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Marketing departments and market researchers all over Germany are constantly looking for ways to define new target groups and to ensnare them with tailor-made marketing campaigns. Ignored by the "experts", a target group is growing up that is generally treated rather stepmotherly.
Silver surfers and young pensioners have been using the net for a long time now as naturally as younger generations. Their number is growing in a predictable way and opens up serious market opportunities. In the coming decade the baby boomers will retire - with serious consequences for web hosting and web design. Web designers, shop operators and web hosters could profit from this development if they create offers in time and present them in a way that is suitable for senior citizens.
Web hosting and web design for pensioners - time to rethink
As an independent trendsetter in online marketing, Germany, the economic locomotive, begins to breathe immediately. The reasons why Germany literally only slept through the development of technology and is still lagging behind can be explained in detail. - But, it is not about blame, but about future perspectives.
The trends that all designers, programmers and hosters worldwide follow are set by online giants from the USA and Asian think tanks. Regardless of the current starting situation, there are opportunities to be among the leading nations again in the future. The time window to redirect is less than a decade.
Challenge without a blueprint - demography as a future perspective
Compared to the rest of the world, demographic change in Germany is setting in early. Our ageing population is often perceived as a burden, but it offers web hosting and web design the chance to become a pioneer. Competitive pressure from international competitors is absent. International Internet groups will continue to prioritise younger target groups for decades to come. The demographic comparison shows why no blueprint for German offerings for seniors can be expected from the dominant Internet industry.
Worldwide, the design and content of countless websites specifically address people in an age-appropriate manner. Trends are set by the USA or Asian countries before Europe adapts. In their market evaluation, international future planners naturally orient themselves to the demography of their own population. (The main target group is almost always domestic customers).
In addition, every creative work always begins with questions:
"I am the target group - what appeals to me personally, what do I expect".
Each creative answers these questions from his or her individual subjective perspective. Statistical comparisons of figures prove what the answers of trendsetters and implementers must be.
A look at the current population figures:
The young German Internet generation, aged up to 24 years, represents only 23.9 percent of the population. This puts them in contrast to approximately 33.7 percent of renewable consumers from the USA and 47.1 percent from India. While the middle range of 25-54 years of age is roughly evenly represented worldwide, the demographic gap is widening again over 55 years of age.
The figures for Germany show 34.2 percent of the population in retirement or at most a decade before that. In the USA, the country that leads the way in Internet trends, the figure is 26.2 percent. The figures from India, the stronghold of IT implementation and the reality of life for creative designers, are particularly impressive. Here, only 12.6 percent of the population is currently 55 years or older. (Figures from 2013).
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This is the answer of every creative person in international think tanks: Web design and marketing will continue to be oriented towards younger generations for a long time to come. Young creators automatically present answers for young target groups. Moreover, international think tanks lack a sufficiently large target group to be able to target an older audience.
[/tie_slide] [tie_slide] Page 2 |Silver Surfer - young seniors online
With the "Silver Surfer" generation (50+), the German requirements for the Internet of the future will change within a decade. They are the next generation of pensioners and already spend a lot of time online today. Germany will be one of the first high-tech nations to respond to the changing age structures.
The growing target group of young seniors will be divided into two groups:
On the buyer's side will be high-income pensioners. A comparison of retirement incomes shows that they will be able to afford their consumption needs in retirement. The average pension payment is currently already almost three times the amount of the pension. Pensioners will therefore continue to shop online - provided that the web design offers age-appropriate shop solutions.
The second group will change the web hosting. Pensioners of the future will be even more dependent on an additional income than today. There are many reasons for the admin at retirement age. For example, the best target group-oriented content is created by creative people who themselves belong to the target group. Pensioners have the time to be creative and face the economic pressure to earn an additional income.
Web design for seniors - what do seniors expect from the layout
Initial studies are already showing how web design and layouts need to change in order for older people to take advantage of offers. The central theme of senior citizen layouts will probably be the demand for simplified, clear structures. Pensioners complain about difficulties because important operating elements of the pages disappear from their central field of vision. Older people lose sight of important functions, such as the shopping trolley, and give up full of self-doubt.
