While keeping a particular look and feel for a website can attribute to continued success, some sites expand on making connections with visitors by implementing seasonal themes. Google is well known for altering it’s traditional logo during certain events which has become iconic in many areas. This isn’t saying that changing your website design for each season will deliver the same appeal as some of the most visited websites in the world, but it may connect on a deeper level for those individuals that are engaged by your content.
Your Imagery Matters
Although it’s the actual content that will bring in visitors to your website, the general look and feel will play a role in how long they stay. Since search engines can’t tell you if the site is designed well or will give you epileptic seizures, you need to impress first-time visitors as they arrive. This doesn’t mean you should overload the background with scintillating colors or flashing banners. In fact, many sites are utterly successful by maintaining a basic color scheme. However, adding a sense of current events to the design could offer continuity for your visitors. The imagery not only demonstrates that you have a grasp of what is happening now, but it can help people get in the spirit of the event. Do you send holiday cards in the mail in May? Perhaps not. Certain images make more sense when implementing them during a certain time of the year.
Simplicity Can Go a Long Way
While some bloggers and website owners will rebuild the entire color pallet for the specific season, making subtle changes can be just as powerful while remaining true to your working design. For instance, it could be easy to simply add a snowflake or two to the background or perhaps drape Santa’s hat across the corner of your logo. Although these changes are small, they can impact the reader with the same effect as converting an entire color scheme to accentuate winter.
Your Overall Framework May Dictate Your Use of Seasonal Themes
Many websites today are based on content management systems that can accept color, image and font themes instantly. Using applications such as Joomla and WordPress allows you to alter the look and layout of a site by choosing the default theme and clicking your mouse button. These platforms are easy to alter and allows you to keep seasonal themes to use in the coming years. Hard coded sites may be a bit more difficult depending on your knowledge of CSS and PHP. In reality, your site’s design may complicate changing the theme for each season making the experience inefficient due to costs and time. In this aspect, simple changes such as logo graphics or backgrounds could be more ideal to engage your visitors.
Adding a flare of the current event or season has the capacity to connect to your readers on a deeper level than merely providing content. It may be summed up in a single word, “fun.” Without a bit of entertainment, you could lose some visitors. As it doesn’t take much effort to make minor changes, try it for yourself while monitoring your site’s analytical data for a month. If there are significant improvements in visitor interactions, then make a plan for a more intricate seasonal conversion.