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Anna Sullivan | unsplash
Sitecore releases always have a little bit of everything â some new features, an improvement here and there and a much-needed gap that needs filling. They also almost always offer something to please different personas â marketers, developers and administrators. The recently released Sitecore 10.1 delivers on that expectation.
As the first release since Sitecore 10, this one was unlikely to unveil a huge new capability, but nonetheless it does include an array of updates and new smaller features, some of which perhaps didnât make the original 10 release in time. It also continues Sitecoreâs policy of platform investment to help consolidate its position as a leader in the DXP space.
PHOTO:
Egor Myznik
Designing a website can at times feel like the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. A busy website, one laden with flashy graphics and excessive choices, can overwhelm customers. Too few choices may result in missed sales opportunities. What s the perfect medium?
We spoke with marketers and website designers for their advice on how to balance having enough choices without too many. Fast, Responsive, Intuitive
âFor a web design to be successful, it needs to be fast, responsive, and intuitive so users find what they need quickly,â said Brian Cairns, CEO of ProStrategix Consulting. âIt is easy to get caught up in all the design and performance that we lose sight of why people use websites. Hubspot reports that 70% of users say âfinding what I need quicklyâ is the most important attribute of a website. A similar study by the NN Group found that 60% of users bounce because they canât find what they need.â
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shutterstock
Great Aunt Ethelâs buying groceries on Instacart. Sheâs streaming YouTube jazzercize videos from her living room. Great Aunt Ethel â best known for handwritten letters, pocketbook butterscotch and her love of polka records â now fills her days with Telehealth visits, Amazon Prime deliveries, and video chats with the grandkids.
COVID-19âs impact changed Great Aunt Ethel, ushering her into the digital age seemingly overnight. But this dramatic shift in behavior and preference isnât restricted to consumers alone.
From the comfort of our quarantined couches, weâve witnessed our communities, businesses and world assess startling conditions and restrictions, modify decades-old ways of doing things, and acclimate to a new normal â seemingly overnight. Believe me when I say, COVID-19 has irrevocably changed your B2B customers and capsized traditional buying cycles.
PHOTO:
Meghan Schiereck
When developing customer-facing software, the end-usersâ overall experience is vital to business retention and informing the next stages of development. Customers today are increasingly aware of the options available to them. People want unified, smooth, continuous interactions with the brands they follow and the products they use, which puts technology at the center of these experiences.
From a brand perspective, technology can provide deep insights into what customers expect from their interactions. So for most organizations, a customer-centric IT strategy must go far beyond simply setting up a CRM solution and enabling customer support.
Letâs explore why customer experience (CX) is so important in the software development process, and what technology leaders can do to integrate a CX mindset into their projects.