Interactivity on The World Wide Web

Gone are the days of users seeking nothing but static information, rather they seek something greater, immersion and interactivity. Almost all websites that are created and exist on the web today contain a level of interactivity, whether this be in the form of browser based games, online clickable slideshows, avatar customizable apps, or even something as simple as a button that can be clicked, interaction comes in many forms.

Interaction plays a vital role on websites. It keeps the user interested and engaged with the content on the page, the longer the user stays engaged with the page's content the more the page achieves it's goal of presenting as much of it's content as it can to the user. Humans by nature are creatures that enjoy interacting with something in order to better understand it, for example when someone shows an item or object to another person, their first reaction is to want to hold and touch the object and to experience the object in a tangible way.

In the context of a website and the internet, this tangible experience is created through the use of interactive elements in order to familiarise the user with the content of the website. Another interesting facet of web interactivity is the ability to make a user's interactivity more social for example on the music streaming platform Spotify, users are able to interact by creating their own unique playlists that are custom suited to their tastes. Spotify makes this interactivity more social by giving users the ability to share their playlists with friends and listen to them simultaneously with friends, this further makes the features and content of this site more engaging and interactable.

Some interesting examples of web interactivity include the website of Funko POP, a website designed with the purpose of showcasing the various POP figurines produced by the company. One of the interactable features of the site is allowing users to create and design their own POP figurines Here. This figurine that is created can be shared and also used as the user's avatar on the Funko website and application.

In conclusion web interactivity is a vital part of websites and web design as it prompts the user to stay engaged with the site's content and interact with this content in meaningful ways.