Shop operators will have to avoid exaggeratedly distracting advertising on senior citizen sites in order to maintain orientation. In studies, pages were particularly praised for their usability through tab elements. Another suggestion would be to always keep important operating functions, not advertising, within view as "sticky ads". In addition to the shopping trolley, senior citizens often wish to reach their destination more quickly using the centrally integrated search function.
Content requirements - seniors with good content
In terms of content, there are hardly any other rules for text content suitable for senior citizens than for younger generations. The wording may need to be adapted to suit the age group, but in the end, content and topics decide what is perceived as good text content. The situation is different when it comes to the visual presentation of the texts. Quickly skimming through continuous text without getting lost in the lines is a gift of youth. People of retirement age prefer short text passages. For age-appropriate orientation, "where was I", meaningful subheadings are used.
Clear contrasts of the text passages - black writing on a white background - prove to be suitable for senior citizens. Sharp contrasts are felt to be more important for pensioners Readabilitythan the character size. For graphic content, it is recommended to avoid overstimulation by shrill colors. Unless a bright colour specifically points out particularly important focal points. (Eye-catcher on the essential. Example: search and help function or the order form).
Changing the offers of help - seniors accept help
According to the motto "everything is self-explanatory", homepage operators and hosters deal with their construction kits, and increasingly rarely with "real" user aids. Help texts have either disappeared completely from the pages or have atrophied into an element of SEO.
Providers who take good service for pensioners and retirees seriously must rethink. Senior citizens are among those Internet users who not only skim help texts, but study them very carefully. According to studies, senior citizens do not look for the cause of any difficulties in the usability of a site with the operator, but with themselves.
With the literal study of the offered help texts they try to compensate for their own alleged incompetence. If the operation still does not work then, they give up disappointed by themselves.
Active seniors on the net - web hosting instead of a mini-job
For the web hosting of the future, seniors will make up about one third of all potential customers.
Pensioners in particular will be looking specifically for suitable hosting offers. Against the background of the development of retirement income, pensioners often have no other way out than to supplement their pension with earned income. Mini-jobs, which hundreds of thousands of pensioners already use as additional income, offer only a temporary solution to the problem. After all, a small pension and longer life expectancy do not change the physical deterioration caused by ageing.
It is easier for pensioners to earn their money through their own websites, and above all not through physical aging for a limited period of time. Passive income over Affiliate will develop into a serious alternative income alongside retirement. Advertising revenues will improve the pension without physically overtaxing it. A growing number of genuine senior citizens' sites are to be expected in particular. The own Verwurzlung in the addressed target group will molt the pensioner - Admin to the content expert. He creates the easy site usability of which older Internet users still dream of today - provided that web hosting - providers help.
[/tie_slide] [tie_slide] Page 3 |Simple solutions - server software for pensioners
Web hosting - Providers will score points with special offers for seniors if they succeed in making the dashboad age-appropriate. Again, the focus is on age-appropriate usability through clear, simple structures. Playful programming - here a flourish, there an animation and there a "Germanized" artificial word - will have to give way to simplicity and objectivity in order to appeal to senior citizens.
Programmers for modular systems will, much more clearly than today, deal with the unification of their terminology and automate even more functions. Drag & Drop instead of PHP or HTML, extensive help functions in understandable simple German will shape the future web hosting culture. An automatic "read-aloud" function - for each help window - will quickly prevent fatigue of the aged eyes.
Summary - the most important things in short sentences
Within the next decade, a user structure that adapts to demographic trends will change the Internet offering specifically for Germany. For pensioners of the future, the Internet will offer opportunities for passive income to top up their pensions. Retirees will be increasingly interested in web hosting and their homepage ...to deal with. "Affiliate not mini-job" could be the long-term income prospect of many average pensioners.
The online marketing and web hosting of the future will no longer work the way international trends have taken over 1 to 1. - At least the demographic figures in international comparison suggest this conclusion. Formats for international target groups will continue to be tailored to a predominantly young audience, while in Germany around a third of all users are senior citizens.
Programmers, webhosts and shop operators will profit from the demographic, as they will be able to respond to the growing target group with offers and design that are suitable for senior citizens. Basically, web designers will have to concentrate more on clear layouts and discreet advertising in order for seniors to accept the offer.
For age-appropriate web hosting, data centers will have to review their modular systems with regard to improved help functions, automation and clarity. - Because no data center will want to do without the pensioner admin in the future.
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