In this guest post, owner and founder of web design agency Five by Five, Jon Hollenberg (main photo), talks the digital trends you need to be across come the new year…

Changing consumer habits, the shift to online and evolving tech are continually contributing to developments in the digital industry, but what does it actually mean for business owners and the industry itself? Jon Hollenberg, Founder of Australia’s highest rated web design agency, Five by Five, looks ahead at what business owners and digital teams should expect now and in the future.

Where are we now?

Some 41 per cent of the Internet today is built on WordPress, with more than 82 million WordPress sites online and 500 sites built each day.

This is known as the WordPress Economy and in a study by WordPress technology company, WP Engine, it was found that if this economy was equivalent to the market cap of a company, it would rank 10th among the largest companies worldwide. If it was a country, the WordPress Economy would rank 39th in the world by Gross Domestic Profit (GDP). Huge and it’s set to continue.

1) The WordPress economy is booming

With its market dominance and continued uptake, there are no signs the WordPress Economy is slowing down. WordPress is the fastest growing Content Management System (CMS) in the world and whilst being utilised by businesses such as CNN, The New York Times and all those in between, it’s growth will flourish well into 2022 and beyond.

The boom in the WordPress Economy reflects the growing need for an integrated digital presence made more important than ever thanks to the pandemic, continuous changes in consumer behaviors, and the shift to online.

It also tells a story of businesses becoming more accepting of open source software which can be pulled apart, modified and enhanced. Open source software like

WordPress enables tremendous flexibility when it comes to building custom functionality, a must-have capability for a) implementers like digital teams who are committed to providing bespoke solutions to clients and b) business owners who need to set themselves apart from their competitors through those bespoke solutions.

The fact WordPress integrates with platforms already being used within businesses, its rapid development and iteration capabilities, and low cost ownership are also factors contributing to its popularity. Further to this is its impact on corporate and personal financial growth. Businesses that invest in WordPress continue to experience financial returns and individual users who work with WordPress for more than 15 hours a week derive 48% of their income from the platform!

2) Personalisation – the key to driving results

Today, consumers are demanding personalised experiences and a unique CX. In fact, 80% of consumers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services.

One way to offer a personalised experience is listening to customer needs and taking notice of their past search, and how they’re using a website. This will be key to helping businesses deliver relevant, customised content for the end user and therefore a personalised experience.

Another great example of personalisation in action is the website of Queensland’s largest home builder. It automatically detects where users are geographically visiting from and serves up products and offerings that are specific to that location.

Use the data you already have internally and extract the insights to inform your innovation (and personalisation) strategy. If you can nail delivering the ultimate customer experience, you’ll be nailing business results in response.

3) Higher quality leads thanks to data driven lead generation

Speaking of data, the next big thing in the web and digital space is the greater uptake of data driven lead generation tools that assist with higher quality website leads and understanding customer needs.

Data driven lead generation tools like quizzes or scorecards will capture valuable information about users and their problems while providing users with quick wins in terms of actionable automated advice. In turn, business owners will capture detailed information on prospective clients for warmer sales nurturing and conversations.

Sales teams can then pick up the phone and have rich conversations with the most qualified leads first, or by integrating a lead generation tool into a current CRM program, you can run personalised marketing campaigns based on the data that customers have provided.

To understand this in play, we’re currently working on our own prototype lead generation tool at Five by Five which will enable our team to identify specific pain points for prospective clients and enable us to have more meaningful, solutions-based conversations early on. These types of diagnostic tools are a much more informed, powerful way of having sales and growth discussions with businesses, and ultimately, gives those who use them a competitive advantage.

4) No code solutions means anyone can create a website

Over the past 18 months the playing field has levelled, and having an online presence isn’t as hard as it once was.

The ability to quickly create a WordPress website, install a page builder such as Elementor and have a website up and running within a few hours is giving sole operators the chance to compete with bigger brands and companies.

Drag and drop editors that don’t require coding knowledge provide hundreds of pre-built pages and blocks that allow for every conceivable requirement. This is a fantastic option for business owners who might not have the funds to invest in an integrated web build, but understand the importance of an online presence.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – personalisation is key. So whilst using these platforms, the integration of bespoke content (including video and imagery) targeted at each individual user is what will have the largest impact and drive your results.