How to Create an Interactive Website
It’s easy to make a website these days. There are enough website builders available and coders to hire that almost anyone who wants a website can make one. But making an interactive website requires an additional level of planning and expertise to make it functional. Interactive sites are a great way to increase user performance and help your business or personal brand grow. The ability to interact with a site typically increases the user experience, bringing more traffic to your site.
Types of Interactions
There are several different ways you can make a website interactive. The most common types of interactive websites are forums, blogs, and e-commerce sites. But all kinds of websites can become interactive with a few small tweaks.
Personalization – If you include a user account option, you can have various personalization options, such as a username, profile picture, and even site title. You can increase user satisfaction and website performance by setting tasks that help users gain new personalization options.
Videos and Animations – Any kind of embedded video or animation can instantly add a satisfying level of interaction to your site. By embedding them directly into your page rather than linking out to a video, you keep the user on your site and help their experience go smoothly.
Forms and Feedback – Everyone enjoys being able to talk about their experiences or give feedback on certain things. Integrating forms and other modes of feedback (such as comment sections) allows your users to interact with your site while also providing you with valuable data about how your site and brand are working.
Coding and Building
When making an interactive site, you’ll need a strong working knowledge of HTML and CSS. Many website builders, such as WordPress, include powerful tools that help you quickly build the parts you’re looking for. The benefit of using a builder is that you don’t have to worry about making the design responsive, as that’s already built-in. However, you’ll still want to read up on CSS coding. This way, you can fine-tune your website’s design to ensure that it looks and feels the way you want it to.
Interactive Website Design
Building your website is only half the battle. No amount of interactivity will keep a user around if the design doesn’t work. Users expect a certain level of seamless integration with your interactive functions. Don’t just throw a video in a random place; make sure it relates to the content on the page. Utilize CSS and other design tools to make sure your site is responsive and that the proportions are in the proper place.
Building an interactive website is a great way to increase user satisfaction and help boost your business or brand. By making sure you have the right interactive features in the right place, you can significantly increase traffic to your website. As your traffic grows, so will your business and brand.
