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?P1ProdVersionShockwaveFlash.
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