Developing a teen-oriented website is a weary load. Teenagers are one of the most heterogeneous demographic groups. Through adolescence, they take an interest in divergent matters and show varied behavior traits. Still, they do bear few things in common that can turn web design process into plain sailing. Here are some ideas on how to make it work:
Need for Speed
You will hardly find patience among the top teens’ virtues. If they want something – they want it now. So for a teen-oriented website, fast loading is a must.
Young users tend to engage in web browsing behavior called page parking. It means opening multiple windows at the same time as a way to keep alternative options available for further consideration. The user will then have a quick glance at those tabs to decide which of them match the initial inquiry.
If at this point your website is still a mere blank page, a youngster won’t hesitate to click ‘close.’ That very instant, you’ll be denied the right to make the first impression and have lost a potential customer. So think twice before adding some fancy 3D graphics or 4K video that might hamper the rendering speed.
Text: To Be, or Not To Be
Creating a website for teens is not only about visual elements such as color templates, icons, and illustrations. Words are as well a constituent part of user interface which can’t be discarded. The text serves a number of different functions in web design:
- shaping site navigation and call-to-action elements;
- disseminating notifications and instructions for web pages;
- forming an authentic brand story;
- setting tone and voice of communication;
- informing and engaging users.
Regardless of your target audience, you will utilize all these applications. Though, informative aspect of copy should come under close scrutiny when designing a teen-oriented platform. Why so? Teenagers abhor long-winded descriptions and rambling articles.
Text can engage or enrage your users. To avoid the latter scenario, first of all, pick up a readable font and set it against a high contrast background. Since youngsters have a rather short attention span, they experience some trouble digesting big chunks of information. Deliver your content in short paragraphs and add headings and subheadings to enhance page scanning. Help teens stay focused by highlighting keywords and introducing bulleted lists.
A web page with useful data but poor presentation won’t appeal to users. Outsourcing this task to content creators might be a wise solution. You can google buy an essay online now to get in touch with the professional copywriters.
Set the Course to Multimedia Adventure
Images, graphics, and animation is a great way to enhance the user retention rate. It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Teens decode visual content much faster than the text. Thus, images can be not just the element of attraction but also an informative component of the site.
Multimedia is an effective means to connect to the young generation, but apply it with a light touch. Cluttering the user screen with tons of pics won’t work… unless you’re developing the next Instagram. The best approach is to keep the proper image/text balance. You might use a scroll method that scales down the size of illustrations leaving more space for writings as the user goes further into the depth of the page.
Video is another great method to capture teens’ attention. Just take a look at TikTok. This video-sharing service generated enormous hype around the globe, especially among the young crowd. 41% of its users worldwide are people aged between 16 and 24.
Since video content is both audible and visual, it is easier to perceive and more memorable. It is a perfect means to teach teens something new or keep them focused on the matter.
It is important to note that the best Internet experiences for youngsters are those that imply their active participation. All forms of online contests, quizzes, polls, and games are highly welcome. You might also let your users express themselves by including features for creating and sharing their content.
Go Mobile
Modern teens were born in the age of the Internet and wireless technologies. Unlike older generations, they don’t have to adapt to digitalization. They’ve been its adherents since infancy. Now the whole world is literally on their fingertips – all it takes is a single tap.
Mobile gadgets are what you should focus on if you are targeting the teen market. Just keep in mind that smartphones come with certain limitations you’ll need to tackle:
- small screen size means you have to prioritize the key elements of the interface and opt for the page layout that will enable you to allocate all the content properly;
- mobile sessions are often interrupted, so you need to provide users with the possibility to save state and resume the work later on;
- as the touchscreen is the primary input method make the buttons and other click zones easy to hit.