Empathy First Web Design and Development

January 15, 2024

Happy New Year!

Josh here. I hope you have all had some time to relax and recharge, or maybe you’ve been able to catch up on some side projects you have been itching to start. Or, maybe you decided to rebuild your entire website just because? (I did that, whoops).

In any event, it’s a new year which means we get to fly around the sun one more time and brag about all of our New Year’s resolutions that we’re totally going to stick with. You can do it!

Going into 2024, a prevailing thought has become impossible to ignore for me - Why do some websites just, suck?

While we may not claim to create the World’s Greatest Websites at Wave Land, one undeniable strength sets us apart: our profound empathy for both clients and users.

So, what does “empathy” mean in the context of web design and web development? Here is an example:

You go to find your favorite cookie recipe on a website you have used many times before. Except all of a sudden, you’re overwhelmed with ads. The page loads slow as hell and has scripts running in the background that make your experience miserable.

This is just the way it is, I guess?

Sadly, so many people accept this as normal when all it takes is a little extra care from the people building these websites to make your experience a bit more enjoyable.

Websites can be so simple and useful if only our driving force was empathy when publishing our work.

Instead of prioritizing a few extra dollars by spamming our users with ads, why not prioritize our users, which leads to long-term trust and revenue?

We take empathy seriously, not only for your users but for you. If generating ad revenue is a project requirement, we do so carefully, to not interfere with user experience.

If our clients need to collect analytics from users, we do so anonymously, using 1st or zero-party data to build trust with your user base.

if (clientRequiresAdRevenue && clientRequiresAnalytics) {
  proceedWithCare()
}

We build fully accessible websites that work beautifully on all devices and are usable and functional for users who may have a disability such as vision impairment or issues that prevent them from using websites with a mouse.

Using empathy as a guiding force has helped us to build incredibly effective websites that are safe, secure, and easy to use and navigate.

More on this soon. We’re so freaking excited for 2024 and are so grateful that we get to carve out a leaner, more empathic corner of the web.

If this sounds like something you are interested in learning more about, or if you have a project you would like to build, reach out here. We would love to hear from you.