An easily-accessible, user-friendly parallax-scrolling website can do wonders to a company’s endeavors to connect with customers in the online space. If you are planning to include this dynamic web designing scheme in your business portal, you need to factor in the considerations listed below.
In 2011, when the parallax scrolling techniques were used for web designing (for the Nike website) – few had envisaged that it would become so popular within a relatively short time-span. As things turned out, the method, which helps to create a multi-dimensional layered feel (moving) to website backgrounds, really caught on with professional designers around the world. Our very own website makes use of this technique, and we would here share some tips and strategies to implement parallax scrolling in your business portal too:
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Have a definite motive – Having websites with parallax scrolling features has turned out to be some sort of a fad over the last couple of years. It is important to understand that, it does not go well with all types of websites – and it need not be present on all the web pages either. In general, if you are into the business of information technology, software creation or mobile apps development – parallax scrolling can enhance the user-experience on your site. However, if you are involved in, say, grain-trading or in the medical profession – the method would simply come across as gimmicky.
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Choose engaging images – The ‘floating’ background pictures are the life and soul of parallax websites. Select pictures that are indeed likely to capture the attention of visitors – particularly for the home page and other important landing page(s). If effectively done, this would keep the overall bounce rates low. Ideally, avoid putting in too many pictures of products, and include snaps with actual humans (your employees, for instance) instead. Clients invariably like interacting with companies that have a human touch.
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Determine the speed of background movements – Parallax scrolling gives you the opportunity to add several layers to the website background – and each layer has to be managed with due care. The background images should ideally move at relatively low speeds, ensuring that viewers can catch a proper glimpse. If you plan to make use of the foreground space as well, keep the images slightly blurred – so that they do not interfere with the on-page content.
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Make your website mobile-optimized – Although most leading mobile app developers and software service providers get a large proportion of their business leads from mobile internet users, this aspect is not yet attached enough importance to. However, as the volume of people across the world using smartphones and tablets to access the web keeps expanding, it will become absolutely critical to have a parallax scrolling website that is mobile-friendly. Implement a responsive web design scheme, so that the version of the website displayed varies with the medium on which it is viewed.
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Parallax scrolling does not hinder SEO – There is a common misconception that websites with parallax scrolling are almost impossible to optimize. Provided that you have adequate amounts of relevant, regularly updated, engaging and easily scannable content on your pages – you need not worry about this factor whatsoever. Create optimized page titles and meta descriptions too, and include videos and infographics on the pages. Parallax scrolling and successful search engine optimization can definitely co-exist – there are numerous examples of that.
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Keep the site architecture and navigation user-friendly – Moving, multi-layered backgrounds do look ‘oh-so-stylish’ – but you need to resist the temptation of putting in concealed menus and other such complicated navigation procedures in your portal. Remember, the sitewide architecture and navigation have got nothing to do with whether you are using a static or a parallax scrolling website. People should be able to find the information they are looking for without any problems.
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Integrate ‘call-to-action’ with the on-page content – Your staff might have the finest software and/or mobile application development skills in town – but in the absence of proper ‘call-to-action’ buttons/links on your parallax scrolling site, adequate business won’t be forthcoming. In addition, you need to make these ‘call-to-action’ portions (e.g., ‘Click here’, ‘Request A Quote’, etc.) a natural part of the page content. If these links/buttons are present only in the page footers, they are bound to appear spammy – both to the search engine crawlers and to general users.
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Think beyond moving images only – Parallax web designing is not only about making background images move along at varying paces. You have the opportunity to present the information present on your website in a much more interactive format – with the help of this technique. For instance, instead of having a long and static ‘About Us’ page, you can make use of parallax design methods to create a dynamic timeline and profile of your organization. Don’t forget to include a fun element to the website (think up relevant, yet out-of-the-box pictures). Within seconds of arriving on your website, visitors should get hooked on!
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Should you include side-scrolling? – From the user-perspective, presence of side-scrolling options in business websites is generally deemed unfavorable. However, if you have web pages that have stories and anecdotes, it might be a good idea to combine parallax side-wise scrolling. For most purposes though, it would be better to stick to the tried-and-tested vertical scrolling feature only.
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Test the website on all popular browsers – CSS stylesheets and HTML5 are integral parts of parallax websites. However, these can prevent the sites from properly loading on certain web browsers (older versions of Internet Explorer, for example). Once your parallax portal is ready, test it across all the popular browsers (do not simply assume that a browser is ‘no longer used’). Most web designers prefer using HTML5 Boilerplate to resolve all potential cross-browser compatibility issues.
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Manage the page loading times – There are no two ways about it – a website with parallax scrolling is slower than a static portal. However, if you are willing to trade-off a bit of page loading speed for the enhanced visual appeal, you need to be careful that the website does not become too slow. Avoid using images that are too heavy, in the background. Before loading, every pixel on the images have to be scrolled – and if this takes more than a few seconds, visitors might simply move on to another site.
It’s an absolute myth that a website with parallax scrolling invariably has a single URL. Just like we have done with the site of our mobile apps company, you have to optimize the different pages. Do not overuse parallax elements to an extent that finding vital product/service information (or even the company logo!) becomes difficult. A well-planned parallax scrolling business website can help you connect with prospective customers more fruitfully than your competitors – you only need to be a bit smart while incorporating this new-age web designing technique.