Pimp my Webspace

19Nov10

We’ve talked about great design (your photoshop skills are the only thing holding you back on that score). We’ve talked about usability and navigation and great web design (again the only thing limiting you are your coding skills – CSS and XHTML etc). We’ve talked about planning, audiences, structure, accessibility etc etc etc. Now it’s time to talk about Pimping your Webspace.

Adding 3rd party functions is not just a fun thing to do – it makes your interface ‘sticky’ – literally extra functions make people stick around. Offer them nothing and your visitors won’t stay. Offer them fun things to look at, listen to, contribute to… etc, then they’ll stay longer – and maybe, they’ll even come back! Perhaps they’ll buy something, or pay for your services!!

Galleries

Audio

Forums
For those of you with your own webspace you can search for software (free) that will allow you to host your own forum.

Presentations
You can create embeddable presentations using Prezi, Slideshare, Sliderocket etc.

Analytics
Again for those with live sites you can keep an eye on your web traffic using various back-end apps – the best free one is Google Analytics.

Data Visualisation – links and tools/apps:

Add RSS feeds

Add a map
You can use Google mapping software to add an interactive map to your websites. This works well on a contact page.

Social Media Links
Some of you already have these but buttons that allow users to keep in touch with you using social media are imperative if you want to stay ahead of competition. Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Flickr, Reddit, Delicious