Interactive Sites are More Successful than Boring SitesWhen 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.comRead similar articles: Nine Effective Tips For Improving Your Website’s UsabilityLove at First Site: Giving Your Website Visitors the right Impression Other Ways to Look at Things Don't Make Your Website User-UNfriendly! Moving Things Around So Much About META Tags! Turn Benefits Into Sales with Streaming Media Through The Looking Glass 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying Decision Graphic Design Using Color milf cruiser Sylwester 2008 Cialis Cialis Cialis
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