Functional
Website Design
All websites have purpose... but functional websites allow site visitors to interact with the content in
some way. A non-functional website is like a brochure. It's purpose is to provide information
and-or portray an image.
On the other hand, a functional website can help convert a site visitor into a qualified prospect,
or allow a web site owner to update the website without
calling in a web master every time a change to the content of site is desired.
Functional design involves a different type development expertise than a non-functional site...
Functional design usually involves a database ...and programming that can either send information
supplied by the visitor to the database... or retrieve information from the database to be displayed
to the site visitors.
Survey forms, shopping carts, and calculators are examples of functional features
that get and manipulate information provided by site visitors. Event calendars and blogs
are examples of functional features that allow website owners to keep their websites current and
updated. Fresh content and functionality are important features that bring visitors to a site... and
intice other websites to link to yours. Links from other websites are a good source of referrals... and
an important component to get your website ranked higher by search engines.