Let’s say you’re new in town and ready to join the state school where everybody already knows each other and isn’t really willing to know the ”newbie”.
You would instantly look for the ones who seem warm and friendly, people who you can connect with and feel at ease when you’re around them, right?
Well, you might be happy because those awkward school memories are all water under the bridge now. But, things are pretty much the same when it comes to your modern rituals, such as encountering and discovering a website for the first time, being a part of its user journey, and trying to get the hang of it.
Just as you would choose the warm and friendly people over the cold and distant ones, you would prefer to face an Interactive website over a non-interactive one since it will provide you with a great user experience filled with interactive items to help you understand and master the site before even knowing it!
So, today, this article will talk about a few of the best interactive website examples and hopefully teach you the key steps that will lead you to create one on your own.
Let’s get to it.😎
What is an Interactive Website?
Put simply, an interactive website is a website that’s primarily created to provide enough space for communication and interaction with the users. It’s a different kind of internet page in that it uses numerous software to create an interactive experience and does a great job allowing the user to be actively participating and engaged with the website.
An interactive website helps you increase many metrics for your business such as engagement, retention, and activation.
Why is this necessary?
In this constantly developing digital age, you can be sure that putting some random content on your website and simply sitting and waiting for hours for it to work won’t really take you anywhere.
With an interactive design for your website, you will show off attractive content and encourage users to communicate and engage greatly with your service.
Before going any further, let’s get some essentials out of the way first: Every website is interactive at some point, but what makes some more interactive than others, really?
What is considered an interactive website?
An interactive website can indeed be just about any website that enables the users to do more than just reading the given text or scrolling through images. But there’s always being something and being really great at something. So, what makes a more interactive website?
There are certain features that create room for a better opportunity to build an interactive website that really pushes the limits.
Features like advanced navigation menus, internal links, search bars, forms and buttons, videos, animated elements -3D hover or scroll effects- interactive feedback tools, etc.
As long as your website contains these features within the user experience and manages to make alterations according to the fresh needs and wants of the audience, congrats! You can consider your work as a perfectly interactive website that will do a great job attracting the viewers and keeping the user engagement at its finest.
Now that you’re through with the detailed characteristics let’s take a closer look at some of the best interactive websites that will inspire you to get started – or get going!
7 Interactive Websites that will set an example
1- Nike Reactor
The Nike Reactor is a site that lets you create customized Nike React footwear and experience the new collection by trying it on with the sizes you wish via the interactive user interface.
As I was researching this article, The Nike Reactor’s level of interactivity has become one of my all-time favorites among the ones I discovered. It simply creates a perfectly engaging environment for the newcomers with the help of catchy colors and fun animations. The catchphrases are pretty great too.
When you first land on the homepage, you are introduced to a clean white space with animated figures -Nike React sneakers shapeshifting between fun and cute bubbles and shapes- popping on the screen.
From here, you can create your own experience by choosing your pillow shape through various options such as light as flamingos or comforting as soap bubbles. Then you get to choose your sneaker color and running routine; Sunday special, Serotonin seeker, or Zen master, each being more advanced than the previous one.
Hey, quick question for you. What are you doing later today? Well, I know what I’m doing, and let me tell you, I’ll be all over this website once I’m done with this article! I just can’t wait to discover more about it and see what’s capable of.
I advise you do the same. 🤩
2- Apple
Apple is great at many things. Its products, the quality it offers, the design strategies it sticks with, and of course, interactivity.
Being one of the most popular brands in the whole world, Apple’s eCommerce site had a lot on its plate, considering the number of expectations it had to live up to.
Just like with anything else they do, they don’t disappoint when it comes to this, too.
The first thing that comes to mind when Apple is involved in something is probably the beautiful minimalist design that does a magnificent job displaying the tons of products from the company without annoying the customer away.
Every page is organized and fits into different blocks that are easy to follow and can be scrolled via clicks. For instance, the Accessibility area that shows the features are explained and demonstrated with the help of innovative visuals, interactive and creative movements, and to-the-point & relevant words.
Just take a look at this. Simple yet effective. Just as it should be.
The users can click on each feature to learn further about them at this point.
What’s more, Apple’s eCommerce website is speedy & engaging just as much as it’s interactive. Of course, interactivity goes in hand with swiftness. After all, they are both here to make the user experience better.
So, Apple gets a high five from me when it comes to website speed since it’s an essential factor that enhances the UX and prevents any delays that will cause a reduction in conversions and overall customer dissatisfaction.
Keep in mind and take notes from Apple that increasing your website interactivity and speed can boost your page views and create great engagement to help you grow faster and more efficiently.
3- Webflow
Webflow is a crucial example at this point since it’s a brilliant tool that allows designers to create visualized, compatible and responsive websites with great ease and effectiveness.
