Top 5 Sticky Ideas for Your Website

The term sticky did seem odd to me first when I started having a closer connection with the web world! I thought, “What does the term sticky have to do with a website?” As I shrugged my shoulders, it was only a matter of a few days when I learnt the importance of this term. Look up on Word Web and one of the definitions would be, “Having the sticky properties of an adhesive.” Rightly so, there are elements that create the same effect for websites. For those who wish to know the other side of ‘stickiness for sites’, can read on for 5 sticky ideas for your websites!

Those who are still perplexed with this term: Stickiness for a website means the user is kept on the page for a longer time. The content and presentation should be embedded in the minds of the users!

Top 5 Sticky Ideas: Interaction is what you need

Many webmasters strive to add the stickiness factor to their websites. What you need here is social interaction on the page. A website that only contains graphics and content may attract users but may not make them return back to the websites. The need thus arises to create a kind of social interaction on the page. Here’s a look at some ideas that will help to bring about social interaction on websites.

Publish Authentic Content

Words and visuals go together. The content for the site should be authentic and appeal to all readers, precision and catchy headlines help!

For example: An article directory site that is interspersed with links is bound to drive away genuine readers. Articles that are published on many sites in one go also tend to put off readers, hence the requirement of authentic content.

Start a Forum

A forum is like a space where users can interact with each other. This peps up the overall look of a website.

For example: A product website that adds forums to its site will ensure that users interact with each other. In this manner, users can discuss the products, recommend stuff and perhaps even suggest areas for improvement.

Include a Poll

Another way to add to the stickiness of the website is to include a poll on the page. This increases the curiosity amongst the users to know what others users feel about the topic.

For example: If you have a news related website, you can highlight important points in the form of polls. By gathering opinions, users will actively participate and will always remain interested in the website.

Allow Special Users to Blog

A blog option helps to add to the stickiness factor. It keeps users on the page, besides, it even gives them the option to contribute and be active with the website.

For example: A fashion website can include a blog section wherein reputed names in the industry can contribute. This will add to the interest factor as fashionistas will enjoy returning back to the site to be up-to-date with the latest trends.

Resource Sharing

Provide a space for users to share, recommend links or share photographs. The idea of photo sharing or link sharing online will increase social interaction amongst users.

For example: A site dedicated to photography can include these options. Avid photographers can share their photographs with users and will spend more time on the web page.

These points listed in random order are only some of the many other points to add the stickiness factor to websites. Watch this space for more information!!

The Much-Needed Factor for Websites: Social Interaction

The other day, I was checking my mail and I realized I had received an email from a very earnest person. I wish to share some of his concerns with you.

It went in this manner….

“I have a very talented design team who has used their creativity to come up with an excellent design for my product site. The website includes a display of all the products with details required by my consumers. It also contains a varied range! Yet, I feel that I do not have the right kind of response that I wish to generate for this website. Please have a look at my website and kindly let me know where the problem exists for the site.”

The first thing that struck me after reading this post was that if the website is good then why should he seek feedback a person who has never visited his website before? It would definitely make sense to talk to his visitors directly and check out their views and opinions. Well, still wearing a critique’s hat I surfed through this website to see what could be the issue.

My first impression was exactly how the mail stated; it was attractive and interesting to look at. I could view all the pages with ease. Yet, there was an element that seemed missing from the picture.

I saw everything seemed fine in terms of design. The missing piece seemed the lack of activity on the web page! The web pages and their product display played the function of attracting the users. The thing about the website was that it did not create any action for the user!

The website basically lacked a very important factor - creation of social interaction amongst users. This is why the website owner did not receive the desired results. One may wonder what the importance of social interaction is! The answer lies in the results which are seen after the use of social interaction!

What happened here was that due to lack of interaction with the consumer, the website owner had to resort to seeking my advice. This not only created a longer channel for the website owner, it did not give him the chance of knowing the consumer opinions!

The use of social interaction on the web pages would solve many things! This gives the website owner a chance to interact with the users online. Users can put forth their views. This gives better and faster results once the changes are implemented. These changes when implemented also make consumers feel that their suggestions are valued. It only generates loyal traffic for the website!

One can use many ways to interact with users. The use of a Presentation slide show that showcases the latest achievements of the week may garner more interest. This can make a user take active interest and watch the slide show of the products, either to submit comments or view those from other users.

The website users should also get a chance to interact with each other that helps them to discover more about the options being offered on a website. There could be an FAQ, which users refer to for information posted on a website. They can also ask their questions to which other users or a website owner can answer. In this manner, live chats, sharing of images or links can be utilized to make the whole experience socially interactive!

Implementing social interaction on a website helps users to interact amongst each other, which in turn proves to be useful for a website. Apart from creative presentations, a website that obtains feedback from users will get better results!

This is what I finally replied to the email I had received. I received a long email thereafter that thanked me for everything!