Voice is getting to be a bigger concept than ever in technology. The 2020 data revealed that 22% of the UK households owned a voice controlled digital home assistant device such as Amazon Echo or Google Home. It is predicted that nearly 50% homes will have one smart home adoption in the near future. One cannot stop but wonder whether web designers need to use voice to build websites. Or is it some gimmick that will fade with time.

Multiple voices

One of the first things to consider for web designers is whether to consider multiple voices, or the voices of just those users who are registered. If you’re using the site in a crowded room – will the website pick snippets of conversation from others and think it is an instruction.

Accents

Integrative voice in websites is complicated – you not only need to understand different languages, but also the variants and dialects too. Understanding th language also includes mispronunciations, slang and colloquialisms. If the website is global, how many languages need to be integrated?

Users don’t talk the way they type

They way users speak and the way they type is completely different. Web designers need to include more colloquial language in order to integrate voice in websites seamlessly. For example while filling a form or a comment box – designers will need to tell exactly where to punctuate for comma or exclamation etc.

Website Processes need to be simpler

Instead of browsing web pages until users find something they are looking for, users can simply give a voice command and the user will be taken straight to the results. This will greatly simplify the websites.

Regular Updates

Depending on how they are built and how complex they are, websites need updates. A voice based site will require regular updates – for example, to add new words or to adapt to the fast changing technology.

Mistrust

While there are more of us now than ever using voice control via Alexa, Google and Siri, there is still some level of mistrust. It is not clear where all the data is being stored and how easy it will be to abuse it.

Larger storage and bandwidth

If a site is built for voice, designers need to decide whether they will use ready to use plugins or custom software. Will this feature require greater storage or bandwidth? All these are great places to start with.

As advanced as it sounds, there is still scepticism where the voice technology will go. Will it be the next big thing or will it simply die down as just another trend that comes and goes. It’s up to designers to make it easy to use and convenient to operate – such that it will become a habit – for users!