It’s not only interactive from head to toe itself, but it’s also a handy platform through which the users can quickly learn -thanks to the effects of interactivity and relevant content- all about design, web development, digital products, and eCommerce.
Webflow first introduces the background of websites in a visualized, engaging and interactive way to keep the interest and attention of the users at peak.
Later on, the screen provides numerous buttons such as ”Start designing’‘ to choose between reading or starting to use the tool if they like.
By scrolling the website, the users can understand and learn the history of website development, just like watching a YouTube video or an instructive clip. This makes the learning process both entertaining and engaging. In addition, interactivity elements such as animated photos, texts, colors, shapes, and fonts geometries are also appealing to the eye and keep the users interested.
4- Chekov
Have you ever heard of Chekov?
Well, of course, you have.
But I’m talking about something slightly different. The Chekov website by Google features 28 custom illustrations of the most famous literary characters created by Anton Chekov. The site works as an online character quiz and audition that serves purposes ranging from introducing Chekov’s worldwide characters to a new audience or simply make the days of those who are big fans.
And the reason this website is included in this list should not come as a surprise at all. Just look at the playful design of material and illustrations and how they create an innovative way to practice a questionnaire.
Let’s take a closer look.
When you want to get started with the questions, a dual-screen -half showing the question and half showing the answer options- welcomes you. Again, the catchy colors are dominantly used and combined with relevant designs.
As you might be familiar with the fact, many brands and advertisement people pay great attention to the usage of color schemes to impact customers. Similarly, this website uses a creative mixture to build that powerful first impression.
This simple yet impactful strategy not only encourages participation but also creates room for interactivity and engagement simply by offering the fun opportunity to answer questions that lead to fun results.
5- Uber Sign Language
Did you know that Uber had thousand of deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers?
As a result, Uber decided to provide customers with ease of communication with their hard-of-hearing drivers.
Here’s a quick look at the website.
This Uber sign language website does a great job providing the users with quick and easy sign language tips to enable communication between the two. However, the idea being already great, there’s still more to appreciate.
This website design sets a great example of accessibility. It includes excellent interactive content and features that support and push the learning experience to become more engaging and interesting.
Once you decide to use it, you are given plenty of options ranging from basics that teach you to say ”Hello” and ”Thank you” or spell out your name to introduce yourself as well as navigational instructions such as ”Turn left or right.”
The use of interactivity here enhances the learning process, creates space for personalized experiences, and raises awareness of the issue.
As a result, a daily & generally seen as an unimportant hour of your life turns into an experience full of wholesome feelings, knowing that you learned something that day and communicated with someone who appreciates your effort.
I don’t know about you, but I’d love to be a part of something as great as this. 🤩
6- Cyclemon
Created by Thomas Pomarrelle, Cyclemon is a project all about interactive web design and graphics.
Put simply; the website combines interactivity and amusement while presenting numerous bicycle designs -all of them are perfect!- with different categories, each depicting different characteristics of people in a fun and engaging manner.
You just have to see it for yourself to believe me. The illustrations and the levels of interactivity are just examples of creating expressive products that attract the users at the first glimpse.
See, that’s what I’m talking about.
As a bike lover, I can’t help but fall in love with the variety of options that let me browse through the series of excellent illustrations of numerous models of bikes. All you need to do is simply scroll the page and enjoy the colors and brilliant movements that get activated with your clicks.
Above, you can see another example titled ”You’re a traveler.” Demonstrating a bike that’s appealing to the audience that’s into traveling, the website pays close attention to the simple details regarding the design of each bike.
Again, the user controls the movements and pace, meaning that they’re free to examine the examples for as long as they want and then move on to the next one.
Speaking of which…
Here comes my favorite.
😍
After providing you with many more options that you can choose from, the website lets you take a second to decide which one to buy, then connects you to a purchase page. I didn’t buy any bikes, to be honest, but I can’t help visiting the page once in a while just to click on this and that and enjoy the game-like visuals.
You can’t blame me, right?
7- APPS
Created by VGNC, APPS is an interactive website built for liquor brands.
Alcohol products have never been so successful with building online websites since the process is considered slightly tricky for most designers.
However, this website did an incredible job showing off its product Apple Cinder with the help of interactivity and the miracles it makes.
First things first, the website offers a perfectly visualized simulator that demonstrates the process of cider making. Apart from being awesome, this brilliant simulator is very easy to follow and instructive. It shows how apples are turned into Apple Cinder wines from the beginning to the end and details that are supported with excellent visuals. To get the whole story going, the users are in charge in that they have control over the pace story and animations, making the process enjoyable and more engaging.
Furthermore, the page has a simple design with a relevant color scheme, including perfect shades of green to evoke more concise feelings toward the process.
Wrapping up quickly, the website is all about the perfect balance that creates impact with combined visuals and movement, guiding the users through this instructive process. Last but not least, there’s a narrator that walks users through for those who wish to be addressed by a human voice in addition.
