Top 5 Ways to Create a More Interactive Website

Website operators are constantly looking for ways to keep traffic coming back, and many in the field recommend adding interactive features to help with this goal. There are many things that can be considered interactive, however, and successful implementation requires matching the right ones with a particular site. Here are some of the top options and the types of sites they usually work well with:

1. Comment Sections

Many blogs, news sites, and similar online publications have comment sections below each featured story or opinion piece. These sections can be lively, but they can also become hostile. Moderate the comments to promote the types of comments your company wants and eliminate the types that it doesn’t. Remember that the best comment types will depend on your company. For example, a hostile political screed would be worth deleting if it appeared on a bank’s site, but the same thing would be worthy of upvotes on a site associated with a political radio show.

2. Forums

For the ultimate in text-based interpersonal communications, set up a forum. Note that successful fora will need constant, 24/7/365 moderation to stop spammers and trolls. This means that the forum option isn’t for everyone.

3. Polls

These are quick and easy to put up, but they’re also old-fashioned and limited. Use them as dashes of spice.

4. Contests

Interactive contests rely on user participation to work. One example is photo contests where users vote on the winner. These events can be big hits, and can help integrate your social media pages with your website.

5. Live Video Chat

This is the most modern option for web interaction. Thanks to webRTC video, secure cross-browser communication is simple for end users to work with. The protocol is also secure at its core, which makes it a good base for sensitive communications, such as interaction between a doctor and patient.

Video applications for web pages don’t all use top-level security, but this is actually a good thing. It allows site owners to choose less expensive options to provide a method for casual chatting or general customer service, while businesses who need higher security can choose from apps that make full use of available security methods. Which options are best depend on what is likely to be discussed.

Many types of sites can benefit from adding webRTC based applications. Help desks can use them to allow customers to show techs problems, dating sites can add the ability for users to see each other, and medical and legal offices can use them for secure communications with patients and clients.

Most sites benefit from using a variety of interactive features to meet the specific needs of their audiences. More and more often, one of these needs is for high-quality video communication. Contact us today for a webRTC guide that explains this new video option.