Where to begin?
So, you are ready to dive into the deep end, build a new interactive website, and may be wondering what current practices and functionality should you incorporate? You set out on the internet to find resources to help. Interactive websites, video functions, animated header designs – “what does all this mean?!?”, you yell at your computer screen. Don’t fret friends, we are here to help!!
If it has been any considerable amount of time since you last made large-scale changes to your website… or if this is your first foray into the World Wide Web, there is a great deal of information to consider. Implementing current best-practices into your website design and build is paramount in today’s digital age. You come across mentions of interactive websites, but you ask yourself, “aren’t all websites interactive?!” It would be difficult to find a website in which you do not have to click or scroll, so yes, in a basic sense, it is interactive, but that’s not what we are talking about here.
With today’s website capabilities, interactive web design incorporates so much more. Interactive production elements load upon command, such as pages that display as you scroll, animations, and videos. Nowadays, very little is off-limits when you work to design and build a new website.
Functions and Technology
In today’s web landscape, certain things are a MUST! Search engines look for a laundry list of items on your new website, with responsive design being at the top of the list. Does your website scale and adjust for viewing on different screen sizes and devices? This is a huge factor to consider in building your new site.
Once you go through the preliminary steps of your discovery process, next consider how to engage your audience.
User Engagement Is Key
The user experience aspect of your website should be considered throughout the design and build. Creating a website that will creatively engage the user will grab their attention, and then along with your site calls-to-action, will drive them further into your site which completes conversion goals.
Creating an interactive website can use a multitude of techniques in its design. Some examples include:
Hoverstates – elements of the site that are dynamic and change when the user “hovers” their cursor over the element.
Audio – pages or elements that incorporate audio that plays when engaging the element.
Video & Animation – elements that load on the site/page through when activated by scrolling, hovering, or some other interaction.
Sliders and Scrolls – page elements such as images or animations that rotate or scroll across or down the page through a set order of elements.
These website features should be created to engage, entertain, and trigger some sort of response from the user helping convey the story of your website. This interactivity can be subtle or bold.
“Interaction can be as simple as a series of clicks that navigate us through a story or landscape, or as complex as moving through a 3D environment to discover hidden content or reach goals to move to the next step.” – (webdesignerwall.com)
The key to creating these interactive features on your website is to be sure you make the site visitor feel like the center of attention.
Take Time to Strategize
Building a new website begins with strategy. Kick off your project with a “discovery” phase, where you (and your team if you have one) work to determine key foundational items that will help with the build. Use this as an opportunity to examine the core of your business, who is your target audience, what additional web services can be used, and what does your industry’s web landscape look like.
With this foundational information realized, your new website will benefit from Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You need to ensure that your new website is rich in content for search engines to recognize and crawl your site. Taking these items into consideration along with your plan for interactive design will help you build the best site for your business.
Building a new interactive website can be a stressful undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. If you make sure to do your due diligence ahead of jumping right in, you can create a plan of action that will afford you an efficient project build.
Still feeling apprehensive about putting together a quality interactive website? Let the web team at Snapshot Interactive help. We have a great team of designers, developers, and project managers to oversee your website build.
If you would like to learn more about how the Snapshot Interactive team can assist with your website needs, let us know at info@snapshotinteractive.com
