Designing a website is one of the most important parts of the modern business. After all, more and more commerce takes place exclusively online these days and only the companies who are able to keep up will be the ones who get to reap these untold profits. 

One of the most sought-after demographics in which online businesses seek to market to is known as Gen-Y, or those born between the mid-seventies and mid-nineties. This generation has grown up in the world of eCommerce and make up an extremely large portion of total online sales. 

So what exactly are the best website design tips and practices to best attract the Gen-Y market? 

Gen-Y is one of these largest generations since baby boomers and thus they are highly diverse and grew up in much more diverse areas than their parents. 

Because of this, Gen-Y expects to see a great deal of diversity in the companies they choose to spend their hard-earned dollars on. This can include anything from including a diverse cast of models for a clothing site to marketing a variety of products that people can afford regardless of their socioeconomic background. 

Online businesses which are narrow-minded in their marketing will soon lose the business of one of the largest generations. 

Previous generations are far more likely to make consumer decisions based on "brand loyalty", meaning that they picked a brand they liked and stuck with it for life. 

Gen-Y is far different in this respect. They are far more likely to switch brands based on their current circumstances or changing ideals. 

This requires businesses and websites to constantly be on their toes and come up with new and fresh products, advertisements and website designs in order to keep younger consumers loyal to the brand. When designing a website, feel free to take risks and think outside of the box. 

Gen-Y grew up right as the internet age was ramping up and thus they are incredibly tech savvy. 

This means that they have seen any and all forms of technology and browsed hundreds of thousands of very different web pages. Because of this, they can recognize a clunky and improperly constructed website extremely fast and are unlikely to give it the time of day. 

If your business does not have the proper employees to build a user-friendly and seamless website, it is imperative that it be outsourced to someone who can.

Gen-Y has been deeply entrenched in social media since the very beginning. It is the means by which they communicate with peers and stay in the know. To capitalize on this trend, online businesses should not only have a great website but they should also have a strong social media presence. This can be done by linking to the various social media pages on the homepage of a sleek and crisp web page. 

This way, consumers will see new products and campaigns on their social media accounts instead of having to constantly revisit the website. Take this example by Oroton's wallet page's Shop Instagram feature:

Perhaps one of the biggest differences between Gen-Y and other generations is that they value experiences far more than they value tangible goods. 

Creating a great experience for a Gen-Y consumer is difficult but those who are best at it are miles ahead of the competition. A website should be designed to do more than just sell a product, it should instead provide a positive experience for the consumer which can, in turn, make them more likely to purchase that specific good or service. 

The modern market can change at a moments notice. And as we have seen in the past, the companies who are not able to keep up are often left behind to crumble. 

The businesses who employ marketing and design campaigns quickly and efficiently with changing times are those who will be able to best capitalize. Constantly adapting to changing demands can be done by listening to the wants and needs of consumers through consumer feedback and adjusting accordingly. 

Gen-Y, thanks to both social media and their willingness to get involved, are one of the most informed demographics in the world. This means that they, on average, are up to date on current events and change their spending habits based on what is going on in the world. 

In the mind of Gen-Y, businesses do not have to operate independently of current events. This is seen most commonly in businesses which seek to put sustainability at the forefront of their business models. Members of Gen-Y are willing to pay more for a product if they know it was sustainability produced and attempted to minimize its impact on the environment. 

The world of business is going to continue the transition to increasing online transactions for the foreseeable future. Simply having a great product or service is no longer enough to have consistent sales. Instead, these businesses must develop and design some of the sleekest websites to attract customers. 

It should be noted that perhaps not all of the above-listed tips and techniques may be right for every website. Instead, each online business should pick and choose the tips that they feel will best serve their needs and propel them forward to be more successful than ever before thanks to a resurgence of Gen-Y customers.