Unleashing the Full Power of Flex | 6 Ways To Make Your Website More Engaging

Your website is like an extension of yourself, your craft, and your business. You want it to be beautiful, a creative representation of your vision and style. That’s why you put so much love and effort into the way it looks and feels.

But then, somewhere along the way, you start worrying about things like SEO and customer retention rates. People tell you to optimize your site to bring in more traffic and, in turn, more customers. And while all of that makes sense, sometimes it feels like the optimization happens at the cost of your creative vision’s integrity.

Well, to those people we say – you can have both.

Today we’ll go over six visual elements available in Flex that can spruce up your website’s user experience, which in turn will create better retention, lower bounce rates, and overall will hopefully grow your chances to convert more leads!

And all of that without having to compromise the way your site looks but instead using these 6 features that will help you make your website more engaging and fun for your users to browse through.

Videos

When it comes to creating a website that offers an immersive experience, nothing gets the job done as well as videos – as they enable you to build a stronger, more emotional connection with your website visitors. Don’t simply write out your message, let your visitors FEEL the energy that you put into your craft.

Insert a short video about yourself into your bio section or About page. This will help you build trust with your client before you even talk or meet. Not to mention, that videos offer you the creative liberty to express and present yourself exactly like you want to, increasing the odds of attracting your ideal customers.

Kirsty Mackenzie | Wedding Photographer
kirstymackenziephotography.co.uk | Built with Lyra theme

Another idea would be to place a short video that autoplays in a loop, at the top of your homepage. Your visitors will be immediately greeted with a powerful intro into your portfolio that will spark their curiosity and get them scrolling.

Zara Watson Law | Legal Team
zarawatsonlaw.com | Built with Mono theme

Don’t forget to use keywords in your video’s title and description to improve its online discoverability and add more SEO points to your score!

How to add Videos to your Flothemes site

Adding a video into a Flex block is as easy as adding any other element. Flex offers you an unparalleled level of control over the way your videos look and behave. Check this article for details.

GIFs

There is no better way to grab hold of a visitor’s full attention than through a moving image. GIFs are one of the best ways to provide your visitors with a more dynamic and fun experience on your site. Take a look at your most basic and static page and imagine how much energy and movement can a single GIF add to it.

Judyta Żelosko | Wedding Photographer
judytazelosko.com | Built with June theme

Use GIFs to tell a short love story at the beginning of a blog post. Replace your static bio headshot with a GIF to channel your personality and establish a better connection with your visitors.

Kate Bunny Hampson | Wedding photographer & Videographer
katebunnyhampson.com | Built with June theme

Be original and have fun, depending on your preferences GIFs can be used for everything from bringing your portfolio to life to spicing up a boring 404 page.

How to add GIFs to your Flothemes site

You can add GIFs as a simple image element inside a Flex block. Check out our documentation for more detailed information.

Animations

As we mentioned before, movement always stands out and catches the attention of your site visitors, making them browse your website with a little more intent.

Blueberry Rocket Studios | Wedding Photographer & Videographer
blueberryrocketstudios.com | Built by The Wayfarers and based on Elise theme

Seamless and tasteful animations can help you stand out amongst your peers and stay ingrained in your prospect’s memory long after they leave your site. You can create an informational hierarchy, by pulling focus towards the essential sections and buttons, leading visitors to the “right” pages, and increasing your chances to get inquired.

& Beyond Healing | Energy Healer
andbeyon d-healing.com | Built by Victoria O’May with Ember theme

Just make sure you’re not overdoing it. Too many moving elements on the screen can do more harm than good, dispersing the visitor’s attention all over the place, instead of helping them focus on the important parts of your site.

Our dear client, friend, and colleague, Oli Sansom created a couple of videos on this topic. He explains how animation should enhance your overall style without taking away from the user experience.

Check out his examples on how animations can invite visitors on a journey that compels them to scroll down, the many different ways in which a single animation type can be used, and what’s the right amount of animations to aim for.

How to add animations to your Flothemes site

For more detailed information on Animations inside Flex check out this article.

Slideshows

Taking into account how little time you have to grab the attention of a potential customer, you always want to put your best foot forward. An autoplay slideshow is an ideal way to grab your user’s attention while exhibiting your strongest works.

The beauty of slideshows inside Flex is that you control where the text is positioned on the slide, how tall or narrow is your slider, how it displays on desktop and mobile. How cool is that?

Stefanie Lange | Fine Art Wedding Photographer
stefanielange.de | Built with Mono theme

But slideshows aren’t just for showcasing your best images at the top of your homepage. Get creative and use slideshows to feature other sections of your website in a new light. For example:

Customer testimonials
The types of services you offer
Favorite posts or galleries
Your preset packs with before/after examples

The Grays | Wedding & Elopement Photographers
thegrays.co | Built with Lyra theme

How to add slideshows and Before/After sliders to your Flothemes site

Find out more about how to use and customize slideshows inside Flex here. Also, discover our recently added Before/After element here.

Parallax

Parallax is an excellent action trigger that pulls users in. When they get on a website, more often than not, they’re just drowsily looking around. But once they notice that your site reacts to their actions, they’re immediately drawn in.

Moments Captured | Wedding Photographer
momentcaptured.co.uk | Built by The Lightbox Tales with Velvet theme

A well-made parallax can guide a user’s line of sight. Thanks to this you can engulf their attention and direct them to your CTAs in a seamless manner.

Dallin & Cienna | Elopement Photographers
dallinandcienna.com | Built with Lyra theme

The parallax option can add more depth to the visitor’s browsing experience, revealing new details with each scroll. It acts as a counterbalance to sections of your website that are heavy with text and information, creating a more harmonious visual experience.

How to use the Parallax option in your Flothemes site

For more detailed information on how to enable parallax on your images check out this article.

Tabs

Last, but certainly not least – Tabs.

Tabs are perfect when you have a large amount of information that you have to squeeze in a concise space, without having the user feel overwhelmed. The flexibility of the element offers you a multitude of customization options, enabling you to use it for different purposes and convey information in a dynamic and elegant way.

Jaymi Nichole Visuals | Wedding & Elopement Photographer
jayminicholevisuals.com | Built with Faro theme

You can use it on your FAQ page, showcase testimonials, present a project in a chronological way, important milestones, or fun facts about yourself.

Oydin + Mei | Wedding Photographer
oydinmei.com | Built with Pronto

How to add Tabs to your Flothemes site

Find out more about Tabs, how they work and how to add them to your website through this article.

***

What do you think? Did this article put the spark for some fiery ideas into your mind? Let us know which of these 6 elements you’ve already used on your website or plan on using!

We’d love to see what you create on your site, so be sure to tag us!