How to Make an Interactive Website in 4 Steps
Okay, now you have seen and admired numerous examples that really set high standards for this interactive website building job. What’s next?
Naturally, next is learning how to create one on your own! So let’s now take a look at the essential steps that will lead you to your goal.
1- Choose a Theme.
The first and most important thing you can do is to make sure that your website is built around the frame of a perfect theme. This is of great importance since a unique theme not only helps you attract more users and make your website appealing to the eye, but it also creates a relevant message that gives the correct vibe, parallel to the website’s aim.
If you manage to combine a great theme with illustrations such as photos and animations, your website will be visited by users of all ages and groups, which will ultimately increase your customer rates and boosts the growth of your website.
2- Consider UX.
A great User Experience at this point, let’s say, a must. Since it equals to more visitors and long-term loyal users, UX is something you should pay great attention to & constantly try to improve.
When creating an interactive website, some key elements will ease your process and take the burden off your shoulders if you manage to use them efficiently.
So, what are these elements that will enhance your UX, how and where can you use them?
Let’s find out.
- Interactive Page Elements
You can improve the interactivity level of your website by placing interactive elements within your page. Elements such as animations, videos, colorful and engaging hover-states on the links you provide or the images you show, on-scroll or on-click animations, and navigation buttons that give off fun sounds are all great ways to add engagement and attractiveness to your website. With their help, you will be providing information about your service in the most interactive and fun way possible.
- Feedback Channels
Enabling your users to reach out to you get in touch with you via a contact form or a comments section is an incredible way to create connections with them on a personal, fun level and is a great of saying ”My website is here for you, I care about your opinion”. Feedback forms will enable you to identify your user pain points, what makes you great, and what your users love about your service – and you’ll gain this information from the most reliable source ever: your users themselves!
- Live Support
One of the best and most effective ways you can use interactivity is through the practice of live support. Just think about it for a second.
You’ve been a user before.
What can possibly beat that feeling of being understood and heard by a live person simultaneously chatting with you, giving precise answers to your questions, and is eager to help you out with anything that’s bugging you? Not much, I suppose.
Offering this kind of interactive service will provide your users with a pleasant, positive website experience. Alongside easy navigation, speedy loadings, and helpful content, you can be sure that you’re offering great UX that will create room for effective involvement by your users.
3- Keep the Speed Up.
Okay, now that you have made sure that your website is set around a relevant theme and focuses greatly on providing great UX, what’s more left?
Well, the sky is the limit.
There are numerous other methods, strategies, and elements that you can implement in your website. You can get as creative as you want with these interactive features, but here are a few of them that are common and I believe will work for you.
- Voting
Encouraging your users to vote by creating polls and sharing the results afterward will be perfectly convenient for your increased engagement goals.
- Newsletters
Newsletters are a great way to keep your users coming back out of curiosity and interest. They’ll look forward to learning more about the updates or any news.
- Advanced Search Functions
Advanced search engines or modules will save your users the effort and time -they’ll be much faster- and ease them from the pain of trying to navigate through your site manually -and most of the time, not effectively.
- Ratings
Just like voting polls, ratings can also be a speedy, engaging, and interactive method of receiving valuable feedback in no time. This feedback will make miracles when it comes to improving your service, and the overall functionality of your website.
- Social Share Button
With a great number of website visitors, come excellent user interaction. By allowing your website visitors to talk about you spread the word about your service on their social platforms, you can increase the social levels of interactivity and boost website traffic as a result. Make sure that you include social sharing tools on your website place sharing widgets so that your visitors can easily share the content that they like in no time. And by closely examining the stats you receive from this area, you’ll be able to know the potential loyal users of your brand that chose to share your name with others to begin with.
4- See it for yourself.
Whenever you follow someone new on Instagram, and they follow you back, do you just instinctively click on your own profile to view it once again but from their eyes? Well, I’ve been there too.
And things don’t change much when it comes to running a website.
This is why another way to make sure that your website is as interactive as you want it to be, is simply trying out yourself. This way, you can put yourself in the shoes of your users and try and see the value of what you’re offering from a different, critical perspective. You’ll see what’s annoying about it, what can be more fun about it, what can be made to include a little more engagement, and so on.
Wrapping Up
Voila! I hope this article was helpful for you in your search for interactive website examples and how to create one for your own. See you next time and stay safe until then.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a website interaction?
A website interaction is any kind of movement, communication, or interactivity between a user and a website. For example, interaction can happen when a user clicks on something to move forward, views a video, comments on a post, provide feedback, visits internal links, etc.
How do I make my website interactive?
To make your website interactive, you can implement interactivity elements within your page. These elements include design, inserting advanced search bars, navigation menus, animated elements, engaging visuals, and scrolling effects.
