How to Increase the Interactivity Level of a Web Site: 15 Steps

How to Increase the Interactivity Level of a Web Site: 15 Steps

A web site can help you reach customers across the globe. In these times of Web 2.0 sensibilities it is simply impossible to ignore the interactivity level of a web site. Hence, before launching a web site you must double check the interactivity level of your web site to increase the sales of your products and services and to grab the attention of your users.



Steps


1. Design a basic web site first, with static web pages such as Home page, About Us page, Contact Us page, Privacy Policy page, and Terms & Condition Page.

2. Give a very eye catching name to your web site and keep in mind that the name should reflect what your company is all about.

3. Add a news column to the home page of your site with latest headlines flashing on the screen. You can even add the news column to other web pages as well. News column helps in making a web site look more interactive in nature.

4. Update the news column on a regular basis and add fresh news that might grab the attention of your visitors.

5. Use flash if there is scope for images in your web site. A good collection of postcards can be used that can be e-mailed with personalized messages by your users if they want. It is a very good tool to involve the visitors.

6. Add a graphical calendar which can be used by users with valid passwords.A graphical calendar would help your users to mark out important appointments or events and can be alerted about it through an email. It is a good feature for people who are totally depended on computers.

7. Add an online guest book where visitors can share comments of each other related to their experience while visiting a site. If a user leaves a positive comment about your site then it would help in creating a positive image about your site amongst other users.

8. Go for a newsletter feature in your site where after subscribing a user can be informed about the latest products and services of your company. This feature also helps in building a mailing list for your future use.

9. Add a personalized site search engine tool on your website that would allow your users to search for relevant information on your site by entering specific keywords. The search result is later on shown with a link to each matching page and the user can click a link to directly go to the interested section of your website.

10. Use a mortgage calculator gadget if you have an e-commerce site. That helps the users in configuring the price of the products or services provided by your site. It also helps the user in understanding the various pricing structures.

11. Place a discussion forum in your website to allow users to discuss about your website and about products or services. It is simply up to you whether you want to keep the discussion boards open or private as per the security reasons.

12. Add some interactive games or puzzles in your website if your target audience is youngsters and teenagers mostly. This would attract the targeted audience to your site. Instead of using easy free games, it is better to use some hi-fi games tailor made to establish your brand identity.

13. Add feedback forms to gather information, which can also be used to help you know about what your users are thinking about your site, products or services. You can use "radio buttons" or "check-boxes" for highlighting the various options you present to your users.

14. Use survey polls where users can make their selection and submit the form to judge the potentiality of your users. You need to post the result on your site after the survey poll is over.

15. Test your web site in all popular browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Safari etc. before making your website live to make sure that it can be viewed properly in each of them. Test each of the tools to make sure that they are working properly.



Tips

• Make regular updates in your website.
• If you are using a picture or any other thing from another site get permission for it and give the original owners credit for it.
• If you are not proficient in web design, it is better to leave the job in expert hands. Contact a reputed web design and development company to incorporate usability features in your web site.