enrich their brand in numerous ways. It can protect their legacy domain name and allow companies to create a location for unique experiences under a new web address. Consider how Vogue has curated all of its content from the Vogue World event under a “.world” domain or how BuzzFeed brings all its social posts together with a “.bio” domain.
Igniting Brands With Consistent Digital Products And Services
Platform- and device-savvy design will always be critical for a brand’s digital presence. However, a unified experience is key to taking control of your online identity and expressing what’s unique about your brand from the very first impression. When you set the stage for improved customer sentiment and engagement in this way, your business can stand out, and its long-term value can be enhanced.
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