In the past, websites tended to be static concepts - characterized by one-way communication with your users. Personalization allows you to deliver relevant content that improves the individual customer journey of your target group. The goal: from a rigid approach to more dialog and better experiences.

According to Hubspot, 74 percent of users react with frustration when they are shown irrelevant content. This refers to information that has nothing to do with their interests. Another analysis examined more than 93,000 call-to-actions (CTAs) within a year. The unsurprising result: personalized CTAs generated 43 percent more clicks than those that were the same for everyone.

So it's high time to personalize your website!

When we talk about personalization, we distinguish between content that users can change (customization). And content that is changed by the website for the user (personalization). You can also use clever interactions to make your website more interesting and offer visitors a more personalized experience.

Personalization in web design

When we talk about personalization, we mean content that is adapted to the user - without their direct intervention. This means that you, as the website operator, customize content for your target group. We do this based on the data we have.

With customized content, you can improve usability and the general user experience. But be careful: don't lose sight of data protection. Especially in Europe, you should know what data you are allowed to store, when, how and, above all, for how long.

Content based on the user's location

Location-based content is constantly used for personalization in web design. We know location-based information from online stores and international companies that offer regional content. Many companies, such as Adobe, automatically display their website in the language of the respective region of their users.

Login and user area

When it comes to personalization in web design, the login and user area should also be mentioned. This includes the social login, for example. This makes it easier for your customers to log in to your website. They save time and don't have to remember too many passwords. In e-commerce, it is also a good idea to display a customized product preview based on previous orders.

Number of visits to the website

It can make sense to show different content to each person - depending on whether and how often they have already visited your website.

Miro shows first-time users or those who have not been there for a while a short introduction to the most important functions of the program.

Giving your users the option to stay logged in on certain devices can create great added value.

Amazon not only offers recognition, but also the option of saving popular products for later. As a user, you can return to products that you have viewed at an earlier point in time at any time. Amazon also makes use of the location and only displays products that can be sent to the respective location.

Browsing History

Many websites offer targeted advertising. This is usually based on what someone last looked at. Your general browsing history can influence this. Personalized content of this kind is important for e-commerce websites.

If you show your visitors content that they have previously viewed or saved, this can have a positive impact on your sales figures. The point here is to make it as easy as possible for your target group to find articles that have already piqued their interest.

Customization in web design

Customization in web design includes changes to your website that your customers can make themselves. The best known of these is probably the language setting, when you display your website in other languages with the help of a button. 

The option to view your website in dark or light mode is also part of customization. With the help of customization, users can decide for themselves how they want to view certain aspects of your website.

You can use this type of personalization to massively improve the usability of your website. The Federal Employment Agency offers several types of customization.

As a user, you can have the website displayed in an easy-to-understand language or in sign language. The website is also available in other languages in addition to German.

The Puppy Love agency has opted for a humorous approach. Visitors to the website can decide at the beginning which voice over they would like to listen to. The background color can also be changed individually. This is more of an add-on that offers no real added value.

Product personalizations

Personalized products have been around for a long time. And yet they have not lost their appeal for customers. The special thing here is that the website is merely the means of personalization, but the website itself is not tailored to the person.

This can be the actual product that is personalized, as in the example below from Nike.

The product to be personalized can also be a marketing product. As in the Nutella example. Here, users are rewarded with a personalized Nutella recipe book if they have purchased at least two Nutella jars.

Interaction in web design

As a rule, your website will already have a number of interactions - be it buttons, links or logins. Form elements such as newsletter registration also represent interactions.

Every opportunity to do something on your website enables interaction. How can you make these interactions more exciting for visitors to your website?

Francois Risoud uses a tracker on its website that follows your mouse. The wafting background deforms accordingly and creates small circles that are linked to his Skills are labeled. This approach is simple and playful. As a visitor, you feel like exploring the website while Risoud can skillfully show off his skills.

You can find a similar effect on the website of argor-heraeus.com: the mouse pointer leaves a tail that is reminiscent of gold dust.

On blacknegative.com you can use the Mouse-over Uncover a background image piece by piece.

Interactions are a great way to find out more about your customers. By using product-relevant questionnaires, for example, you can find out some relevant information about your target group. All while offering them added value yourself.

ImmoScout24 lets visitors use the real estate calculator free of charge. This encourages users to interact with the website. It also offers an additional benefit: a quick and free valuation of the property. ImmoScout gets an insight into the national real estate market. For the valuation, they need the zip code, property type, plot size, infrastructure and much more. 

Free tools can also be a clever way to get the email addresses of your visitors and then send them relevant content. Caution is advised here too: aggressive email marketing will put off potential customers.

You can use this type of interaction whenever you can provide your customer with personalized information about your products.

You can find another example among the many insurance providers or on comparison portals such as check24.

Interactive content can also be presented as a quiz. For example, in the form of a knowledge quiz. This allows you to offer added value and show products, links or information that are better tailored to your users according to the results.

You can also use interaction to liven up your website. However, it does not offer any direct added value at first.

However, such interactions can lead to visitors staying on your website longer than usual. They are encouraged to explore and will remember your brand positively.

Anyone who lands on The Cool Club and clicks on the deck of cards there will cause the packaging to shake and empty the cards piece by piece via their website. A humorous, playful approach that fits in with the rest of the corporate identity.

Interactions are a great way to convey content and knowledge. Whether through interactive storytelling or in conjunction with gamification, if you prepare your content interactively, you can increase your reach immensely.

At polishchristmasguide.com, visitors can wade through the snow and playfully explore the various Polish Christmas traditions.

With the help of interactive scrolling, Obys shows how the properties of CSS Grid can be used. Visitors can switch the CSS Grid on or off to suit the theme. It is also possible to change the theme on their website.

Technical implementation in WordPress

Depending on how you want to make your website more personal or interactive, WordPress offers you a number of options for technical implementation. I have selected a few plugins for you - but the selection on the market is of course much more extensive.

• Logic Hop - Dynamic Content Personalization for WordPress
• If-So Dynamic Content Personalization
• WP Dark Mode
• Interactive Content - H5P

Conclusion on personalization in web design

The possibilities of interaction and personalization are far from exhausted. Interaction and personalization work best when they offer your target group real added value. For example, if they match your brand and your industry and help your customers save time or share valuable information.

If the personalization or interactions do not offer any added value, visitors to your website will quickly become bored. Unless you change parts of your website regularly. However, the latter could be expensive and time-consuming.

If you use an interaction as an onboarding or intro to your website, you should give your users the option to skip it. Otherwise, this can frustrate returning visitors.

Finally: If your interaction or personalization also contains sound, please don't forget to implement it so that users can switch it off.