In addition to design, a business website should offer the right features for its users. Although professional web design is important, usability of the website is crucial to its success. A professional website should be rich with features and allow customers to interact with the business.

Customer expectations have evolved with time. When internet users visit a website today, they expect the website to offer a certain level of interaction. With the popularity of second generation websites, popularly known as Web2.0, it has become common for businesses to offer a range of interactive features on websites such as videos, podcasts, and many ways in which customers can offer their feedback. Many of these features are easy to implement on a website and most web design companies and professionals will offer them as standard features with their websites.

Businesses can benefit from this trend by offering interactive features on the company's website that are easy to implement. Building an effective web presence is vital for any company today and the company's website is its greatest marketing tool. Improving the interactivity of the company website can help increase conversion rates and improve brand loyalty and recognition.

Discussed below are some the top interactive features that are easy to implement on your website. It can add value to any website.

Newsletter Subscription

Collecting email addresses of potential customers is vital for direct marketing or sending newsletters. Most websites offer an automated system for subscribing or unsubscribing to their mailing list via their website.

Commenting on articles

This is commonly found on blogs. Allowing users to comment can be useful in many ways. In addition to feedback, it also allows the content to build with user generated content. It should only be added to relevant sections of the website.

Most Recent Posts

If you have a blog, then you can display a list of 10 most recent posts from your blog on your main website. It can add value to your website especially if your blog and website target the same niche.

Google Map

An interactive Google Map can make your website interactive. Google map can be used in many ways. You can use it simply to display an interactive map of your location or you can use one of its built in features such as distance calculator, etc to add more functionaility. It is also possible to custom applications for your website using Google Map’s powerful development API.

Most professional web design companies and freelance web designers today will be able to work with this technology to add to your website if required.

Google Custom Search feature

Google’s custom search feature has become popular with websites in recent years. Google custom search allows websites to implement search functionality on their website using Google’s powerful search algorithms. It is possible to restrict the search to your website only or include other partner websites in your searches. Ad revenue generated by Google using your custom search feature can be shared so there an opportunity for generating revenue on your website.

Related Articles

This can improve the readership of your website by providing users with content that are related. It is relatively easy to implement on a website and can be automated or work by assigning manual tags or keywords.

RSS Feed

RSS is a commonly used format for sharing content on the web. By offering RSS feed of your website content, you make it readily accessible to millions of internet users who use feed reader applications to find information on the internet. It also makes it easier for users to subscribe to website updates by email. RSS feeds also make it easier for users to share content on other social media sites .

Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking has become quite popular on the internet. Millions of users use social bookmarking to organise favourite content and share it with others. It also helps in promoting your website and can generate massive traffic. A website should offer a shortcut for adding the web page using leading social bookmarking accounts.

Latest Content Tab

A list of latest content from relevant sections of the website can improve the usability of the website.

E.g. List of the Latest Articles, News and Jobs can be displayed at the side of a website; similar to what is found on leading blogs and portals today. This offers better utilisation of space and adds interactivity.

Feedback forms to gather information

Feedback forms are still an effective method to collect response from website users. It is used by many websites. The form should be customised to the specific needs of a website.

Survey/polls

Surveys and polls on website is another also important and widely used to collect information from customers. This feature is now standard with most leading CMS or blog platforms.

There are many features that can make your website interactive and more effective. Websites designed by a professional Web Design Company or designer will most likely include a range of interactive features to start with. For more information on Web Design and to find out how your business can benefit from a professional website, please visit Web Design blog, http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog