Multimedia is computer content that uses a combination of selected and varied forms as well as the original text, to impart special value to the Website on which it is operated. This is in total contrast with media that uses basic form, such as text only, to display the information sought to be passed on to the user by the Website. Examples of Multimedia files can be mp3, which is an Audio File, or mp4 (video file), avi video or wmv files. This post shows how to utilize different multimedia to improve your website in practical ways and the benefits of using multimedia in our websites.

Different Types of Multimedia

Multimedia includes any element that is additional to the  text, and which creates extra value to the website. The additional elements referred to here are as follows:

• Stills and Images- continuous text breeds monotony, not just for the user’s eyes, but also the mind. Stills and Images break up this boring pattern, and re-engage the interest of the reader.  The information being shared is given visual representation  The extra trouble is well worth it. Which the mind’s eye re-interprets more meaningfully.
• Videos- these can cover a wide area of interest to the client , and package the data in dynamic visual form. A video is 53 times more likely to attract First Page add on, in for example Google, than if done without such assistance. 
• Graphics- these are typically illustrated images, which include graphs, illustrated images, charts, animated graphics and so on. These visual elements tend to  capture the reader’s attention by tabular information which increase client dwell time on a page.   
• Infographics- these are generally much more informative than just simple graphics. Information is presented here in a graphical form. Data and research has shown the effectiveness of these pieces of media.
  
• Interactive Content- this allows active participation of the user, and may be anything from a product pricing calculator to a short survey.
• Audio- sound adds realism to the video, and presentations in speech form create a “classroom effect”, to which potential clients often succumb.
• Animation- web design has drastically improved, and animation plays a key role to attract users . The attention span of the usual web user is often short, given the frenetic pace of modern life, and animation is a sure fire method to catch and hold the eyes, and then the mind, of potential customers.

How Multimedia Improves Sites

1. Without Multimedia, the website may simply look like a forbidding mass of text, which can frighten away a typical user in no time .
2. This can intimidate site users away from the site, who may even navigate elsewhere, even to competitors, for the information searched.
3. Multimedia breaks up continuous text, slowing down the process of user absorption, and increasing the digestion of the information collected.
4. Multimedia helps users by not allowing the information presented in a manner that does not overwhelm the user.
   
5. It diverts the mind of the user, and entertains , attracts and soothes the mind with sound effects and music, as well as over voice narration.
6. Multimedia enhances user experience, to the extent that pages are often marked to ensure the user can locate these pages easily. The re-entry of certain pages are noticed by search engines, and the ranking done on basis of repeats.
7. Attractive Multimedia, specially Videos, can reduce bounce rate on the Website’s pages , and also increase reader time on the page and higher time of dwell. This user engagement enhancement and interaction makes a sell much more probable than without application of Multimedia enhancement.
8. Infographics, videos and interactive content can hold a user’s interest far longer than walls of text by keeping the user busy with a particular page of the website, and a secondary point of interest.
9. The main benefits that computer graphics have over stop-motion is in reshoots, object replication or shoots with very large sets. In computer graphics, scenes can be rendered over and over again, but in stop-motion, a reshoot is required. This is expensive and time-consuming. 
10. Modern Multimedia consists of Flash Websites, with Dynamic Pages, and superior Apps.