Do you want to build a website in San Francisco? You’re going to be taken on an exciting ride of Bay Area website design.
Let’s start with a funny story: I once met a guy who tried to design his website from a boat in San Francisco Bay. It’s hard to concentrate when seagulls are diving for your sandwich. You may not need such dramatic flair. It’s a fact: web design isn’t just technology. It also involves an experience. Read here.
San Francisco is a city with a culture of high technology. Your grandmother may have programmed her pattern for knitting into high-end computer software. The expectations are high. Sloppy design? Forget it. You need to stay on top of your game or you may lose out to that 12-year-old programmer living next door.
The vibes are important. San Francisco is a blend of modern technology and retro charm. Your website should be designed to balance as if you were a tightrope-walker. Use bold colors, user-friendly software and a touch of avant-garde. You should have your site able to grab the attention of users within seconds.
Don’t even begin to talk about mobile responsiveness. Imagine someone looking at your site on their mobile phone while riding the cable cars. If your website is not mobile-optimized, you’ll disappear faster than Coit Tower.
Treat analytics like lifelines. Test, tweak, refine. San Franciscans love innovation, but hate bugs. People will run as fast down Lombard Street as they can if they feel they are on a bugged website.
Ah, collaboration. Bay Area has a big impact. You know it’s real. There’s never enough heads. You can invite graphic designers, strategy experts and even that friend with artistic skills who thinks HTML is some kind of secret code. Everyone has skills they can share and by working together, you will be able to create a fantastic website.
Personalization is the key. This is not the cookie-cutter approach where every site looks like it was whipped up by a template machine. We’re talking about local flavors. Here, the Golden Gate Bridge and dense fog are mentioned. Locals appreciate the little details, and tourists can also get a feel for San Francisco by noticing them.
San Francisco’s design culture is as unpredictable as the fog that rolls in from over the Bay. One minute minimalistic design is in style, the next everyone wants neon. The key to flexible design is flexibility. Trends aren’t the only thing that changes. Like digital chameleons, they change.
Experience is quite different. Imagine walking along Pier 39, vibrant, exciting, and full of surprises. You want your website to have this feel. Each click on your website should feel as smooth as the cable car track. Your website’s speed is crucial. Users won’t care if your website takes longer than a Sunday drive to load.
SEO may sound like technical jargon, but it is a friend in the journey. It’s like putting your digital flag on top of Google’s mountainous search results. San Francisco is a hub for startups, which means that competition in the city can be fierce. Your SEO strategy can transform your website from’meh’ to ‘wow’.
Finally, sustainability. San Francisco residents are extremely green. This is not just another trendword but an official badge. Try to make your website eco-friendly. Whatever it takes, reduce your energy consumption and improve your code.
You’re done. It can be difficult to tame wild bulls, especially in San Francisco. But when done correctly, your digital masterpiece will fly off into the sunset. I wish you great success with your design, and hope that all of your pixels line up.