|
Interactive_Sites_are_More_Successful_than_Boring_Sites
| Interactive Sites are More Successful than Boring Sites
When the web was in its infancy, websites were a couple of
columns of text and color. It's been a long time since first
generation web design and yet many people are content with their
static and consequentially boring websites.
Many speak of flash as the "Media of the future". Let me be the
first to enlighten you. It is the media of the present! Many
companies understood it's benefits a long time ago and took
their boring static sites and made them exciting and dynamic
with flash! Lets go one step further and add interactivity.
Note, you will need the flash 5 plugin to view the examples
below. You may download it at
http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Ve
rsion=ShockwaveFlash.
When we look at flash and its function on the "Web", we often
think it simply animates objects and text and is limited as a
dynamic media. The fact of the matter is that every consecutive
version of the software produces new and exciting features that
integrate dynamic and interactive media together. My job is to
discover these new features and I will discuss two of them with
you now. The first is adding password-protected areas to your
site. The second is adding interactive windows.
A while ago, I had a client who wanted to sell reports on his
website, but wanted the client to pay first before they are able
to download. This is of course possible with advanced computer
programming or, we can quickly do it with "actionscript" in
flash. A small flash movie is created where the client can
access the downloadable reports only if they supply the correct
password. Also, personalized sections may be created for
specific clients who may have advanced access. Visit
http://www.worlddesignservices.com/cris/actionscript/password.htm
and try entering a variety of words. You will notice that
nothing will happen unless you use the correct password, which
is "me" or "you".
Here's another example of application.
You are a photographer and want to show your prints on the web,
but you don't want every man, woman, and child taking them for
free! Set up a password protected flash movie, where the client
can download the files only after you supply the password to
them. As I mentioned, you can have multiple sections as well.
For example, one section is "animal prints" and another is
"flowers ". The client will only be able to access the prints
that you allow them to. We could swap photographic prints with
audio files or screensavers. The possibilities are endless for
this new method of interaction!
Here's another way interactivity can add excitement and ease of
use on your site. Let's say you have a lot of content. You need
to put it in a small space. Interactive windows are the
solution. These windows can be dragged, collapsed, or totally
disappear! Studies show that nobody wants to scroll and scroll
and scroll down your web page. You may think that the world is
curious to find out what is on the bottom of your page, but the
simple truth is that they are not. This is where using
interactive window comes into play. Visit
http://www.totalbiznow.com. Notice that we wanted to tell the
audience about all the benefits of the newsletter and also add
benefit rich content to direct to the online form. You can see
that with the other content on the page that I was running out
of room. The solution was simple. With the addition of two
interactive windows, we could fit all of the important content
where we wanted it. Also, it's possible to add as many windows
as wanted, minimizing the site to a very small area, relying on
user interactivity. With proper design, one can direct the web
page viewer to the more important elements, and the ability for
the user to interact with the web page will keep them
interested. Visitors are also spared the frustrating and trivial
task of continuous scrolling.
What an exciting media! You can password protect your important
files and use interactive windows to manage them. At
Worldprofit, we've been the pros for over seven years, at
integrating your crucial company marketing with outstanding
design and leading technology. Add some interaction to your site
today!
About the author:
Cris Anderson is a member of the Worldprofit Design Team.
Remember, your site must be appealing in design AND make use of
tested successful marketing techniques. Let our expert design
marketers work for you! Contact
mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com
|
|
| |
| |
