Some web design projects suddenly became more vital when states like North Carolina went under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Others hadn’t been especially important in the first place, but were easy to put on the back burner before commerce and social activity was largely put on pause. For those web design projects, the pandemic represents a unique opportunity to proceed without many distractions.

I previously suggested that local residents could take advantage of “social distancing” to develop a relationship with a web services provider here in North Carolina. But that post put more emphasis on the idea of staying busy and avoiding cabin fever than on the pandemic’s actual implications for your online presence. As lockdowns drag on and people come to terms with the idea of long-lasting changes to their way of life, it’s becoming clear that some web design projects must be completed in order to effectively navigate the post-coronavirus world.

There are at least two distinct reasons for this. One set of coronavirus-related web design projects has to do with online productivity, while the other involves e-commerce. For now, let’s focus on the first.

In March and April, a huge portion of the workforce in North Carolina and the entire United States suddenly transitioned into working from home. In some cases, their employers were faced with the unexpected challenge of facilitating this new arrangement.

Fortunately, most have found success in utilizing third-party services like Zoom for meetings and online productivity. But some were already channeling certain work through their own websites before the pandemic. For these employers, the real challenge may have been to complete web design project that expanded the capacity and the versatility of their existing online systems.

Some have no doubt realized that goal over the past two months, either by building more robust communication platforms or simply by embedding Zoom into their own sites. Some might still be struggling to get it right. And although it’s possible that North Carolina companies might be bringing employees back into their offices in the near future, it would be short-sighted to think that the relevant web design projects won’t have any value afterwards.

Even if a company’s remote-work web design projects have been delayed, they could still help people to get through an upcoming transition with minimal interruptions. And considering that we cannot rule out a second wave of coronavirus infection if a vaccine isn’t widely available by next year, those same web design projects could even enable future shifts toward more remote work, and back again.

We also can’t rule out the possibility of newly completed web design projects being so effective for remote workers that they force employers and employees to reevaluate their approach to work flow even during normal times. If, when all is said and done, productivity has either remained the same or even increased, then it could be difficult to argue that people need to be tethered to their offices.

Even if remote working doesn’t become the new status quo, wouldn’t it be nice to know that it was a viable option? A company website with well-developed communication systems could allow employees to remain involved in vital projects when they can’t make it to the office, either because of unforeseen circumstances like bad weather and illness, or because, God forbid, the current trend of lockdowns became necessary again.

Of course we should all hope that the pandemic represents a once-in-a-lifetime situation. But regarding the web design projects that could help you to get through more of the same, it’s worthwhile to remember that it would be better to complete them and not need them than it would be to need them and have to scramble to re-develop your website on short notice, while revenue is being lost.