The global spread of the epidemic changed users’ consumption behavior and online behavior, and also put forward new requirements for developers. On November 18, the third day of Google Developer Days, Gu Sheng, head of Google Web ecology in China, had a presentation about “How Web Technology Helps Offshore Enterprises”, and provided the following answers to the problem developers concerned about.

Gu Sheng said that developers’ first focus should be on the dramatic changes in users’ consumption behaviors. In May 2020, bicycle sales in the US market increased by 75% year-on-year. More and more users choose to travel in a healthy way. The duration of video calls increased by 50%. The proportion of users choosing online shopping was 30%, compared with only 15% in January.

---

Secondly, they should pay heed to the changes of Web users’ behavioral characteristics. For most enterprises in the United States, they need to rely on websites, no matter to obtain customers or to boost transactions. In the past few months, users’ stay time on Chrome and the number of pages visited have reached a new height; users have reduced the time they go out, and they prefer to surf with PC rather than mobile phones; the websites that users prefer to visit have changed to entertainment, diet, health, pets, etc., instead of real estate, automobile, tourism and others. So how can manufacturers and enterprises cope with the challenges brought by the dual changes of consuming behaviors and maintain stable growth?

Five New Web Technologies that Cope with Certain Pain Points

1、Core Web Vitals 

Core Web Vitals, known as the user-centered core web page indicators, are a series of performance indicators and thresholds applicable to all websites. Optimizing user experience is the key to the long-term success of all websites. There are many indicators to evaluate the quality of user experience.

Gu Sheng noted that these indicators used the real data of users on Chrome, so that developers can evaluate the actual performance of the website as fast as possible. At present, many brand manufacturers and enterprises are having their eyes on Core Web Vitals. Gu Sheng took an example: leading cross-border e-commerce company--LightInTheBox continuously optimizes pages and improve performance based on Core Web Vitals, which increased the conversion rate of mobile websites by 15% and trebled the loading speed of pages, enhancing the user experience.

---

2、Desktop PWA

Desktop PWA can bring PWA experience to PC users. We all know that PWA (Progressive Web Application) can provide users with the experience as if they are using a native application. Now most top mobile websites have enabled the function of PWA. However, 73% of users in the world rely more on desktop computers, so it is particularly important for PC users to have the perfect experience brought by PWA. Gu Sheng stressed that the technology solution of desk PWA technology is suitable for media, e-commerce, retail and other industries.

3、Web Install

The core of user interaction is usability, and native applications conform to it. Users can click the icon directly on the mobile phone screen and open it. In fact, web users can also experience the convenience brought by native applications, which can be realized by Web Install technology. Developers can use the “add to home screen” feature to allow users to install your PWA, so that users can click on the icon on the desktop to open the PWA site. In addition, developers can also use the tool “package PWA” to upload it to Google Play. Users download and install it just like installing native applications. Users from Web Installs have higher stickiness and conversion rate, which is very important for manufacturers and enterprises.

Gu Sheng took short video platform--Likee as an example: through the use of Web Install technology, Likee has reduced its bounce rate by 56.62%, and the average daily UV increased by 7.97% in one week.

Through the use of Web Install technology, ZAFUL, a fashion cross-border e-commerce platform, increased its sales conversion rate by 53.8% and decreased the bounce rate by 312.08%.

4、Google Sign-in for Websites

Google Sign-in aims at solving the problem of heavy loss of Web users. It is very difficult making Web users log in. 70% of users have more than 10 passwords, 30% can’t remember all their passwords, and one-third of orders are given up before payments. In view of this case, Google sign-in provides users with seamless and safe experience on cross-border platform to reduces the loss rate of users.

Gu Sheng suggested that through the application of Google Sign-in, the number of registered users on ChinaLiterature Group’s website increased by 50% on the first day. A week later, users from Google Sign-in accounted for 16.6% of the total users. Google Sign-in can help companies who target at global market broaden their user base, increase interaction, and improve sales performance.

---

5、Content Platform

For small and medium-sized enterprises, it is not cost-effective to develop and maintain their own websites. Content platform, also known as CMS, is a third-party website building system. As of September of 2019, 56.3% of the websites all over the world are built through the third-party website building system. Through CMS content management system, more small and medium-sized enterprises can use the latest technology of Google.

The above-analyzed five Web technologies can help manufacturers and enterprises to obtain high-quality customers more efficiently and cope calmly with the market in the post epidemic era.