Today is going to be a dive into AR Web Design, so buckle up butter cup because we are going on an adventure! 

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at Augmented Reality and its incorporation into web design.

Augmented Reality

Businesses are always constantly trying to set themselves apart from their competitors and the race has already begun towards the push to web 3.0. Those who can keep ahead of the curve will ultimately have the winning edge and the web developers, designers, and engineers will be there at every step of the way to build the path into a more interactive and immersive web experience.

Augmented reality is not a new term by any means and has been around for quite some time, but what has been on the forefront is the advances that augmented reality has made in the last five or so years. Augmented Reality is otherwise known simply as AR has made leaps and bounds in the mobile app realm with breakout projects and apps such as Pokemon Go, Google Lens, Snapchat filters, and even the popular furnishing store Ikea with their own uses for the new developments in AR technology.

AR is an evolving technology that web developers of today need to be aware of and actively planning to learn in order to keep up with the trends and web standards of tomorrow.

A Brief History of AR

Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that lets a person use a device between themselves and the real world. Only, when they look through the device, they have the ability to alter what they see. In other words, think Snapchat or Instagram filters which can be applied to change your appearance or when everyone was outside catching Pokemon from the Pokemon GO craze of 2016. Using a combination of real and virtual world elements with real-time interactions.

The term ‘augmented reality was actually coined by a Boeing researcher named Tom Caudell and was first used as a way to virtual control and guide machinery to perform different training tasks for Air Force pilots. In 1994, Julie Martin, a writer, and producer created the first Augmented Reality Theatre Production by using virtual objects along with a graphics computer and the Polhemus sensing system to project an object and an environment for the theatre dancers to immerse themselves within.

1998

1998 was the first time NFL fans witnessed the virtual 1^st and ten graphic system- aka the yellow yard marker. The new technology allowed a yellow line to be overlayed on top of the feed so that viewers can quickly see where the team needed to get to in order to get the first down.

2013- 2014

2013 to 2014 Google unveiled it’s Google Glass which implemented augmented reality experiences with a pair of glasses and could access Google apps such as Google maps, Google+ and even their Gmail accounts.

2017

2017 IKEA released their augmented reality app called IKEA Place and being the first of it’s kind by allowing a user to view what their product would look like in your home or space and allowing the consumer to virtually preview their home décor before actually making a purchase.

Today

Today Augmented Reality is everywhere and with more and more people browsing the internet, shopping, and making purchases through their mobile devices. It’s making it easier than ever before to take advantage of AR.

The Value of Mixed Reality

The combination of real-world and the augmented reality transforms how we work, learn, play, shop, and connect with the world around us. It’s a rather perfect way to help visualize things that would otherwise be impossible to see. There has been a steady increase in AR/VR technology, but only recently in these last few years, we’ve seen a real emphasis on augmented reality along with virtual reality due to the pandemic and with more people than ever moving to operate online whether if it’s for business or pleasure and the trend is skyrocketing.

Tech giants such as Google and Apple are at the forefront and now Facebook or (Meta) has officially taken a stance by developing its own metaverse increasing the push towards web 3.0 and a more augmented world. It’s becoming an increasing concern for smaller companies to try to figure out how they can also get in on the action and use AR/VR to increase both work efficiency and overall business profits.

The Problems of AR

According to a recent study by GlobalWebIndex, 90% of people surveyed were aware of virtual reality while only 65% were aware of augmented reality and only 23% said they engage with AR in the last month. These low numbers of people aware of AR along with a lower number of engagement is an issue with AR advancing to the mainstream along with the perceived notion that most people confuse AR with VR and think that they need an expensive headset to have the experience.

It boils down to a general misunderstanding of the technology and what we can do with it as consumers and developers. Consumers right now feel that AR is mostly used for gaming, film&tv, or social media. However, the survey also shows that a third of consumers understand that AR could have some use within marketing and eCommerce applications.

Additional problems can come in the form of hardware issues such as devices malfunctioning or problems connecting to a local server. Content glitches can range from 3D objects not loading correctly or not functioning as they’re expected to. Perhaps your IKEA chair only wants to anchor to the ceiling.

Use Cases

Here are three use cases and examples of how AR is currently making waves for website visitors.

1: Virtual beauty & apparel

Sephora Virtual Artist is an app, but is also available right on their website as a web app. The basis is that the consumer allows the website to have access to their camera in order to activate “live mode” so they can see what a certain product will look like on their face as they move around. They can also choose the model mode to see what it would look like on a model’s photo or they can also choose to upload a photo of themselves and apply the product to it.

