Using Audio in Web Design

We often think that designing a website is just about how it looks. The problem is, this is simply one part to consider. Using audio in web design is becoming a trend. Now that we are going into the age of voice-activated assistants like Siri and Alexa, thinking beyond the looks of a website might be worth it.

Audio is the next big thing in web design, and this is something that designers should consider exploring from here on out. Almost everything is “audio” now. Your voice-activated assistant reads to your search results. Books have audio versions now. Even visually-focused social media platforms, like Instagram, has music now.

Here are a few tips on using audio in web design:

Audio articles is an increasing trend right now

People enjoy browsing the internet and there are times when circumstances just don’t allow us to. Imagine driving and wanting to read an article. If the article has an audio version, then it will surely be helpful even without the help of text-to-speech applications. These are also great for book preview websites, or even websites meant for children. For instance, The Boat is a storybook in the form of a website.

Music isn’t the only “audio”

One PRO TIP when using audio in web design is to explore other uses of audio. How can we maximize adding audio into a website without making it tacky, cluttered, or stressful.  Having music blast off randomly from a website can be easily confused to a random ad playing from a random window. We don’t want readers to get confused about where the music is coming from.

Remember: Podcasts are audio content

Again, music isn’t the only audio you could stream onto your website. Podcasts, commentaries, dramas, and the like are all considered as “audio content” that you can easily embed into your page regularly. In design, these kinds of content are great when accompanied by moving images or graphics.

Sometimes, audio could complete your web design

Websites can have the greatest color palette, the best animations, but they can still be lacking something. A lot of times, simply adding audio could transform a website. For instance, Popitas is a commercial website for a popcorn brand in Spain. Each page is designed with moving, colorful images. However, it might’ve been more complete if audio was incorporated into the design.

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