Create Intuitive Content Using A Flash Page Flipper
Have you ever heard about what a Flash page flipper is? Do you remember a world before computers and the internet, when the best way of getting hold of the information you needed was to turn to a book? Incredibly, there was such a time, although most web designers don't seem to appreciate this, and there is a very good reason why including, for example, a page flipper on your website will help to engage with people in the same way that books have always done.
Despite the mammoth increase in the amount of information presented to us in digital form, books and printed material is still as popular as ever. Daily newspapers, glossy magazines, printed flyers and hardbound or paperback books are hardly dying out through neglect, and there are good reasons why people like these forms of information. To start with, they are of course portable, and don’t need power, but there are other reasons too, and one is familiarity. People are familiar with the idea of books, and magazines, the idea of browsing through them is one shared by us all.
Books and magazines allow us to see information in an overall structure we find immediately accessible, with information presented to us in a logical, sequential fashion, whilst at the same time, allowing us the control to either follow that sequence from start to finish, dip in randomly anywhere we choose, or even flick backwards until we see something that catches our attention.
The problem with most websites is that they don't come anywhere close to following this sort of pattern, and whilst the web designer may have had an idea of a sequence, or intended the visitor to work sequentially through the resources, very often this isn't made clear. The other problem is that each resource or page is on a different screen, and so in order to move from one to the next, it is necessary to leave the web page the visitor is currently on, and wait for the next page to load up.
This delay between pages loading up not only distances the visitor from the site and its contents, but breaks the sequence or pattern of content too. Flipping briefly through the pages of a printed publication takes just seconds, and we see quickly the order, the types of content and what might be of particular interest. Websites don't achieve that, although they could, and yours could, if you incorporate a page flipper into your site.
A page flipper is most likely to have been created by Flash, the advantages being of course that it's easily customisable, very small as far as file size is concerned, and is accessible to virtually all visitors since it won't require them to alter their settings or install a plug-in. A page flipper will take the initial appearance of the front page of a printed publication, and can take on the theme of your choice. It might well look like a formal publication, or a jazzed up, glossy magazine. It might even look exactly like the printed brochures or company prospectus you already give out to interested customers.
The difference is that once a visitor clicks the cover, it opens to reveal the next two pages. This interactive page flipper mimics the way that pages of a document turn, including the shadows of the paper as it curls over, the distortion of the images as they curl, and even the sound of paper rustling. The impression of turning the pages of a book or magazine is very clear, and immediately the page flipper has generated interest and enthused your visitor.
Because a Flash page flipper is able to load in advance all of the text and images that comprise the content of your publication, there is no delay between pages, other than the very brief animation effect as the pages turn. This means that your visitor can turn the pages as quickly as they like, and there will be no delay as the pages turn and the contents of each revealed. The visitor can have a quick scan through he contents, deciding what to go back to see in more detail, and getting a quick overall feel of what it is that you are offering. In other words, your page flipper has achieved what a printed publication in the hands of a prospective customer achieves, but much more quickly, and at far less cost.
A Flash page flipper can provide a very professional appearance to the contents of your site, giving vi where you will sitors an interactive and almost tactile approach to the content of your site. Imagine being able to save the cost of printing so many brochures and prospectuses, and instead creating a virtual, digital prospectus and having this on your web page, or on disk, or emailed to people who are interested? They won’t be the end of books and printed material, but a page flipper is the next best thing.