2: The ColorSnap by Sherwin-Williams is an app and web app that you can use on your desktop, mobile phone, or iPad to scan your desired room or area and then simply select your preferred color to see what that particular color would look like in your space.

3: IKEA Place is by far one of the more popular use cases and one of the first to utilize AR by allowing an ever-expansive list of products to be virtually dragged and dropped right into any space just by using your smartphone or tablet device. A user can choose a dining room table set and view it virtually in real-time right in their kitchen.

4: Jeep allows users to see if the new Wrangler will fit in their garage and what it would look like next to their kayaks and camping gear. Customers can use their smartphone to go in-depth with a virtual Jeep Compass changing the colors, tires, and more. Customers can even open the car doors and look inside the vehicle all the while customizing it to their liking.

5: A tattoo shop can now utilize AR a few different apps to not only draw up their artwork for their clients, but they can now show their clients what the artwork would look like on their body before any needle is pulled from the package.

The Bottom Line

Major companies such as Google, Apple, And Facebook are already heavily investing in both AR/VR technologies and due to the recent covid-19 pandemic, those investment numbers have gone from a modest $12 billion in 2020 estimate to a whopping $73 billion in 2024 estimate. AR improves conversion rates by up to 40% and by using these technologies on your websites, landing pages, and web applications you will provide an experience for users to view a product in a more in-depth way.

As Web developers, we can utilize AR in order to make the content more immersive and interactive which will increase overall engagement and in turn produce more sales. These AR experiences can do everything from helping to tell a brand story to view a product virtually in real-time. By incorporating AR these companies will become more memorable and help the business stand out from the competition.

Those who understand the value of AR now will be the ones that will gain future success as we push forward toward the path of web 3.0. Take advantage of AR and help your business be ahead of the competition.

RESOURCES & CREDITS:

Photo by UNIBOA on Unsplash

Photo by David Grandmougin on Unsplash

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Web 3.0 – Virtual and Augmented Reality on the Internet

https://www.editorx.com/shaping-design/article/ar-and-vr-web-design

https://www.designial.com/augmented-reality-a-comprehensive-guide/

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Today I want to go over the basics of voice search. What is voice search? Why do we as web developers need to learn to optimize websites for voice search and more!

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at voice search and the overal basics of what voice search entails. 

Back in my day we didn’t have Google

Do you remember those gigantic yellow books that would just randomly show up at your door step? They were so big that you could build a fort with them that was stronger than ft. Knox? If you threw one at your brother it would knock him out. ( That may have actually happened ;). If you needed to find a plumber you need to thumb your way through to “P” and search the hundreds of plumbers and then decide which clipart listing you liked best. 

If you didn’t have a pen or paper you would just rip the page straight out of the book and then the next poor guy would never even get the chance to know that Bob the greatest plumber on earth even existed!  Oh the good ol’ days. 

Today we’re spoiled

Today we have the internet to search for Bob the plumber and gone is the day of those yellow pages, however with the massive amount of information and our increasing human inability to be patient, as the average time a person will spend looking at a website is less than 15 seconds. We now have advanced into the future of search!

Introducing voice search!

I’m sure everyone has at least seen one of these devices and whether you own one or not they are becoming increasingly popular as they can control your smart home to turn on the lights, turn off the tv, tell you about today’s weather and so much more! The best part is that they are also installed on every smartphone and this actually quite powerful as you can now search with just talking to your smartphone. 

Over 56% of all voice searches done are done on a smartphone and a user is 30 times more likely to go with a business that pops up after a voice search response. These numbers are only going to sky rocket over these next few years. 

How should my small business use voice search?

With stats like theseit’s going to be imperative that local businesses optimize their sites to not only be found on Google search but also at the top of voice search. I’ll dive into it more next time, but the main point to get across is that all voice searches will start with a question. Who, what, when, where, why, or how. It will be important for businesses to answer those questions by using different SEO methods.

For example, the local Mexican restaurant “Senora” could write a blog titled “Why Senora makes the best tacos in Asheville” and then by including those questions it will help them to get found on regular search but also improves their chances to get found on voice search.  

Okay Google, who has the best tacos in Denver? 

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that no one is searching for your business the old fashioned way anymore and as users switch to using voice search more and more your business will need to find different ways to stay ahead of the curve. Optimizing your website and business for voice will give your business the leg up on the competion and at global giraffe media we can help you find success among the ever growing popularity of voice search.

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Curious to learn more?

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