With millions of websites out there in the world all competing for traffic and attention, the difference between success and obscurity can come down to the finest margins. With web design being far more of an art these days than a science, which interesting interactive features can best help your website feel appealing and unique amongst the crowd?
Dynamic Search Options
If you have any kind of site with lots of different individual items on it, you are going to need some kind of search feature. With that being said, standard search options are naturally slow and cumbersome, and unless the user knows the precise name of the item, it can be frustrating. What can help the entire process is a search function that can actively update in real-time based on a range of qualities beyond just the title.
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By organizing results more cleanly, dynamic searches can help customers, whether you're selling clothes online or showcasing a catalog of media items like with a casino site. For something like Paddy's online casino, which has hundreds of different slots listed, things like tags and filters can be invaluable in finding a particular game, especially when many titles have fairly similar names and themes.
Motion Effects
On the flashier side of website features, motion effects include everything from video content to animated backgrounds and even parallax scrolling. These are by far the most eye-catching feature of any site as not only does the movement grab attention on its own, but it's also still a fairly uncommon feature and is interesting in its own right.
It's most commonly used for massive brands like Apple or tech-based enterprises like Stryve or Netrix that have a creative and futuristic feel to their branding. In the former case, moving imagery and design is the highlight, while in others it could be just moving type. Be aware though that in the mobile era, flashy features like these can be too data-intensive for a good mobile SEO ranking.
Sticky Elements
A sticky element on a webpage is, just like a sticky note stuck to the screen, one that stays fixed in place for the user no matter where they scroll or move on the page. You'll most commonly see them used for things like navigation menus, and they're particularly popular for e-commerce sites where users may have to scroll through hundreds of items.
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They've previously been used by brands like Pipcorn and Huckberry to not only improve customer experience, but also as a way to promote deals and offers. It's a two-in-one feature as users get a convenient anchor point while browsing, and you get a platform to show promotions that are always visible.
It's a feature that works great on both desktop browsers and mobile ones, although the smaller amount of visual real estate on the latter means anything permanently on the screen should be as small as possible.
Finding Balance
As with anything in web design, moderation should still be the keyword. Each of these features can be useful and attractive, but make sure it fits with everything else and isn't just there to look pretty. As long as the balance is correct, you'll give your users a unique and high-quality experience and perhaps bring in customers because of it.
