The parallax web design has become a popular choice for most personal website owners and even proprietors of online stores. The technique involves movement and fluidity; the background moves more slowly than the foreground, which renders a 3D appeal. It works through layering images and other design elements.
This particular web design option has been used in traditional animation and video games before and it’s still a popular option on online aesthetics. Many designers recommend this if the client wants to create a portfolio or an attractive presentation of their products and services. As a reseller, you need to make sure this design system suits your clients.
The Advantage: On Engaging Customers
Parallax scrolling has the ability to make the website an interactive place. It lets you hold your content in one place easily, allowing your clients to see what they want all at once. This helps you improve the overall user experience your site provides. If you think of the parallax web design as a book, you’ll likely get a picture book or a pop-up story book.
Many online customers are used to browsing stationary websites. Parallax scrolling allows your website to hold some elements of surprise, which ultimately gets the customers into knowing more about the business. It also helps create a nice transition if you want to state your CTA in a subtle manner.
Cons: On Compromising the Performance of the Web
The parallax web design has its fair share of drawbacks if the technique is not used properly.
It may contradict the benefits mentioned earlier, but parallax scrolling can compromise UX. Keep in mind that it relies heavily on images and layers of design elements. These things affect the site’s loading time, which may frustrate site visitors.
If you put too many pieces of content to a parallax website, the customers may be required to scroll more, which can get annoying.
Two years ago, Janet Driscoll Miller said on Search Engine Land that the parallax design can affect SEO. She mentioned that single-page websites make optimization difficult, as the keywords are diluted in one page, and inbound links cannot link to a specific page, as there is only one existing page. What she said two years ago still makes sense today.
The parallax web design is a double-edged sword. It may engage your customers, but it may also drive them away. It may get you more customers, but it may also prevent you from getting more, as the SEO is compromised.
The bottom line is, you can still recommend parallax web design to your clients. But you need to let them know of the downsides. Should they have any concerns, diligently address those concerns and make sure that parallax web design would make a good and viable choice for their website.
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