The Write Blog

What’s the difference between a good website and a great website?

The answer isn’t simple, so don’t try. A great website is easy to understand, easy to navigate, informative, well-written (of course) … and engaging.

If your reader isn’t engaged, they’re not paying attention to you or your site – and that’s bad. So after your reader has finished reading the flawless copy that you’ve poured your heart and soul into, why not let them relax and play a little bit?

That’s where interactive tools come in. Tools are a great way to jazz up a website and keep visitors to your site entertained. They relay information that some web readers might not understand when they read your copy, but might understand if they get a demonstration. But what makes a good tool? All tools need to have a least two characteristics: they need to be relevant, and they need to be informative.

You don’t want to plaster a stock market ticker on the top of your BicycleWorld website, that just doesn’t make sense. Likewise, you don’t want a map of the world showing all of your restaurant franchises if you’re only located in Florida.

Think about your website – hard. What is your business like? How can you organize information into a simple, fun tool that can get your visitor’s (and potential clients) attention? The examples above aren’t bad tools, they’re just badly used. A stock market ticker would be great for a financial website, and an interactive map is useful for any business that has multiple locations within a specified geographical area. Some other tools to think about:

• Cost saving calculators
• Videos
• Blog streams
• Calendars
• Real-time trackers
• Interactive charts
• Counters
• Anything else you can dream up!

If you don’t already have a cool tool up on your website, consider the possibilities: it’ll make your website really pop, and keep visitors on your site longer. Overall, it’s a win-win for you.