Dynamic website elements are anything on your page which is regularly updating, moving or changing. They can be text, imagery or advertising (basically anything on your website could be made dynamic). From a designer’s point of view, it is definitely something I like to work on and which I think makes designs sharper and more engaging. Additionally, it can also be pretty great for helping your search engine optimisation.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is any kind of text which moves and changes around the page. If you have lots of information which you want on a particular page it can be much more effective to have it scrolling across the page or rotating, rather than forcing the user to scroll down to view it.
So what sort of stuff could you have?
- Scrolling marquee
- Rotating header banner
- Rotating Case Studies
- Rotating Testimonials
- Expandable content (i.e. clicking on ‘read more’)
Having dynamic content on your website essentially means we can fit more content on one page – which also means there are more opportunities to get your keywords onto that particular page and optimise your SEO.
Dynamic Imagery
Dynamic imagery often goes together with dynamic content. If you have a rotating header banner, chances are you want both the image and the text to change. Again, having dynamic imagery means that more engaging images can be placed on one page without forcing the user to scroll, so this means we can make the most of your beautiful PR photography and engaging images on your website.
What other kinds of dynamic imagery could you have?
- Rotating header banner images
- Scrolling or rotating gallery
- Images changing on each refresh of the page
- Animation
Animation can be particularly interesting – setting you out from your competitors’ boring/old fashioned websites, and also encouraging the viewer to stay looking at your page a little longer (also good for SEO as Google pays attention to the average length of page views).
Check out some examples of some animation we have done:
Shropshire Barn Chicken (moving label). Visit website
Scandinavian TV Solutions (Logos popping onto the stage). Visit website
Your fresh feed: social media and more
Social Media plugins are the simplest way of introducing fresh, constantly updating content to your website. Google wants to see that your site is being updated and that activity is happening. Sites like Twitter and Google+ (and Facebook to an extent), which have good feed integration and are often updated several times a day are perfect. And it’s also great for your customers to see that you are currently active.
But it’s not all about social media, there are several other ways to have fresh content on your site.
- Have a blog (and update it regularly)
- Post your news updates on your website (regularly)
- Feed in customer reviews
- Display and update your testimonials
The other great thing about having a news, blog or social media feed is that it means there is a lot more content on your site for Google to crawl through – whereas on a static site, the search engine would leave more quickly.
How does it work? (No, we don’t need to use Flash.)
We use a combination of javascript (with jQuery) and HTML/CSS to create our dynamic animations and moving elements. Why? Because with javascript and HTML/CSS you don’t need to install a Flash plugin in your browser and many mobile devices don’t support Flash at all. Additionally, javascript and HTML/CSS are both more SEO friendly than Flash, and this means we can put more information on your website to be picked up by Google.
Be Careful
Another very good benefit to dynamic content is that it saves space on your website and allows for more creative and engaging design. You want your website to work hard for you and give the necessary information – but you also want it to look good!
However, it is important not to overdo the moving elements on your website. A little is great! But too much and your audience will get eye-ache and browse elsewhere. So make sure your designer knows the limits.
Let’s Dance
If you have liked what you have seen in these few examples and would like to have dynamic elements on your website (or would simply like to learn more or get some advice on what will work for your website) then give us a call on 01256 845815 or
contact us using our online form.
