Is Your Website Ready for Gen Z?

Happy birthday, Generation Z!

The oldest of this generation turns a quarter of a century this year. They’re educated. They have jobs. And they have a whole new perspective on technology. Gen Zers are digital natives — born and raised on devices that hadn’t even been imagined during previous generations’ formative years. And because of this, they have very little patience.

This leads to the question … is your website ready for Gen Z?

At Cludo, this is what we do, and we know it all starts and ends with the search.

Searches must be speedy

Half of the people reaching your website immediately head for the search bar, and they don’t want to wait. They’re used to smart devices like Siri and Google Assistant, so the fact that they typed words into a search bar means they’re already slowing down more than they’d like.

Whether your goal is to make a sale, enroll a new member or simply provide information, your search software needs to provide the right information within moments to keep users engaged and get them to take action.

Searches must be accurate

Talk about a time waster. Nothing is more frustrating than hitting a dead end with your search. It’s a cue for young people to shut down and walk away. This doesn’t happen when you work with Cludo. Anyone searching on your website will always get an option instead of a cute character saying, “0 matches found” or “Whoops! 404 error.” That goes a long way in creating a better visitor experience.

Searches must be personalized

Everyone coming to your site is looking for something different, but they want their experience to feel like it’s catered just to them. This doesn’t require a complete website overhaul. Changing out the search function on your website or opting in for an additional experience can give users the feeling that the site was built with them in mind.

Searches must be smart

Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer when it comes to searches. Our analytics categorize what people are looking for so each search gets better and more relevant. This benefit goes beyond searches — it can inform the overall strategy for your site. Search history will tell you what people are asking for. If it’s something you don’t currently have on your site, is it something you can add? Giving people what they want works out well for the business and the customers.

If your website is missing any of these important elements, Cludo is the smart choice for all users, especially Gen Z. Our fast, effective website searches are easy to use and easy to implement.

We’ll leave you with this fun fact: Pew Research Center analyzed Google searches to decide what to call this new generation. “Generation Z” came out on top, making this the first generation that got its name because of internet searches. If you ask us, it may not be the last.