Designing for Gen Z
Millenials, move over because here comes Gen Z! For those who do not know, Generation Z are those people born beyond 1995, and in the United States, they make up the 25.9% of the population. These people add $44 billion to the U.S. economy. In the year 2020, 1/3 of the U.S. population will consist of Gen Z.
If the Millenials reached young adulthood by 2000, these Gen Z group are just starting. They are the post-millennial demographic. So, how do we address this new group of consumers? Are they totally different from millenials? Let’s find out!
Knowing the Gen Z
If you ask the people over at WPengine.com, they will tell you that internet is a must for the Gen Z category. These people cannot thrive without any internet connection. To be more specific:
- 55% of the Gen Z population can’t forego the internet for 5 hours.
- 27% can’t even stay away from it for an hour.
You can totally see an internet dependency here, but the interesting part is that the study revealed their mode of shopping. It was found out that 61% of these people opt to buy on websites rather than mobile apps.
Related: Tips in Making a Millennial Friendly Website
Being dependent on their mobile phones and the internet, you would think they will rely on these things more. The surprise is that they also patronize desktop applications over their mobile counterparts. This is why you should not skip optimizing for both desktop and mobile users because even the mobile users prefer the old way of online shopping.
Compared to websites, conversion rates on mobile apps are not that high. Not to mention, apps are quite expensive to make! They also require a lot of time and effort to sustain. Don’t worry because Generation Z wants websites.
How to Design?
ENTERTAINMENT
One of the web design factors is entertainment. Gen Z rely on the internet for entertainment and this is exactly why they depend on the internet most of the time.
Other demographic groups may browse the internet for the need of informational, but the Gen Z are not. They are here to have fun! This changes how you design websites because it has to be entertaining.
Constantly look for ways to entertain the Generation Z population with fun and engaging content. How do we do that? For one, you can start with videos.
Videos are a great addition to a website. Both desktop and mobile users will be able to view. So, instead of showcasing a huge banner on the homepage, why not highlight a short video clip?
HUMOR ME!
After giving them a dose of entertainment, next is to add your own personality. Include your brand’s unique humor. Blogs use a lot of information to lure people in, but Gen Z might not prefer to read. Keep those articles short, and add funny memes to insert humor.
Light, lively, and fun – that’s all they want on their news feeds! Aside from videos, GIFs and memes will be a great addition. So, keep this in mind when you are designing websites in 2019.
