Digital Hospitality is the idea that digital products are spaces visitors inhabit, not billboards they see from a distance. We empathize with each and every visitor and care about every detail of their experience.

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Imagine that a customer walked in to an office or place of business. The business would greet them and welcome them in, right? But we’ve all experienced websites that turned us away. At Cantilever we want to welcome them in instead.

Websites are spaces that users enter, not billboards they see from a distance. We put ourselves in the shoes of the user and design sites the way they would want to experience them, not the way that suits our agenda the most. Ultimately this gets even better results for our clients than exploitative tactics. Users are comfortable on the sites we build, which creates a connection with the brands represented on those sites, which leads to engagement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWRPxbobng

Principles of Digital Hospitality

Digital experiences are hospitable when they include…

Human-Centered Design

Universal Code

Delightful Motion & Interaction

Tasteful Personalization

Digital Hospitality Antipatterns

These kinds of things are NOT Digital Hospitality:

  1. Intrusive & annoying popup windows/banners
  2. Projects whose business model is to take user data and sell it
  3. Sites which don’t respect the user’s privacy
  4. Products you need to “learn” how to use
  5. Sites devoid of enjoyment and flavor