Changing Seasons
Fall is finally here. For most of us that means ingesting all things pumpkin spice, pulling out our favorite fall colored sweaters, raking leaves, and maybe even figuring out what crazy thing we want to be for Halloween.
I am not a huge fan of the heat so I’m usually ready for the end of summer. This year I was particularly anxious for the fall weather. I found my patience getting the best of me during those last few weeks of hot days. Throughout that time I was dreaming of chilly nights around a campfire sipping on hot chocolate, bundling up in layers of my favorite sweatshirts, and that distinct fall smell that tends to linger in the air.
My daydreaming brought me to my next thought. I started thinking about how many industries rely on the seasonal changes throughout the year. Depending on the season we play entirely different sports, we wear entirely different clothes, and we eat entirely different foods.
A change in weather changes people’s emotional states, their spending habits, and their activity levels. It is only natural for most industries to respond to this kind of change. So why hasn’t the tech industry caught on yet? Why aren’t our websites changing with the seasons?
I understand that large amounts time, effort, and cost go into making websites. Why would we alter them throughout the year? We are already taking numerous steps to appeal to our customers, why wouldn’t we try to go above and beyond? When creating a site one of the most important things is to figure out who your target audience is and design for them. If research has shown that people’s habits, styles, moods, and behaviors change with the seasons, why wouldn’t we try to appeal to that?
